Protein and Real Food: Part 2 (Video)

Part 1 of this two-part video explains how much protein adults should consume daily, depending on their weight, age and activity levels. But getting enough protein isn’t just a matter of quantity. What the protein is made of is equally important.

Here’s why: Every protein molecule consists of tiny pieces called amino acids. Think of them as building blocks for your body.

Your body uses these amino acids to:

• Build and repair muscle
• Support brain health
• Strengthen your immune system
• Make hormones and enzymes
• Keep your skin, hair, and nails healthy

There are a total of 20 different kinds of amino acids used by the human body. But as long as you get enough of nine of those kinds, your body can make the other 11. The 9 that you need to get from your diet are called essential amino acids.

Now let’s talk about food.

You might have heard that you need powders, bars, or shakes to get enough protein or amino acids. Certainly, the companies that make and sell those products would like you to believe that’s true. But for most people, just eating a balanced, real-food diet provides all the protein—and all the amino acids—you need.

That’s because protein doesn’t only come from meat, dairy and fish. Many people aren’t aware that lots of foods from plants contain substantial amounts of protein.

Here’s what you need to know to make sure your diet is properly balanced.

Some foods contain all nine essential amino acids. These are called complete proteins. Those foods include

• Meat, fish, and poultry
• Eggs and dairy
• Soy foods like tofu and tempeh
• and Quinoa

Other foods contain some, but not all, of the essential amino acids. These are called sources of incomplete proteins, and they include

• Beans and lentils
• Whole grains like rice, oats, and wheat
• Nuts and seeds
• And certain vegetables, like spinach, broccoli, asparagus, Brussels sprouts, and sweet potatoes.

Just because the proteins provided by these foods are called incomplete doesn’t mean they’re low quality. It just means they work best in combination with each other.

Examples of combinations that provide all essential proteins include

• Rice and beans
• Hummus and whole-grain pita
• Peanut butter on whole-grain toast
• Lentils with vegetables and seeds

So, while your real food diet certainly can include animal foods, you can also get all the protein you need with meals that contain beans and other types of legumes, whole grains, nuts, seeds, and high protein vegetables. If you like, you can even put all of that into a blender and call it a protein shake!