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Protein 101
The ential guide...
What is protein?
Protein is an essential part
of a balanced diet. Protein
molecules consist of chains of
amino acids.
Different proteins are made
up of different amino acids,
nine of which are essential
for humans, as they cannot
be synthesized by the body.
The nine essential amino
acids are: lysine, histidine,
isoleucine, phenylalanine,
leucine, methionine, tryptophan,
threonine and valine.
A protein molecule
Why is protein
important in the diet?
It is vital for the growth and
repair of body tissues. The
different amino acids in protein
all play a role in this process.
Some help the immune system,
others aid the transmission of
nerve impulses and protein can
even help to give you energy
and keep your hair and nails
looking good.
What foods are good
sources of protein?
The richest sources of protein
are animal products, such
as meat and fish. However,
vegetarians can get significant
amounts of protein from dairy
products and eggs, or food
such as pulses, grains and soy
products.
Below is a list of common highprotein foods, with the amount
of protein per 100g or per unit
included:
Why do vegetarians
have to be extra
careful to get enough
protein?
Although it is useful to know
which foods are high in protein,
that is not quite the whole story.
Most food from animal sources
contain ‘complete’ protein. This
How much protein do I
means that they contain all nine
of the essential amino acids the
need to stay healthy?
Food
Protein
body needs.
This depends on whether
content
you’re a boy or a girl, and
However, foods of plant origin,
Roast
beef
28g
your age.
only contain some of the nine
Chicken
25g
amino acids. This means that it
Adults generally require
Cheddar cheese
25g
is very important for vegetarians
more protein to stay
Canellini
beans
24.8g
and vegans to ensure that they
healthy than children and
21g
eat a wide variety of different
teenagers, and boys need Cod fillet
Quinoa
13.1g
kinds of food, to make sure that
more protein than girls.
Milk (1/2 pint)
9.2g
they get all nine of the essential
As a guide, teenage boys
Tofu
8g
amino acids every day.
need between 42.1 and
Chickpeas
8g
In the past, it was thought that
55.2g per day. Teenage
7.9g
vegetarians should make a
girls should have between Pearl barley
Boiled egg (1)
7.5g
special effort to combine food
41.2 and 45.4g daily.
containing different amino acids
However, do remember that
Adult men and women
while it is easy to eat 100g roast at each meal to ensure that
require 55.5g and 45g
they were consuming enough
beef in one sitting, it is not as
respectively.
complete proteins.
easy to eat 100g barley!
The latest advice for vegans
and vegetarians is to ensure
that they eat a balanced diet
including as many as possible
from the vegetarian protein
sources below:
- Nuts eg hazelnuts, almonds
- Seeds eg pumpkin seeds,
fbsunflower seeds
- Pulses eg beans, lentils
- Cereals/grains eg oats,
fffcous cous
- Soya products eg tofu,
ffftextured vegetable protein
fff(TVP)