Can a protein supplement play a role in a good diet and balanced nutrition? In most cases, it is better to get all nutrition from natural food sources. Protein, one of the building blocks of good nutrition, can be found in a number of different food sources, both animal and plant based. However, in today’s fast paced world, it is difficult to get the right nutrition from the foods that we eat. Most people do not sit down to eat a meal, let alone take the time to cook healthy foods. We tend to eat on the run, and that typically means fast food; fat laden, greasy and fried, fast food.
Over 34 million people are clinically obese (source: http://www.med.stanford.edu), with around 20 million people on some form of diet at any one given time. The diet industry is one that is raking in billions of dollars each year, typically by preying on the insecurities of people with low self esteem and their desire for a quick and easy, painless fix to what they deem is the source of all of their problems. They think that if they could only take a pill, they would lose fifty pounds without changing their eating habits or any of their thinking about food at all. They will jump on any bandwagon that comes their way, especially if it sounds easy to accomplish. The more farfetched that the concept might be to those who are thinking rationally, the more likely it will be to succeed as a dieting plan.
These diet plans, from the All Cabbage to the Weight Loss Soup diet, all have one thing in common: they promise unrealistic weight loss in unrealistic ways without addressing the need for psychological support and a real change in attitude. We all need to look at food in a much different light. Fat is healthy, and carbohydrates, especially complex carbs, are not the enemy, and protein is healthy, but only in the right amounts.
In the past, all liquid, high protein diets were introduced and were the big fad. However, they proved to be unsafe and difficult to maintain over the long term. Using liquid protein and protein bars as a supplement, however, is a better idea and can help maintain the healthy balance that a person needs.
Too Busy to Stop What We Are Doing
The average person has very limited free time – only around 16 hours per week. (Source: Harris Interactive). Most people are busy traveling to and from work and doing other activities, usually with a cell phone, smart phone or other PDA in their hand, performing what is defined as “gray time” activities. A gray time activity is one that does not qualify as work or as recreation. We are all bombarded by so much information and activities that we do not bother to eat correctly. It is hard to eat a healthy salad or a lean chicken wrap while driving with one hand and chatting on your cell phone with the other. Salads are not exactly handheld, “on the go” foods. Packing a protein supplement in a pocket or purse is a good way to make sure that you are getting at least some of the nutrients that you need each day, but of course, is not the only way. There are plenty of other nutrient needs besides protein, but starting with this essential option will at least have you on the road to good nutrition.
Supplement Options
If you need or want to have protein supplementation in your diet, it is important that you choose the one that is right for you. There are many kinds in many forms on the market and they are not all made with the same kinds of ingredients. In addition, there is a number of questions that you should ask about the protein supplement to make sure that it is right for you.
Types of Protein Supplements:
– Liquid protein shots
– Protein bars
– Protein pudding snacks
– Protein powders
– Protein shakes
What Makes a Supplement Right for You?
There are a number of things that you have to consider to choose whether or not a protein supplement type is right for you:
– Is it convenient and easy to carry with you?
– Does it come in flavors that you will actually enjoy?
– How much absorbable protein is contained in it?
– What are the other ingredients?
– How digestible is the protein in the supplement?
– How nutritious is it?
– How many calories does the supplement have?
– Does it have any additional benefits to recommend it?
The answers to many of these questions in relation to the Profect protein supplement from Protica are simple to understand.
– Profect is a liquid protein and comes in a single serve, ready-to-drink shot. It comes in a plastic vial, making it very simple to carry anywhere that you are going. In addition to being nearly unbreakable, the vial is small enough to fit anywhere.
– Flavors for Profect include Blue Raspberry, Grapefruit-Mango, Fresh Citrus Berry and Cool Melon Splash. Some other brands of protein supplements only come in two or three flavors, like vanilla, chocolate and strawberry.
– The ingredients in Profect are high quality and are formulated to ensure purity. Each of them is rated at pharmaceutical grade. Vitamins are from all natural sources for easy digestion, rather than their synthetically made versions.
– The protein in Profect is meant to be highly digestible, with a balanced amino acid profile that is more like that of humans. Other proteins can be difficult to digest and may cause stomach discomfort and other problems.
– Profect contains 9 vitamins, including 10% of the daily supply of all vitamin Bs and 100% of vitamin C, with zero fat and zero carbs. Some protein supplement bars are nothing more than candy bars with little nutritional value. Read labels carefully.
– Some supplements can have many more calories than they need to have, including up to 180 calories for some of the shakes and even more than that for the bars and other supplements. Profect is only 100 calories per 2.9 fluid ounces per serving.
– Profect’s additional benefits include that it is fast to drink, increases thermogenesis and can slow the absorption cycle of a meal, especially when you drink it before or after or even as part of the meal. The slower that a meal is digested, the less likely you are to have a sugar spike, this equals less fat storage.
The Conclusion
While it is best to get proper nutrition from a good and well balanced diet, it is not always possible, especially in these busy times. Trying to maintain your health and proper weight while on the run is not always easy to do, especially with some of the fast food choices that confront us at every turn. Using a protein supplement to maintain health and balance is a perfectly good idea, as long as it is a good protein with additional benefits and the right nutrients. While Profect is not the only brand, it is one that has the backup of three years of research and development from a research based company.
Protica Research (Protica, Inc.) specializes in the development of Capsulized Foods. Protica manufactures Profect, IsoMetric, Pediagro, Fruitasia and over 100 other brands, including Medicare-approved, whey protein drinks for diabetic patients. You can learn more at Protica Research – Copyright