Protein is important for every cell of your body, but it can also help you when it comes to weight management. Protein raises the body’s thermogenesis, or amount of body heat generated, and helps control metabolism and digestion. The role of protein in building lean muscle mass is well known, but there are other uses for protein that don’t involve muscles at all.
How Much Protein Is Necessary?
The importance of protein does not mean everyone should eat as much of it as they possibly can. Nothing, even the best nutrients, is good for the body in excess. Certain health conditions can even be exacerbated by an excess of protein. Protein intake should be at most 35% of all calories consumed. More than that can lead to calcium oxalate stones, which are the most common type of kidney stone. Anyone who has diabetes or kidney disease should also avoid having too much protein. Excessive protein consumption can also cause gall stones, electrolyte imbalances and heart arrhythmia.
It is easy to tell how much protein the typical person should consume daily with a simple formula:
– Divide your weight in pounds by 2.2. This will give you your weight in kilograms. Then multiply that number by .8 to get how many grams of protein you will need on a daily basis. This number, however, can be changed due to the amount of physical activity you engage in regularly.
– Those who don’t do a lot of moving around and engage in no exercise will need quite a bit less protein. About half is good for them — .4 grams per kilogram of body weight, instead of the usual .8.
– People who engage in light to moderate exercises will need between .5 and .8 grams of protein per kilogram of weight, daily.
– Active exercisers, those who engage in serious exercise sessions of 30 to 60 minutes a day, at least four days a week, may need up to a full gram per kilogram of body weight.
– True bodybuilders, who are trying to build huge muscles, will need 1.2 to 1.5 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight. This will still be a moderate amount. More protein will not create more muscle – instead it will lead to problems, as listed above.
How Protein Affects Thermogenesis
Everybody creates heat when it burns the energy inherent in food. The creation of this heat is called thermogenesis. Our bodies are generally about 98.7 degrees constantly, though this temperature can change slightly in either direction at any given time. Eating increases body temperature, though it is usually not enough for anyone to notice. If you have ever eaten a really big meal, almost to the point of being uncomfortably full, you may have also felt more warm than usual. That’s thermogenesis, which usually lasts 3 to 4 hours after the meal is done. Any food you eat causes thermogenesis, usually around 8%. People on diets may only have 4-5% thermogenesis, since they eat less food.
Fats have the least affect when it comes to thermogenesis, only producing a 3% change. Carbohydrates can cause 10% thermogenesis, while proteins cause a big 30%. So, what does thermogenesis have to do with weight control? All that food being burned as energy means that it will not be stored as fat. A high protein, low fat diet is far more likely to burn calories than a high carbohydrate, low fat diet. Only alcohol produces more thermogenesis than protein.
How Protein Affects Metabolism
Protein is very important in many aspects. It helps regulate ovulation in women, and helps control sleep and digestion for everyone. To gain a true understanding of what protein does, however, it is important to learn what protein is and how it works.
Proteins are made of amino acids, which in turn are simple compounds of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen. Amino acids form into chains known as peptides. A protein can have as many as 500 amino acids within it, and sometimes more. Proteins come in two basic classifications: complete or incomplete. This is dependent upon the amino acids it contains. To be complete, a protein must contain all of the essential amino acids (leucine, isoleucine, valine, threonine, methionine, phenylalanine, tryptophan, and lysine). What makes them essential is the fact that they must be derived from food or supplements since the human body cannot manufacture them on its own. Incomplete protein lacks at least one of these essential amino acids. Proteins in meat are nearly always complete, but there are no complete plain proteins, with the exception of soy and products made from soy.
Peptides are consumed during the digestion process, reduced into enzymes called proteinases and proteases. Hydrochloric acid and gastric acid in the stomach break down food and digest the amino acids. Enzymes are released that help the digestion process, allowing the body to use food substances it could not otherwise digest.
Hormones from the pancreas help break down food until it is small enough to pass through the intestinal lining in a process called hydrolysis. Once in the blood stream, these amino acids will be used to create other amino acids, hormone, and enzymes, some of which start the whole process all over again.
Metabolizing food is simply burning it as fuel. The body needs the fuel that food provides, and the process of metabolism starts the moment food goes into your mouth. When someone eats more food than the body really needs to burn, that excess food is stored as fat. Because protein digests slower than other nutrients, it is more satisfying. It also does not cause the spikes in metabolism that sugar causes, which can also lead to weight gain.
When you are not getting enough protein, you will feel very hungry. For many people, this often leads to excessive eating – which leads to gaining weight. This is one of reasons why it’s so important to get the right amount of protein in your diet, through food or supplements.
Protein supplements such as Profect and Proasis from Protica can provide you with your daily requirement of protein. Available in several refreshing flavors, these supplements provide a large amount of protein with hardly any calories. For example, a single serving of Profect provides 25 grams of Protein and has just 100 calories.
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 liquid for cancer patients. You can learn more at Protica Research – Copyright