Macro series: Protein

Vanessa: 0:00

So, I don't know if you saw this yet, but, so we get emails from like our licensing body like our RD licensing body they're called smart briefs. And sometimes they have some good articles in them and sometimes it's just like, what is happening? Yeah.

Emily: 0:17

trash, trash. Sometimes it's just.

Vanessa: 0:21

Today. I don't know if you saw this, but it's a study comes out consumption of fruits, vegetables, and exercising increases happiness.

Emily: 0:32

Oh, my God. I saw that. I S I read that in the brain. I know. It's like, wow, that's crazy. And, and also, could we talk about to the fact that. A person who has access to produce. And a person who has time to exercise is just generally a happier person than people who are not able to find basic produce to meet their needs or who have to work so much. They have no time to exercise. They don't really talk about any of that variation in those studies.

Vanessa: 1:01

Right. And I mean, I think in general, if you're, well-nourished, you're going to be happier just cause like, literally everything is working.

Emily: 1:10

Right. It's like saying that hydrated people are happier than dehydrated people. Like no shit.

Vanessa: 1:16

Yeah. So these are the kinds of smart briefs we get. There's sometimes there's better ones, but jeez opiates.

Emily: 1:25

This is why everybody has us to Wade through all the BS research for them and give you like the real news,

Vanessa: 1:34

You're welcome.

Emily: 1:35

the real news on protein today

Vanessa: 1:38

let's do it All right. So continuing on with our macronutrients series, we are focusing on protein today and protein, you know, it's kind of been the king of the castle for a while. Now. Nobody really says anything too bad about protein. We're not going to say anything bad today necessarily. But protein is flying high and it has been for a while.

Emily: 2:11

Yeah, like right before we started recording, we were just kind of talking. There's really no myths to bust around protein. Like there's like one or two, but I mean, I think for the majority of the general public, you kind of have a general idea. So we're just kind of going to break down what protein is, the functions and kind of talking about how you can make sure you're getting enough in your diet and what, and what amount you should be getting in.

Vanessa: 2:41

Yeah. So do we want to talk about first? Why eating protein is.

Emily: 2:46

Protein plays an important role in structural functions in the body. Like your hair, muscle formation, nails, stuff like that. Anything that has to do with collagen, if y'all remember our all important episode about college and supplements, but this is like the real college and that comes from your body. Not the crushed up cow bones and the pretty jars. What's that brand again? Vital protein.

Vanessa: 3:12

yes. Vital protein.

Emily: 3:14

Yeah. Okay. Anyways, this is like your own homegrown collagen, and you need protein for it. And protein is a chain of amino acids and other word y'all probably know. So it's a macromolecule, hence of being a macronutrient and you digest protein and that's broken down into individual amino acids and taken for functions in the body like structure.

Vanessa: 3:39

Yeah. So it's, as you also probably already know protein, super important for building and maintaining muscle mass. So that's why we always think a lot about protein when we're refueling, after we've done some extra.

Emily: 3:56

Yeah, and I think this is a really good segue into a discussion about protein needs, because I know there's definitely a lot of confusion over exactly how much protein. Different types of people might need in their diet.

Vanessa: 4:09

Yeah. Well, I actually wanted to add in this fact too, so, I feel like we. In America, we're pretty obsessed with protein and for good reason, because like we mentioned, protein is really important. But there is such thing as too much of a good thing. So actually 60% of Americans are eating too much protein. And then about 40% aren't getting quite as much as they need. So, it's important to think about. Just because, especially as we talk about other macronutrients too, it's not the only macronutrient you should be eating.

Emily: 4:47

Yeah, I think when you say that, I think automatically, like if you're eating so much protein, then are you eating enough carbs? Are you eating enough fat? It really goes back to like what could potentially be lacking in your diet because your really over prioritizing.

Vanessa: 5:05

So, your protein needs are going to be really dependent on your lifestyle and your muscle mass and size and everything like that. So some of you might've heard a really outdated number four protein, which is 0.8 grams per kilogram. So that would be 0.8 times your body mass and kilograms. And that's usually something we use for. Like patients in the hospital or sedentary patients. So that's not really something that we would use for most people just like up walking around.

Emily: 5:37

Yeah, totally. I was looking at a lot of different research and now they were saying, you know, a range could be a 0.8 to almost two grams of protein per kilogram of body weight. It's totally going to depend every day. Your needs are different. And as always too, I love to mention how it's not really about your daily needs. We say daily, just because it's easier to understand. And it's easier to think, okay, I need this amount of protein per day, but really it can vary over the whole week. Like maybe you do a really intense workout. One day, you're feeling extra hungry. You want to do that muscle repair. Maybe you have a little bit more than your needs on one day. And then the next day. Maybe you're just kind of hanging out. You don't do a super hard workout and you eat less. And so it all kind of balances out in the end and that's really a more realistic way to view it. Then, like every day you have 80 grams of protein.

Vanessa: 6:24

Yeah, exactly. And you should also think about so for example, if we're thinking about the hospital again, and I'm using 0.8 grams per kilogram, as. For most patients that are just laying there in a hospital bed. Well, if someone has a bunch of wounds and they are healing, then they're actually going to need significantly more. So same thing for you. For example if you just had a C-section, you are going to need more protein than you did before, because you're healing from that CSUN.

Emily: 6:58

Totally and stuff like pregnancy or breastfeeding that can also be that can also really increase your protein needs.

Vanessa: 7:05

And this is kind of an interesting fact that I found as well. So they found in research studies and uneven distribution of protein. So that means so too low at some meals. And then maybe too much protein at other meals is associated with slower walking speed and fatigue.

Emily: 7:23

That's really interesting.

Vanessa: 7:25

Isn't it. I, I wonder what exactly that is. I know that there has been some research about your body only being able to process a certain amount of protein at one time. And I wonder if that is related to kind of what this research is getting.

Emily: 7:43

Yeah, it almost kind of reminds me of. You know, if you don't drink enough water in the morning, and then

it's like 3: 7:50

00 PM and you're like, should I, I have to drink water now? And then you try to like overcompensate and then you're like, so over hydrated, I'm like slamming the glasses, like thinking that I can like really make up for earlier. You know, when in reality, like I'm already dehydrated and now I'm just over hydrating and you have to pee every like 10 minutes and you just can't crawl your way back. It'd be better if I just drank like a normal amount of.

Vanessa: 8:16

Yeah, it's a tough cycle. And I think that's something that a lot of people maybe make the mistake of not eating any protein in the morning. Just having a carbohydrate. Rich breakfast, which it's fine to have the carbs, but really important for your blood sugar to, to pair the protein in the morning. So all of your meals, you're getting a sufficient amount of.

Emily: 8:41

It kind of leads me into what I was thinking where it's like, everybody knows I definitely don't weigh myself. And so I'm not looking at the. Equation of certain amount of grams of protein per kilogram of body weight. But. At that point, we're like, okay, well then what do we do if we're not looking, we're not counting macros, we're not doing all that stuff. So really for me, it's really about making shows a protein source at every meal. And definitely at the meal after you do engage in some type of movement, they show, you know, within the one to three hours after your exercise, that you should be kind of replenishing protein stores in some type of way. There's a lot of debate about the timing. So by making sure there's a protein source at every meal, you know, you're going to be having that steady stream of fuel for your body. And current nutrition guidelines have also shifted away from exact amounts and numbers of protein and more so about guiding people with which food options. Solid protein choices. So I think that we're kind of experiencing a shift with that. And that's also based on information that a lot of Americans are getting too much protein and protein deficiency is really not a thing in our country, especially it's super, super rare.

Vanessa: 9:53

And that being said, it is important to remember that eating an adequate amount of protein isn't necessarily the same as eating an optimal amount of protein. So if you're looking for optimal health, you know, depending, like we said, on your activity level, you, if you're someone who. Works out a lot or you have a really active lifestyle. You might need a little bit more protein than you.

Emily: 10:21

Yeah. And I think it's important to watch for fatigue watching, for getting super hungry after shortly after meals, because maybe you didn't have enough protein at that particular meal, things like that. That kind of start to show you like, Hey, maybe I can combat a little bit of this fatigue with more dense nutrition

Vanessa: 10:39

And I think while we're talking about, I know you mentioned sources of protein. I think. A good time to talk about what those sources of protein are. I think a lot of people think of animal proteins or meats a lot. But there's also a ton of great plant proteins and there's been a little bit of. controversy over, which is absorbed better. And I'm guessing Emily, that you want to address that.

Emily: 11:08

Oh, yes, definitely. This is like the one protein myth that we have to cover today really.

Vanessa: 11:13

The bio availability myth.

Emily: 11:16

oh God. And the thing is too, it's like, There's just so much you could say about this. So the first thing with protein is that. There's complete proteins and incomplete proteins and complete proteins have all the amino acids and incomplete proteins are lacking in some of that. And a lot of plant-based foods are lacking in certain amino acids and it was previously thought that this was a really bad thing like that made plant-based proteins kind of know, and void they're definitely not the same as me. They don't function the same in the body. They thought for a while that combining foods was necessary. So like you could combine beans and rice and form a complete protein, but that you couldn't just eat one or the other at a meal. Otherwise the body would like throw the whole thing away. And if you're thinking this is like a really stupid idea you're right. And the person that popularized this idea really was in the 1970s by Frances Moore Lopei and she was a sociologist. She had no credentials in health or nutrition at all. This was just something that she thought seemed like a good idea.

Vanessa: 12:26

That's why.

Emily: 12:28

yeah, I was really surprised by that. Cause I knew about this myth and I still hear about people talking about pairing foods like this. But I had no idea that it was literally created by a sociologist. So that makes sense. And in reality, eating a variety of plant proteins throughout the day is more than adequate and the body doesn't just throw away and amino acid, if all of them aren't present at one meal the body's something called the amino acid recycling mechanism to make sure that you still have complete proteins in your body. So that's a definite myth for sure.

Vanessa: 12:58

for sure. And there are certain amino acids, like leucine that are. Have a lower amount in plant based proteins, but that doesn't mean they're not in plant-based proteins. It just means, you know, dairy eggs, meat fish might contain more of them. Leucine example is gonna still be in soy. So if that's something that you were concerned about, you would just want to eat more soy containing foods, which is pretty easy.

Emily: 13:31

Totally. Yeah. I think a lot of vegetarian and vegan people rely on soy as just one of many protein sources among things like lagoons seeds, beans, nuts, all that good.

Vanessa: 13:45

And if you're worried about soy, go ahead and go back and listen to our soy episode. And we will dispel all of your fears about eating soy.

Emily: 13:53

Yeah, we can't even get into soy

Vanessa: 13:56

Yeah. It's it's too much. It's too

Emily: 13:58

that's too much. Well, one thing I definitely do want to talk about too, which I think we've touched on in the past. When it comes to the plant-based options, especially sometimes the protein option or I won't say protein option, I'll say the meat substitute is jackfruit. And people are always telling me like really excited lately and with a sense of superiority, how they tried jackfruit and they liked it. It was great. And the issue with that is a lot of the times they're using jackfruit in place of me. Well, if you're going to replace a meat with something, it has to be something that is slightly comparable in nutrition, even from just a standpoint of like, it's got to have some protein in it. Right. And so if we're replacing a meat with jackfruit, jackfruit is fruit. You're not going to. A good source of protein from something like jackfruit or something like almond milk instead of dairy milk. And so I think it's just really important as even people who are not vegetarian or vegan and people who look to plant-based sources of protein for health or environmental reasons that we make sure that these options are equivalent to the animal-based counterpart, or you're really not doing yourself any favors health wise.

Vanessa: 15:12

Yeah, that's a, that's a really good point. And also I want to add that I don't like jackfruit.

Emily: 15:18

Oh, I hate jackfruit. I can't, I don't know

Vanessa: 15:21

Okay, that's good. I know I was going to say I've tried it more than once, just, you know, because I feel like typically when I try something and I don't like it, I think, oh, maybe that just wasn't a good version. And especially like, with something like jackfruit where it's something that people do like, and I'm not a picky eater, but it just does not taste good.

Emily: 15:43

Yeah. I feel like jackfruit. Vegan vegetarian people really bad rap because it makes, it reminds me of like carrot, hot dogs, like some people and people say these are good. I've never tried them. I don't even want to, but like smoking a carrot and like making it a hot dog once again. Like where the F is the protein. There's no protein. I don't want to care it. Like, I don't want to eat a carrot. Like that's like on the veggie board, appetizer tray, like that's not the main meal. Like nobody wants it and nobody needs that. And then they're like, oh my God, I had the vegan option. And I'm so hungry afterwards. Like, yeah, because there's no protein in it, dude.

Vanessa: 16:24

Right. So what are your favorite plant sources of protein?

Emily: 16:31

Yeah. So definitely relying a lot on the tofu and tempeh, which is just the fermented version of tofu, essentially. Those two sources are great. There's a ton of research to support that. Fabulous additions to your diet. Beans is definitely another huge one. Say tan, which is made out of vital wheat. Gluten. A lot of people say that that one's really heavy on their digestive system. I think, especially because it's really dense and there's usually a lot of fiber and a lot of complex carbohydrates going on. So. If you notice something like that, once you try say 10, that's pretty normal. But all of those are really great sources of protein that you can get in your diet. And I love like a hippie snack. That's like chickpea flour based or the bonds of hosta that's chick, pea based as well. Those are kind of like little sneaky ways that I try to get protein in during my.

Vanessa: 17:25

And I think. It's important to mention too, when we're talking about you know, of course our there's your meats, milk, cheese, And eggs that are going to have protein as well. And if you are someone who is drinking a milk alternative, and especially if you're not someone who eats meat and we talk a lot about this, I think in our soy episode as well, but you need to be drinking a milk alternative that has. At least seven to eight grams of protein per serving. And that's not almonds.

Emily: 17:59

And that's definitely not almond milk, and it's definitely not rice milk, which I feel like has taken a backseat and popularity, but you really it's so important to make sure that your milk has protein in it. That's like one takeaway. I want everyone to really internalize from this episode for.

Vanessa: 18:17

And I mean, if you're someone who's eating meat at every meal, then it probably doesn't matter. But I feel like not that many people even do that.

Emily: 18:26

Yeah, I think we've definitely seen a huge shift for a lot of different reasons about surrounding me as the main protein source and our D. So we usually love to leave listeners with some sort of tip or trick surrounding our topic of this week, but. As always everything is a huge variable and some of you aren't getting enough protein and some of you are getting too much. And so it's really difficult to kind of give any sort of blanket advice regarding protein. Besides it's important, which I think we've covered. And so really, if you feel like you may have any issue around protein, maybe you're feeling kind of fatigued, like we talked about earlier and you feel like you're not getting enough in your diet. See a dietician, even if just to get like a little picture into your lifestyle and figure out exactly what your own needs are, because it's invaluable for them.

Vanessa: 19:23

Absolutely. And I have a little challenge for you all this week. Please try if you are able to, to include a protein source in your breakfast, every day, this week. So that means if you're not eating breakfast, you have to start and

Emily: 19:41

please. For the love of God, please me.

Vanessa: 19:44

Bonus points. If it's a plant-based source,

Emily: 19:49

Yes for sure. Tag us. We want to

Vanessa: 19:52

Yes, please.

Emily: 19:54

eat breakfast please,

Vanessa: 19:56

Any protein, but not too much.

Emily: 20:00

but not too little either.