Protein

What Is A Protein?

Protein is one of three classes of food called macronutrients (the other two are fats and carbohydrates) and is made up of amino acids (called “the building blocks of protein”). Your body breaks down the protein from your food into amino acids, and then reassembles these amino acids into structures like bones and muscles and circulating proteins like enzymes and hormones.

Why Do I Need Protein?

Protein furnishes the raw materials that become muscles, organs, hair, neurotransmitters, enzymes and just about anything else your body needs to keep it running right.

Protein also plays a role in weight loss or weight management. Compared to carbohydrates, protein:

• Has less of an effect on insulin (which drives fat storage)
• Has a greater effect on glucagon (which drives fat release)
• Creates a greater increase in metabolic rate (the rate at which you burn calories)
• And, creates a greater increase in satiety (feeling full)

How Much Protein Do I Need?

The conventional wisdom is that we need at least 1.5 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight, which translates to about .7 grams of protein per pound. But the need for protein varies with many factors such as age, stress, gender and body composition (how much fat you have versus how much muscle). Athletes clearly need more protein than non-athletes, and people trying to lose weight also do better with higher protein intakes. The best answer is that protein needs are variable, but a good rule of thumb is between 10-35% percent of your daily calories.  For more information on this topic visit a post titled “Macronutrients: Protein, Fat, Carbohydrate.”

How Do I Get Protein?

You can get protein from various sources: poultry, fish, meats, whey, eggs, and milk protein score close to the top of the list of best choices. In some (but not all) scoring systems, soy does well also.

Sugar

What Is A Sugar?

Sugar belongs to the carbohydrate group of foods. Naturally occurring sugars are found in all plant life — dairy, grains, and nuts/seeds, and are the kinds of sugar the body runs best on.  Added sugar is the enemy of any healthy diet. Void of nutrition and packed with empty calories, added sugar is often disguised as high fructose corn syrup, raw sugar, sucrose, fructose, dextrose, and maltose.

Why Should I Adopt A Diet Low In Sugar?

When you eat sugar, your blood sugar rises (quickly) and your pancreas immediately jumps into action. It responds to the increase in blood sugar by secreting the hormone insulin, whose job — among other things — is to get that sugar out of the bloodstream pronto… by delivering it to the muscle cells where it can be used for energy and to the fat cells where is stored as fat. That’s because if sugar hangs around the bloodstream, it ultimately does a lot of damage — glomming onto red blood cells and creating sticky compounds that ultimately clog up the works.

Why should I Avoid A Diet High In Sugar?

Diets high in sugar are now linked to increased risk for diabetes, Alzheimer’s, some types of cancer, and obesity. Sugar depresses the immune system, ages the body, creates inflammation, and contributes to cravings, mood swings, PMS, and a host of other conditions.
If you stick primarily to eating good carbs, nutrient-dense foods that are naturally low in sugar, versus highly processed foods, you can avoid the dreaded spikes and crashes you get from high sugar diets.  Instead, you’ll discover steady and even energy throughout the day, meet your nutritional needs and avoid the risks associated with high sugar diets.

How Do I Adopt A Diet Low In Sugar?

Simply avoid foods that are high in sugar – especially added sugar.  And it’s not just plain old garden variety table sugar that has this effect on the body. Some of the worst offenders when it comes to raising blood sugar are mashed potatoes, most processed bread, punch, pancakes, virtually all desserts, and even cornflakes. These foods convert quickly to sugar in the body.