PROTEIN (AMINO ACIDS)

Foods rich in protein, including cheese, eggs, fish, lamb, beef and chicken. Nutritious eating.

Weight lifters particularly are familiar with amino acids and know that they are simply elements of protein, the body building and repair component of food.

 There are twenty-two amino acids and are generally divided into three groups – essential, semi-essential and non-essential.

 The “essential” amino acids are found in food whereas the rest are manufacured by the body itself.

 See the chart below

Essential and Non Essential Amino Acids

Therefore, it’s imperative that from a young age we should have protein introduced into our diets once we have been weaned from mother’s milk – which is of course a protein.

Unfortunately today, the need for protein is not generally recognized. Most breakfasts consist mainly, if not entirely, of cereals and toast, quaffed down with sugar-laden juices.

The mid-day meal doesn’t fare much better, often consisting of sandwiches along with cola drinks.

The average breakfast consisting of carbs and juices

HOW MUCH PROTEIN DO WE NEED DAILY?

Experts seem to suggest that one gram of protein per kilogram (2.2 lb.) is the bare necessity for optimal health.  Serious weight lifters and body builders would probably require more to sustain their extra muscle growth.

Therefore a fifty-kilogram person (110 lb.) would need fifty grams of protein and not many meet this requirement.

 What Foods Provide Protein?

Meat is probably the easiest and most perfect source of protein as long as it is obtained from grass fed animals or free range hens. However, it is hard to determine whether animals are polluted with introduced drugs used to help them ward off dis,eases or else help speed up growth.

Seafoods also are included in the classification of meat.

Proteins are also found in eggs, milk, cheese, nuts as well as legumes (beans, lentils and peas) and yogurt (choose the varieties that do not have added sugar)

CARBOHYDRATES

Everyone has heard of carbohydrates, especially today.

They are one of the three food groups which include fats and protein which are claimed to be  essential to your health and nutrition.

More on this claim later

Carbohydrates supply energy for our bodies. They are found in fruit and vegetables, breads and grain products, as well as sugar and sugary foods.

But unfortunately, the modern diet of processed foods and drinks are heavily loaded with sugar which have few nutrients (if any) and are extremely high in kilojoules (calories) 

Sugar Content Comparison

The image above (slightly visually enhanced) appears quite often on Facebook which caught the attention of The Merseyside Skeptics Association  who, whilst generally agreeing with the concept of the illustration, suggested that the comparison would vary  when a personal inspection of all products was carried out.

Check out their blog here.

What the image is promoting however is that high amounts of sugar are found in the everyday drinks (and foods) and including these in our everyday diet is a recipe for obesity and it’s attendant diseases.

When choosing carbohydrate foods it’s best to choose those that contain a rich source of fibre besides other nutritional additives such as vitamins and minerals.

ARE CARBOHYDRATES IMPORTANT?

This question is always very controversial because there are a lot of “experts” out there with differing opinions but there are also several experts that believe that the Western society puts far too much emphasis on carbohydrates which often eclipses the other two nutritional necessities, fat and protein.

Listen to what Dr Eric Berg DC has to say about this subject in the following video.

COMPLEX versus SIMPLE CARBS

The biggest problem with carbs in the normal Western diet is that most people eat more simple carbs than complex ones – and to add another dimension – most people just eat far too much of everything!

So what’s the difference between simple carbs and complex carbs?

Complex carbs contain fibre and other nutrients whilst simple carbs are just variations of sugar compounds. See the list of both below.

Simple Carbs

brown sugar

• raw sugar
• milk and milk products (icecream)
• corn syrup and high-fructose corn syrup
• glucose, fructose, and sucrose
• Candy
• fruit juice concentrate
• Honey

Complex Carbs

Acorn Squash

• Amaranth Barley
• Black Beans
• Black-Eyed Peas
• Butternut Squash
• Durum
• Farro
• Chia Seeds (white or black)
• Chickpeas
• Green Peas
• Kidney Beans
• Lentils
• Lima Beans
• Millet
• Oatmeal
• Oats
• Parsnips
• Pinto Beans
• Potato (with skin on – and limit amount).
• Quinoa
• Rice (brown, colored and wild)
• Rye
• Split Peas
• Sorghum
• Sweet Potato
• Whole-Grain products – but limit amount.

Conclusion

Although carbohydrates are not essential to the human diet as are fats and proteins (and of course water and air) they add to the variety of our diet.

The sad fact is though,  most people eat more of the simple carbs then the complex ones – and eat way more food than is ever necessary.

CHIA SEEDS

Chia seeds are perhaps one of the best unkown healthy snack foods around and they contain upward of six grams of protein for every two  table spoons servings!

 And they can be used in a varity of applications as we’ll see in this article.

 They come in two colours, black or white but are no different in taste and can be easily obtained from most major supermarkets or health food shops – and they are inexpensive.

ORIGIN OF CHIA SEEDS

 “Chia is the edible seed of Salvia hispanica, a flowering plant in the mint family (Lamiaceae) native to Central America, or of the related Salvia columbariae of the southwestern United States and Mexico. Chia seeds are oval and gray with black and white spots, having a diameter around 1 millimetre (0.04 in). The seeds are hydrophilic, absorbing up to 12 times their weight in liquid when soaked and developing a mucilaginous coating that gives chia-based creams and beverages a distinctive gel texture.There is evidence the crop was widely cultivated by the Aztecs in pre-Columbian times and was a staple food for Mesoamerican cultures. Chia seeds are cultivated on a small scale in their ancestral homeland of central Mexico and Guatemala and commercially throughout Central and South America”.  

Wikipedia

 Nutritional Content

They have a high content (18%) of omega 3 fatty acids which are essential fats that are important for heart health and brain function. Of the 30% total fat found in chia seeds, more than half is alpha linolenic acid (ALA), which is the plant form of omega-3.

• They also have an amazing fiber content. Chia’s 34% fibre is higher than that of flaxseeds (linseed) or sesame seeds, which is  about 10g (about a third of an ounce) in two tablespoons, about a third of the recommended daily dietary requirement.
• As mentioned in the introduction, they provide and great amount  of protein and are high in calcium – at 631mg per 100g.
• Chia also provides other important minerals including iron, magnesium and zinc.
• It’s also gluten free.

Nutritional Value per 100grams (3.5 oz)

Wikipedia Summary