Protein is necessary for body growth. It develops muscles and helps us in our regular activities by supplying amino acids to the muscles. It also helps us to recover from injuries. We all consume protein on a regular basis. The quality of protein and the body’s absorbing capability of that protein depends on the source of the protein. Many people these days are becoming overtly dependent on protein powders, protein shakes, protein bars and other packed or unnatural means of protein. These kinds of protein is mostly bad for you – and don’t need to go for such sources. Protein in present in many natural food, they not only have a quality quality but they also have no side-effect.
Listed down are some of the best sources of protein:
1. Meat and fish
All kinds of meat and fish are rich sources of high quality protein. They are also packed with many other nutrients like vitamins, minerals and natural anti-oxidants. Even then, you need to be selective about what kind of meat you’ll consume. Because beef, pork and other ground meat are very high in fat and cholesterol besides being a good source of protein. Go for lean meats like chicken, turkey, game and other fowl meat. Their protein content percentage is 30 and a negligible amount of just 10 percent fat. Also, please make sure to get organic meat instead of packed and processed meat.
Fishes also contain a huge amount of important fats like MUFA and PUFA. They contain all the vital fatty acids and nutrients occuring from fatty acids. Fishes like Cod, Herring, Pollock, Salmon etc contain about 20-25% of protein. Tuna contains about 30% protein.0
2. Poultry/Egg
Eggs are the cheapest source of high quality protein. Two medium sized eggs have about 13-15 grams of protein. The egg yolk is pure fat but it is also packed in nutrients. You can even separate the yolk and only consume the white part(albumen). You’ll get over 90 percent of the total protein in the albumen. And egg white contains a negligible amount cholesterol and sodium, so, you can eat as many as you want basically.
3. Dairy
Dairy is another good source of complete proteins. Whey, milk, cheese, low-fat yogurt are all protein providers. Whey, specially, is the finest quality protein source. Whey is made by breaking the milk with calcium lactate or lemon. The solid white part is curd and the liquid is the whey. Whey protein is the main and mostly the only source of protein in almost all top protein powders. Whey is easy to digest and it gets absorbed with ease too.
Cheese also has a dense protein content. 100 grams of cheddar cheese has over 25 grams of protein. But cheese is very high in fat, so go for low fat cheese or goat milk cheese.
Milk itself is a complete drink, it has all the necessary nutrients. So is yogurt. It is naturally low in calories and fat. So, low calories yogurt is pretty much the perfect food.
4. Nuts
Almonds, peanuts, cashews have a very high amount of protein. Even though nut protein cannot be called complete protein, they are a pretty close substitute with the fact its portability. They can be carried in your pocket and eaten anywhere. Nuts are also a good source of dietary fiber as well. Nuts contain a lot nutrients as well. With some milk, they can make a great protein packed meal.
5. Seeds, grains and legumes
Seeds and grains like oats, rye, buckwheat, pumpkin seeds, red wheat, amaranth, barley have a good amount of protein. Especially oats, rye, red wheat and buckwheat have over 15% of protein.
Corn and beans are too high in protein and nutrients. Black beans, edamame,chick peas, kidney beans, pinto beans also have about 10% of protein.
Another exceptional source of protein is soybean. Soybean can have up to 50% of protein and almost 20% of the daily required dietary fiber. Soya milk can be consumed as a substitute for regular milk or skimmed milk.