Adding protein to my diet

[Kungfu boy]

Hi All,

I am looking to add more protein to my diet. I already eat alot of tuna(like a can a day) but I am also looking for other "fast meals" to have. I know there is nothing faster than popping open a can of tuna but you know what I mean. Anybody have ideas, or maybe just food in general that has alot of protein to it?

Strangely enough, a can of chili has like 16grams of protein. I thought it was on the "no" side for sure. Just to add(and avoid being mentioned) I do stray away from all workout supplements, per doctors orders. I am epeleptic are some things just don't mix good. (And yes that does mean whey/creatine powders, I know because I specifically asked)

Thanks Guys

[Ras-Tanu]

Hi kfb,

You can get protein from other stuff like chicken, fish, turkey, skim milk, egg whites, steak, natural peanut butter, cottage cheese...

Pb and cottage cheese are good if u need something quick.

Side Question: : I've heard a few people say that eating too much tuna can be bad for your health because of the levels of mercury found in the fish; does this have any truth to it?? Anyone have any info on this? :confused:

[ged]

try milk - here in australia, the milk with the most protein has an almost equal amount of fat - full cream milk. also, i eat a lot of cheese - surprisingly, the 'low fat' cheese has about 6g of protein a slice. so, when i eat a couple of slices every few hours, it adds up to a fair bit.

[Chum Kil]

Try the chicken in the can, the all white meat is the best IMHO. The cost is about $1.99 per can though. My friend got mercury poisoning from eating too much tuna, not really sure how much he ate per day though. The only suggest I would make is try to vary the things you eat everyday, so not to get burnt out.

[madhusudan]

canned white meat chicken has been mentioned. look into all the canned meats. i like canned salmon&balsamic vinegar on a lettuce leaf. very tasty. yes chili's ok, but in addition check out all the varieties of beans w/ brown rice. the protein in milk&dairy is easily digested and used by the body. im sure others have more advice

[monkey mind]

I'll sercond the call for beans & brown rice. I cook a big pot of each on Sunday & then heat 'em up for quick meals throughout the week. As far as grains go, quinoa & amaranth are the most concentrated sources of protein. Again, I cook up a big batch, make a kind of salad w/ veggies & beans, & eat throughout the week (and chicks dig the quinoa salad:cool: ). Yogurt is a good bet too, not just protein but friendly bacteria for the gut - just make sure your yogurt has live cultures in it.

[rubthebuddha]

nuts.

i keep a jar of nuts (usually peanuts) in my desk. 7g of protein for a handful, and most of the fat in nuts is good for you.

[Qi dup]

Beef jerky. Be sure to have a lot of tooth pics.

[IronFist]

Originally posted by rubthebuddha
nuts.

i keep a jar of nuts (usually peanuts) in my desk. 7g of protein for a handful, and most of the fat in nuts is good for you.

Keep in mind that only 50% of peanut protein is usable so if you eat enough peanuts to get 7g according to the label, your body will only use about 3.5g of the protein.

Peanuts are good for other reasons, though, like essential fatty acids. (edit: duh, you just said that. I missed it the first time I read your post. Oops :) )

Strangely enough, a can of chili has like 16grams of protein

Hmm. I know Turkey chilli (the only kind I eat) has 16g of protein PER SERVING, which makes an entire can have 32g. Go check your label again cuz there might be twice as much protein in it as you think. :) See how much protein per serving, and then how many servings per can to see how much is in the can.

Side Question: : I've heard a few people say that eating too much tuna can be bad for your health because of the levels of mercury found in the fish; does this have any truth to it?? Anyone have any info on this?

Yeah, they were just talking about it on the news again last night. Tuna, Swordfish, and two others I can't remember have too much mecury and you shouldn't eat them more than once a week or so.

Instead of cans of tuna, try cans of pink salmon. No mercury, and in my opinion, it tastes better, too. It's a little more expensive, tho. I like chicken of the sea brand.

IronFist

[ged]

hang on, so not all protein listed in foods can be absorbed? and it differs from food to food? what about chicken, tuna, beef, etc?

madhusudan, milk's protein is mostly all used?

i'm worried about my mercury levels too, i usually eat a can of tuna a day.

does the protein absorbing thing have anything to do with the way proteins are denatured with heat? im doing biology at uni, and we got told the other day that's why ppl eat raw eggs for protein, cuz if you cook them all the proteins unravel, and stick together, forming the hard stuff.

just checked a can of tuna's ingredients - it listed sodium and potassium, but no mercury. would that be because sodium and potassium are good for you (are they?) but mercury isn't?

[Wu Wei]

definitely have less tuna here people. Some companies are worse than others but you'll never have mercury free tuna, so excess is bad no matter what. You should have 3 or maybe 4(at most) cans per week. I personally would never go over three.

I love chicken for protein because its simply a healthy food and tastes great. plus, once you know what the beef industry does to the environment it seems like a worse choice.
Nuts are great (I love almonds but theyre expensive) and sunflower seeds are pretty good too.

Try not to become excessive with milk products and definitely not with red meats. I try to stick only to fish and chicken.

thats my view on protein. but im scrawny, what do i know?

[PLCrane]

My understanding (based on old informations) is that your body uses amino acids in a particular proportion. If you eat animal proteins, you're consuming close to the proportions that you need, so it all gets used. If you eat plant proteins, the amino acid balance is different, there may only be smaller amounts of some amino acids (like lysine, for instance), and that would limit how much of the others you could use.

According to this theory, you can mix plant foods that have complementary amino acid profiles, and get a more complete protein. Rice and beans complement each other, sesame seeds and chick peas (garbonzo beans) complement each other, and there are some other classic combinations that I don't remember now.

Someone please correct me if this is outdated info.


Mercury is not listed on the tuna can because it's not one of the ingredients that they added. It's a component of one of the ingredients, and they aren't required to list the components of the ingredients. Pretty tricky, eh?

[IronFist]

Originally posted by ged
hang on, so not all protein listed in foods can be absorbed? and it differs from food to food? what about chicken, tuna, beef, etc?


Right. I forgot the exact numbers, except I'm 99% sure that peanuts are only 50% usable. Ok, I think I remember from the chart that an egg is at the top, with 100% usability (if that's a word). Chicken, steak, and fish were all pretty high too, like 80-90 or something. I figure that's high enough that I don't have to worry about it. I'm moving into an apartment, but when I get the chance I'll look up the info again and post it here.


does the protein absorbing thing have anything to do with the way proteins are denatured with heat? im doing biology at uni, and we got told the other day that's why ppl eat raw eggs for protein, cuz if you cook them all the proteins unravel, and stick together, forming the hard stuff.

I have no idea. Diet and biology aren't my area of expertise.


just checked a can of tuna's ingredients - it listed sodium and potassium, but no mercury. would that be because sodium and potassium are good for you (are they?) but mercury isn't?

I think PLCrane's reply is correct. Not sure tho. But I heard on the news that a bunch of people in Japan got really sick from eating all this fish with mercury in it.

IronFist

[monkey mind]

2 quick comments: the enviornmental effects of poultry farms are horrendous. In fact, any industrial agricultural product, whether it's meat or a plant, is a bad choice on environmental grounds. If you want to do the best thing for your body and the planet, EAT ORGANICALLY PRODUCED FOODS.

As far as combining veggie foods to get "complete" protein goes, that's what I've always heard too, until recently. According to "Healing with Whole Foods" by Paul Pitchford (an excellent book in my opinion), the research suggesting that veggie foods need to be combined to supply adequate amino acids is decades old and based on a study of rat nutrition & metabolism. Pitchford claims that more recent studies of, get this, humans indicates that veggie foods need not be combined to meet protein needs. A varied diet based on veggie foods is recommended for many reasons (micronutrients, avoiding build-up of particular toxins, more enjoyment out of eating, etc), but not necessarily because of our protein requirements.

[monkey mind]

And one more plug for quinoa: I just checked & ounce for ounce, quinoa has nearly the same protein content as red meat. Check it out. :)

[Qi dup]

Originally posted by IronFist


Ok, I think I remember from the chart that an egg is at the top, with 100% usability (if that's a word).

It sure as hell is!