Importance Of a Diet
Many people think of diet, and immediately think of not eating for long periods of time. Others think of having a diet as being bound to only a certain number of foods for a certain amount of time. However, having a truly healthy diet means being able to balance food in-take, as well as making sure the daily calorie intake is at least 2,000. There are many people who say they are on a diet yet make absolutely no progress whatsoever. However, that is because they skip one of the most important aspects of having a diet, protein.
Protein in Healthy Diets
People seem to forget the importance of protein in a healthy diet. It is responsible for many things throughout the body. “Protein is also a critical part of the processes that fuel your energy and carry oxygen throughout your body in your blood. It also helps make antibodies that fight off infections and illnesses and helps keep cells healthy and create new ones,” according to WebMD.
Therefore, it is clear that without the necessary amounts – which is around 10% to 40% of total calorie intake — the human body will not be functioning the correct way. This can lead to several health issues, that can end up becoming fatal.
Animal or Plant-based Protein?
This then raises the issue of whether animal protein should be consumed, or plant based. When it comes to animals, certain animals may contain a great amount. However, there is always a downside.
“It’s important to think about the protein ‘package’ when making protein choices because food containing protein also includes fats, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, sugar, sodium, additives, and other components,” according to Harvard Health. Therefore, being able to create a diet that takes all of these factors into consideration, will determine how “healthy” the diet is.
Therefore, many dieticians will advise to eating plant-based, as they seemingly focus on only protein.
What Are the Best Sources of Protein?
Now that the importance of protein in a healthy diet has been established, it is time to list which are the best sources of it in a diet. “Getting enough protein daily is essential for your overall health. Healthy protein sources include eggs, nuts, lean meats, fish, dairy, and certain grains,” according to Healthline.
These are not the only sources of protein that exist in the world. There are many different sources of it, it is just very important to balance it out with the rest of the diet.
The Future of Protein in a Healthy Diet
It is without question that within the near future, there may be more done to enhance, and maintain, a healthy diet. As it can be very hard at times with all the different additives that are in certain foods. There clearly needs to be something done to address this issue. Additionally, since these are the only foods that are accessible in low-income areas, there needs to be a cheaper, more affordable option that can help people that struggle with their diet.
All-in-all, it is very important to maintain a healthy protein induced diet. Otherwise, there essentially would be no point to maintain one. Without it, many vital organs would begin to fail, and many more health problems would arise. This would happen even if you already had a good diet, since it is just that important.
Therefore, implementing it in future diets is a must if maintaining a healthy diet is an end-goal. Only time will tell if there will be anything done to enhance protein intake for people that find it difficult to maintain a strict diet.
Written by David Loran Jr
Sources:
Harvard Health: High-protein foods: The best protein sources to include in a healthy diet
Healthline: 16 Delicious High Protein Foods
WebMD: Benefits of Protein
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Inset Image Courtesy of Horrace’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License