Dietary sources of protein
Animal (food) products are rich sources of
.
Meat, milk and milk products, egg, poultry, and fish, contain balanced
level of
. Protein can also be obtained from plant
(vegetable) food items such as legumes (
, peas, beans etc.), and
nuts.
Some differences between animal protein and plant (vegetable)
protein are: (1) animal protein is generally associated with high fat
content and because of that, when consumed in large amounts, it is
attributed to high risks of diseases, including high blood pressure and
heart diseases; (2) animal protein has a balanced combination of all the
amino acids, hence it is called complete protein. To the contrary,
plant (vegetable) protein is incomplete, soybean protein is an exception to this. However,
even soy protein is deficient in methionine (an essential amino acid).
With vegeterian diet, to achieve a balanced amino acids intake, a
variety of plant protein sources need to be complemented with each other
in the diet. Incomplete protein is deficient in one or more of the
essential amino acids. Vegetable protein sources are also good sources
of dietary fiber
and generally low in low fat content, particularly saturated fats.
Protein Food Sources and Health
Benefit
There is an increasing evidence that a diet
mainly based on animal protein is associated with various diseases in
humans. High intake of animal protein increases total blood cholesterol,
low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol,
obesity, and risks of atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease. On
the other hand, many studies report that vegetable protein is associated
with low blood cholesterol and the low risk of the diseases
aforementioned. The negative association between excessive intake of
animal protein and diseases is possibly due to the fact that animal food
products are also high in fat content, particularly, saturated fat, and
also due to the physical and chemical nature of the animal protein.
A list of sample of high or low protein food
sources is below:
½ cup
14 g
½
cup legumes
7 g
2 ounce lean
meat, fish, poultry
14 g
1-2
ounces of nuts
14 g
1 slice of
bread
3 g
1 cup raw vegetables
2 g
List of more protein
sources:
Protein Related Articles:
.
.
