Time to read : 5 min
5 important things you should know about proteins
Proteins are an essential nutrient for the body. Whether you want to lose weight, build muscles, or recover well after a workout, getting enough proteins plays a crucial role. While many people understand the importance of proteins, there is still some confusion and uncertainty surrounding this vital macronutrient.
In this article, we answer some common questions and discuss 5 things you should know about proteins.
1. Are Animal Proteins Better Than Plant Proteins?
When we talk about proteins, we're actually referring to amino acids. These amino acids are the building blocks of proteins and form the basis of our cells. While our body can produce some amino acids, there are 9 essential amino acids that it cannot make and must obtain through food.
Many of our daily foods contain protein. Animal products (eggs, dairy, meat, and fish) generally have more proteins and more essential amino acids than plant sources. There is often a misconception that plant proteins are not "complete" and do not contain all essential amino acids. However, this is not accurate.
Plant proteins do contain all amino acids, but in a different composition compared to animal proteins.
Animal proteins have a generous amount of essential and non-essential amino acids, while plant proteins often have fewer essential amino acids. For example, grains contain a lot of methionine and little lysine, and for (most) legumes, it's the opposite.
Exceptions include pea protein, hemp seeds, quinoa, and products made from soybeans (soy yogurt, soy milk, tofu, and tempeh). These are complete plant protein sources that, like meat and dairy, contain a high amount of essential amino acids. [1,2]
However, a combination of legumes (beans, lentils), whole grains, nuts, seeds, various vegetables, and mushrooms are also rich in proteins and provide all essential amino acids.
What matters is that you get enough proteins and supply your body with all essential amino acids, whether these amino acids come from animal or plant products doesn't matter.
2. How Many Protein Shakes Should I Take to Lose Weight?
Many people believe that drinking a protein shake will lead to weight loss. However, weight loss always revolves around a negative energy balance, where your body receives fewer calories daily than you burn.
Adding a protein shake is not a magical solution that automatically leads to weight loss and/or more fat burning.
However, a protein shake, protein bar, or protein-rich meal replacement can help you during weight loss. Proteins often provide good satiety for many people, and your body also expends more energy to burn proteins. As a result, you may feel less hungry and burn more calories. A protein shake is then an easy, tasty, and affordable source of proteins.
3. Is Protein Powder a Good Meal Replacement?
It's important to get the majority of your proteins from "real food" as much as possible. These (whole) foods not only contain proteins but also many other healthy nutrients.
If you replace an entire meal with a protein shake, you may indeed consume fewer calories quickly, but you also risk a deficiency in other nutrients.
If you still want to replace a whole meal, stick to one or two protein shakes per day and do not do this for more than a few weeks in a row. Alternatively, use our plant-based meal replacement shakes.
Our Orangefit Hero and Orangefit Diet are complete meal replacement shakes that contain not only proteins but also good carbohydrates, healthy fats, dietary fibers, and all vitamins and minerals.
4. Do You Get Fat from Too Much Protein?
Whether you gain weight or not is all about the energy balance. If you consume more calories daily than you need, your body will store this excess energy as fat.
It's important to know that this is about the total amount of calories, and it doesn't matter whether these calories come from fat, carbohydrates, or proteins.
5. Do More Proteins Lead to More Muscle Growth?
Proteins aid in the recovery and building of muscles (protein synthesis) after a workout.
The common belief, especially among many strength athletes, is that consuming more proteins leads to more muscle growth. However, this is not the case, and research also shows that eating more proteins (more than 1.8 grams per kilogram of body weight) will not result in more muscle growth.
Conclusion
- Fitblogs
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