Tip Of The Week: Healthy Eating

 

Healthy eating tip 8: Put protein in perspective

Protein provides us energy we need to get up and go—and keep going. While too much protein can be harmful to individuals with kidney problem, recent research suggests that most of us need more high-quality protein, especially as we age.

How much protein do you need?

Protein needs are based on weight rather than calorie intake. Adults should eat at least 0.8 grams of high-quality protein per kilogram (2.2lb) of body weight per day.

• Older adults should aim for 1 to 1.5g of lean protein for each kilogram of weight. This translates to 68 to 102g of protein per day for a person weighing 68kg.
• Split your protein intake equally among meals.
• Nursing women need about 20g more high-quality protein a day than they did before pregnancy to support milk production.

How to add high-quality protein to your meals

• Eat plenty of fish, chicken and plant-based protein such as beans, soy, and nuts.  
• Replace processed carbohydrates from pastries, cakes, cookies, pizza and chips with fish, chicken, dairy, beans, peas, nuts, seeds, tofu, and soy products.
• Snack on seeds and nuts and instead of chips, go for Greek yogurt instead of baked dessert, or replace slices of pizza for a grilled chicken breast and a side of beans.