The Importance of Protein
You don’t have to be health & wellness obsessed to know that high-protein diets are a hot topic. Regardless of the diet, the common thread they all have in common is that they’re high in protein!
But why is that?
Many will tell you it’s to keep body fat down & muscle mass up, which is true! But there’s more…
Protein has a 2 primary functions
body growth & repair
carrying out bodily processes
The function we’re most familiar with has to do with body growth & repair - aka muscle recovery post workout. But what I bet you didn’t know, is that body growth & repair doesn’t stop at muscle recovery! Protein can also help the body heal from an injury, cold, and/or an illness as well as helping to improve gut health & build hormones.
When we say bodily processes, this is talking about digestion (hellooo digestive enzymes!) AND helping to build our immune system!
Now, a secondary function of protein that is often-times treated like a primary function, is that protein can provide us with energy. While this is true, it’s only true when we don’t have enough fat or carbohydrates available.
While this might sound great, once the body has reached a point where it needs to use protein for energy, it is likely under a high amount of stress which can result in inflammation, an increased risk of injury, & potentially a loss of muscle mass (b/c muscle is made of protein), so even though we’re commonly told to eat protein for energy, I would recommend against it & rely more on carbohydrates & fats, which are much more efficient sources!
This tells us that, while protein is SUPER important & I don’t think most people get enough, prioritizing getting enough carbohydrates & fats is also crucial for good health as they not only provide us with a solid source of energy, but they also round out our diets & help ensure we get sufficient amounts of various vitamins & minerals which are important for supporting our overall health!
