We hear a lot about protein in the sustainable foods industry – some products are called alternative proteins, after all — but how important are proteins to our diet, really? Turns out, pretty important.
First, let’s define proteins and their functions, and then we’ll get more information from an expert.
As Dr. Costa explained so well earlier this month, proteins are strings of amino acids that our bodies break down and then put back together or repurpose. Health class in middle or high school may have taught us to think of proteins like Lego blocks, building and repairing our bodies’ tissues.
Proteins also play many other roles in our bodies’ functioning, though:
We sat down recently with ESA Chief Science Officer, Dr. Mervyn de Souza to ask a few more questions, and his answers were, as always, illuminating.
The Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for protein is a modest 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight. Most people get more than enough protein.
To determine your daily protein intake, you can multiply your weight in pounds by 0.36. For a 50-year-old woman who weighs 140 pounds and who is sedentary (doesn’t exercise), that translates into 53 grams of protein a day.
An example might be: 3 oz steak (26g), one egg (6g), 6 oz of Greek yogurt (18g) and half a cup of green peas (4g) per day. That would easily take care of her protein needs for the day.
Age, gender and activity level can all move the needle in one direction or another, but that formula gives a good ballpark number to aim for.
I believe that in the end, it’s the flexitarians who will win and who will save the day and the planet!
Dr. Mervyn de Souza
Yes, we need protein with every meal since there is limited absorption of protein at any one time. In fact, it’s important to spread out the intake to ensure sufficient and efficient uptake and utilization of protein by the body.
I believe that in the end, it’s the flexitarians who will win and who will save the day and the planet! Having viable, affordable nutritional options for various dietary preferences/requirements seems to be a logical outcome from the explosion of research and innovation in the plant based and alternative protein space. That might be fungi, insects, precision fermentation, plants etc.
Having nutritious and affordable options is also critical when thinking globally beyond just the western world and people with disposable income – we need to democratize good nutrition for all!
Insects have gained more traction as food in Latin America and Africa, where there are fewer cultural barriers and less hesitancy. Insects offer such great nutrition, sustainability, and ease of harvest. In America, I hear conversations at some large food manufacturers, not about developing insect products for scaled-up human consumption, yet, by any means, but conversation. I don’t see crickets on American restaurant menus any time soon, but insects as feed, for farm-raised fish and animals, are projected to be commercialized by 2024 or thereabouts.
Also on the horizon, cellular agriculture will mean meat that’s exactly the same as the original cell source, without killing the animal and the multitude of associated environmental impacts. We can expect it to have the same amounts and kinds of protein as conventional animal meat, and our bodies to treat it the same.
That being said, what matters most is that we stop thinking about “get more protein” as “eat more meat.” Beef, poultry, and pork (as well as milk, cheese, and eggs) provide high-quality protein, but so can many plant foods — including whole grains, beans and other legumes, nuts, and vegetables.
We also have to consider the protein “package” — the fats, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients that invariably come along with protein. Plants provide holistic benefits and balance in our diets – fiber, micro-nutrients, antioxidants etc. I had started using the phrase, “We need to put the plant back in plant-based foods,” and now I’m glad to hear it from multiple sources.
We can only absorb and access a limited amount of protein at a time so piling it on at any one meal just means that a lot of it goes to waste or gets converted into ammonia (creating alkaline conditions) in the gut which has adverse repercussions. That’s another reason to spread protein consumption out, throughout the day, rather than waiting to have protein just at dinner.
Dietary diversity also really matters when it comes to various nutritional sources of protein and of our entire diets. Without a diverse food source, it’s impossible to have a diverse microbiome population. There is a direct link from a varied diet to gut microbiome diversity, which is critical for our good health and wellbeing.
Thank you so much, Dr. de Souza!
Next time, Dr. de Souza will discuss gut pH (alkaline/acidic) and how it influences the microbiome – the probiotics, prebiotics and postbiotics that we hear about but might not fully understand.
Dr. de Souza is a passionate global business leader, with a unique combination of commercial and technical experience. He is Chief Science Officer at ESA, and you can find him on LinkedIn.