This is the 4th post covering the 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans key recommendations and how you can easily use them in everyday life!
A Key Recommendation of the Dietary Guidelines: ““A healthy eating pattern includes… a variety of protein foods, including seafood, lean meats and poultry, eggs, legumes (beans and peas), and nuts, seeds, and soy products.” The Guidelines strongly emphasize eating a variety of protein foods as their nutrient content varies.
Understanding proteins is important to understanding their place in diets: Proteins are created from amino acids (small molecules) linking together in chains. These protein chains make up our bodies, from our muscles to our skin to our bones. Without proteins, we are unable to grow or build muscle mass. Those who lack protein ,experience muscle loss, weakened immune systems, weakened
heart, and death.
Bodies are able to make amino acid chains, but these proteins are constantly broken down and need replaced. In addition, there are special proteins, called Essential Amino Acids which bodies cannot create and come from protein foods alone. Animal proteins (meat, poultry, dairy, eggs) contain all essential amino acids we need. Plant proteins (nuts & legumes) are missing at least one essential amino acid– which is why those who don’t consume animal products must be careful to eat a large variety of plant proteins.
While proteins are important, most Americans consume more than enough. Unless you don’t eat animal products, it is probably more important for you to focus on making smart protein decisions because many protein foods contain fat, calories, and cholesterol.
The Guidelines recommend
an adult with a 2,000 calories diet consume 5 1/2 ounce-equivalents of protein foods daily. “Ounce-equivalents” explains how much of a food counts toward 1 ounce worth of nutritional value. Different foods will count as “an ounce-equivalent” when different amounts are consumed. For example, 1 ounce of meat counts as an ounce-equivalent of protein; while 1 egg or 1/4 cup cooked beans count as ounce-equivalents. Myplate.gov has a full list of ounce-equivalents.
While important, the trick isn’t to constantly count ounce equivalents. Instead, focus on making smart protein decisions that keep protein’s associated unhealthy content low:
- Meat: Purchase naturally low fat meats. For example, ground sirloin is lower in fat than ground chuck. Likewise, skinless chicken breast is lower in fat than chicken legs, chicken thighs, or chicken breast with skin.
- Seafood: Eat 8 ounces of fish per week as they can help reduce the risk of heart disease.
- Eggs: Eat an egg a day! They provide valuable nutrients– and one egg a day doesn’t increase your bad cholesterol.
- Nuts & Beans: Choose “low-salt” or “no-salt added” versions to minimize sodium content.
Cook your proteins in smart ways!:
- Grilling and baking use little fat.
- When frying food, use heart-healthy oils, instead of butter.
Make dishes that combine meat with veggies. This will help fill you up and provide extra nutrients!- Season your proteins with herbs & spices(PDF) instead of salt!
- Cook with more beans as they are low in fat and high in fiber!
- Current research shows a link between the over-consumption of processed meat and colon cancer. So treat processed meat as an occasional treat.
- Protein is often still high in fat, cholesterol, and calories. So don’t overeat, and use these visual cues to help you know the proper serving sizes.
With these tips, making smart choices can be easy and delicious!
