Are you getting enough amino acids? Fun Fact: Peanut butter + whole wheat bread turns two incomplete proteins into a complete protein. It’s critical to make sure we’re getting enough nutrients during the day. That includes foods on the amino acid diet plan. Foods like beef, chicken, nuts/seeds, soybeans, and milk are all high-protein foods that are high-protein.
In recent years diets like Keto and Atkins have been trending as low-carb, high-fat diet programs. Don’t forget the protein! It’s the only macronutrient that’s about one-quarter of total calories on Keto. It’s critical to get protein from both animal and plant sources, in order to maintain a healthy and well-balanced diet. One of the main issues with the modern diet is it contains too much highly-processed food including processed/canned meats.
A diet plan is critical to help you stay on track. In fact, one of the reasons many people don’t maintain a healthy diet is they simply don’t do enough meal planning. It’s a lot easier to grab a burger & fries meal at lunch or eat a microwave pizza for dinner. However, such options tend to be loaded with unhealthy protein sources in addition to other unhealthy ingredients. Meal planning is a quick and easy fix.
What’s the Deal with Amino Acids?
It’s important for people to consume enough protein during the day. Can it involve too much of a good thing? Studies show that the average American eats 2x the daily requirement of protein. It’s better not to overdo it because eating too much protein can cause various health issues.
Another issue is protein quality. For example, sausage links, bacon strips, and pork rinds are all “Keto-friendly” since they’re low-carb and high-fat. However, they’re still all highly-processed food. This doesn’t mean you should never eat them. However, it’s critical to limit such foods since in a sense they’re not “real meat” like pork chops, beef tenderloin, and fish fillets.
Let’s get back to amino acids. There are 20 of them but we must get about half of them from food and supplements. That’s because the body doesn’t produce them. These 9 essential amino acids (EAAs) are “essential” because we absolutely, positively must get them from outside sources.
Supplements are one option. For example, in recent years protein powders have been trending. Most of these are “complete proteins” because they include enough of all the 9 EAAs we need in a day. That includes ones like Leucine, Isoleucine, and Valine, which are found in trending BCAA products.
One of the caveats about these supplements is that they’re not real food. As when getting other nutrients like vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants it’s better to get them from natural/whole foods. This helps to maximize the number of nutrients we get. The preparation/cooking process is also important for this process.
These real foods are better sources than supplements. The two main sources are animal proteins and plant proteins. For example, good animal proteins include beef, chicken, fish, eggs, and dairy. Then there are plant proteins like grains, nuts, seeds, beans, and peas. It’s ideal to get protein from both sources in order to maximize nutrient intake.
Amino Acid Diet Plan
Do you want to boost your protein intake? If so then it’s critical to pick high-protein/amino sources including:
There are other options like chickpeas, kidney beans, and green beans. The main benefit of soybeans is it’s one of the small numbers of plant-based “complete” proteins due to the amount of one particular amino.
Protein makes up one-third of soybean’s calories. You also get other nutrients like vitamins, minerals, and fiber. Health experts recommend eating beans or peas every day.
This is one of the most overlooked protein sources. It has an interesting texture between yogurt and soft cheese. Cottage cheese is high-protein and low-fat. You also get lots of nutrients like Vitamin B12, calcium, and phosphorous. You can also prepare easy dishes like a side dish of cottage cheese.
This is easily one of the best high-protein superfoods. It’s loaded with nutrients like protein, healthy fat, vitamins/minerals, and antioxidants. You can also prepare it in so many ways like frying, boiling, microwaving, poaching, and even uncooked if you don’t mind the salmonella risk.
Fun Fact: Over one-third of a whole egg’s calorie content is protein. You can get 6g of protein from a large egg and most of the egg white is protein.
The operative word is “lean” for a higher protein/amino count. It’s also high in other nutrients like Vitamin B12 and others. However, protein is the main nutrient and it makes up around half of the meat’s calories. One serving provides a whopping 22g of protein.
This variety has a thicker texture than regular dairy products. Like regular yogurt, you can boost the nutrients with fresh fruit, almonds, seeds, etc. Protein makes up about half the food’s calories. You also get 100 calories and 17g of protein from a small yogurt container.
More High-Protein Foods
Whole grains, in general, are good sources of protein, and this is one of the best options. Oatmeal is loaded with various nutrients. Besides the protein, you also get lots of vitamins/minerals like Vitamin B1, manganese, magnesium, and fiber. These are all nutrients people need on a daily basis.
You can get 13g of protein from raw oats. If you want the healthiest option go with oat “groats,” which are the only real whole grain oatmeal. Another plus of oatmeal is that it’s easy to add other ingredients like fruit, seeds, nuts, protein powder, and milk.
Make sure to go with skinless chicken breast if you want high-protein and low-fat. Even if you consume the skin it’s still low-fat compared to other chicken parts and animal meats. In one chicken breast protein makes up a sky-high 80% of calories. You also get 53g of protein from a skinless piece.
If you want the most nutrients then go with full-fat milk. It provides benefits like more healthy fats and a metabolism boost. We often think of milk as being a high source of calcium and Vitamin D. However, it’s also in other nutrients like protein and fat. It’s also easy to add to many kinds of foods including whole-grain cereals.
There are several options including walnuts, cashews, and pistachios. Fun Fact: Macadamia nuts are the most expensive tree nuts due to the complex processing involved. Almonds are one of the most popular nuts on the market.
Here’s why you should consider them. Protein makes up about 15% of the total calories. You can get 6gh of protein from one serving of almonds. It’s somewhat high in calories but these are “good” calories. You’re also getting a good amount of healthy fat, vitamins/minerals, and fiber from the food on an amino acid diet plan.