Protein is a very powerful part of a balanced diet. However, it is one of the more difficult things to put into our diets because of our busy life styles. Proteins come from things that need to be prepared on the stove, grill, or in the oven. Therefore we need preparation time which we typically have none of these days. Thank God for supplements!

Let me start by telling you what protein is and why it is so important to our diets. Protein comes from the Greek word meaning “of prime importance.” Protein is made up of 9 essential amino acids. Essential means that your body cannot make them on its own. You have to put these essentials into your body through your diet. Protein comes from meat sources, fish, and vegetable sources. The best protein for the human body to use is the egg. Of course the egg yolk is loaded with cholesterol and fat. So you should eat several egg whites and 1 yolk. Chicken, fish, and turkey are your leanest choices of meat proteins. Vegetable proteins come from beans and grains. Remember the closer you stay to the natural (God made) meat, grain or vegetable the better. Our bodies were not built to take in all the additives and preservatives that we take in today.

You ask. Why do we have to have protein? There are four very good reasons. First and foremost Protein supports your metabolism. We all know that our metabolism has everything to do with our weight loss. We need to increase our metabolism to burn calories. The reason protein supports metabolism is because protein is the building block of muscle growth. And the more muscle you have the more calories you can burn. Protein also helps stabilize energy levels because of its effects on insulin and blood sugar. With protein added to each meal you won’t get those real highs and real lows during the day. Last but not least protein satisfies your appetite. This is very important when you’re trying to lose weight. Have you ever had one of those days when you went from a sweet snack to a salty snack and back and forth never feeling like you found the thing to satisfy you? That’s because everything you ate was a carbohydrate there was no appetite satisfying protein!

Now how do we take protein in every meal and snack without carrying a cooler full of grilled fish or chicken with us everywhere we go? I have found that protein shakes and bars are very helpful when our life gets really busy. When buying a shake or a bar check the protein to carbohydrate ratio. There should be more protein than carbs. As a woman I look for at least 16–25 grams of protein to 15 or less carbs. For a man, 17-30 grams of protein and 25 grams of carbs. Now the bars typically have more calories than the shakes so the shakes are better if you are trying to lose weight. The bars would work better in the earlier part of your day. There’s a new supplement on the market that makes having your protein shake with you all the time easy.  It is called Gotein!  We love this new supplement because it is so easy to have everywhere you go and it is the perfect amount of protein for women, older people and young athletes!

Protein is so important that it should be part of every meal and snack you eat. Keep an eye on the “Meal Planning” section of our web site for recipes to help make the lean proteins more tasty and interesting. Our Eat Right Chef has many recipes for quick and easy ways to have protein ready for those “on the run” snacks and lunches. Also you can learn more about Gotein and purchase some if you want to try it by going to the “BT Shop” section of our web site. Remember protein helps build muscle and muscle burns more calories! Eat protein and start your metabolisms!