Nutrition Bite

PROTEIN

Protein is an important part of an athlete’s diet. It helps to rebuild tissue that has been broken down such as muscle after exercise. For many people a normal diet can be enough for getting the recommended amount of protein but for athletes there is a higher need which sometimes requires added protein to the diet. The recommendations for protein intake are between 1.2 and 2g/kg of body weight for athletes. With this there are many places you can get protein from in your diet including meats, fish, vegetables, dairy products and lentils. It is also important to mix up the types of proteins you eat and get both animal and plant proteins.
With regards to exercise it is important to make sure there is an intake of protein immediately following exercise to start the refueling process. There has also been recent research saying that protein during exercise, as well as after, can lead to even better training results.
Below are some protein contents of common foods.


Food Sources

Protein (g)
Egg White, 3g
Beef, Roast 4 oz, 30g
Chicken Breast 4 oz, 30g
Tuna 1 can, 30g
Nuts 1 oz, 6g
Lentils 1/2 cup, 7g
Peanut Butter 2 tbsp, 9g
Cheese, American 1 slice, 6g
Milk 1 cup, 6g
Yogurt 6 oz, 6g
Cottage Cheese 1/2 cup, 15g
Rice 1/3 cup dry, 4g
Oatmeal 1/2 cup dry, 5g
Peas 1/2 cup, 2g
Carrots 1/2 cup, 2g
Corn 1/2 cup, 2g
Potato, 2g