6 Health Benefits of a High Protein Diet

We all know to watch the number of calories we take in or the salt and sugar levels of our foods, however, we don’t always pay such close attention to our protein requirements. Discover why you need to prioritise protein in your meals with our guide on the top 6 health benefits of having a high protein diet.

Why is a high protein diet so important for healthy muscles?

Getting enough protein can help support a healthy metabolism and reduce your appetite, therefore it can also help you lose body fat without losing muscle. Protein is also generally considered to be a very filling or satisfying food therefore having more protein in your diet can help reduce hunger levels as well as increasing muscle mass and strength. However every body is different and the amount of protein required varies. It is worth noting that 1g of protein has 4 calories.

  1. What are the health benefits of eating protein?

We all know there are great benefits to be had from consuming a high protein diet. Some of the main benefits of adding protein into your diet include:

  1. Reducing Body Fat
  2. Repair
  3. Immune Function
  4. Hormones
  5. Enzymes
  1. Reducing Body fat

When your body consumes food, it uses calories to help digest and metabolise that food. The benefit of consuming more protein for weight loss is that it uses up more calories to digest and metabolise than consuming carbs.

  1. Supports Muscle Repair

If you have recently encountered an injury, it is worth noting that protein can have a direct impact on healing and repairing the body. Protein helps your body to repair damaged tissues.  So the lack of protein will call for a slower, less efficient healing rate within your body. You can easily up your intake of protein by changing what’s on your plate and adding in our Clean Cut Meals Protein Add ons.

  1. Aids Immune Function

A lack of protein in your diet can eventually have an impact on your immune system and will ultimately weaken your immune system. The immune system is already made up of proteins and needs more proteins to be produced in order to function efficiently.

  1. Supports Hormones

Hormones are chemical messengers that have a major impact on your mental, physical, and emotional health. Hormones are involved in controlling your appetite, weight, and mood.

Usually, our body is very efficient at producing the correct amount of hormones required to stay healthy, however sometimes our diet, age and lifestyle can negatively impact our bodies natural hormone environment. A healthy and nutritious diet and lifestyle is very important – if your diet is deficient in protein it lacks the supplies required to build and support hormones in your body.

  1. A great source of enzymes

Enzymes are vital for our everyday health! Without them our body could not react quick enough to function and keep us alive. Enzymes are essentially proteins that work to speed up or reduce the rate of a specific chemical reaction in your cells. During this process the enzyme is not destroyed and is in fact reused over and over again.

 Common questions on a high protein diet.

Do I need to eat protein every day?

Our bodies need protein every day, as protein is made up of amino acids which are considered a macronutrient and our bodies need large amounts of it to stay healthy. A high protein diet is crucial for fighting infections and helping to maintain healthy cells and generate new cells. It is particularly important to increase your intake of protein if you are training as your body uses up amino acids to repair damaged cells and grow new muscle tissue.

How much protein should I eat?

The Mayo Clinic recommends that approximately 10 – 35% of your daily calories should come from protein. Therefore if you require 2,000 calories per day you should consume 200-700 (or  50-175g) calories from protein ( Mayo Clinic Protein Article).

What are the best sources of protein?

You can find protein in a wide variety of foods, and our chefs at Clean Cut Meals always include the highest levels of the best sources of protein in every meal on our menu. Some good sources of protein include fish, poultry, lean meat, eggs and dairy. Ideally you should be consuming protein from a wide range of sources.

Our Chicken Satay with Noodles which has 55.5g of protein per serving, and our Veggie Katsu Curry which has 35g of protein per serving, are an easy way to incorporate more protein to your diet. Along with our protein plus packs that contain protein only food such as Cajun Salmon, Chicken Goujons and Turkey Meatballs.

Ensuring you obtain protein from a wide range of sources is the healthiest option, having a mix of plant sources and lean meats and dairy are recommended.

Why not take a look at our wide range of high protein meal plans, to ensure your body gets the fuel it needs every day. Order your meal plan today!

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