Building and maintaining muscle is a key component in staying fit and maximizing your sports performance. The main ingredient in your muscle building efforts is going to be protein, and more specifically lean protein. Today we will examine some top protein sources and why you should incorporate them into your diet.
Tuna
For my money, and taste-buds, for that matter, fresh tuna is one of the best proteins out there. Besides it being extremely delicious, 100 grams of fresh tuna (about 3.5 oz) is packed with 27 grams of high quality, lean protein. I prefer eating it raw to maintain the essential unsaturated fatty acids (omega 3) which are good for your heart and can lower cholesterol levels. Good alternatives are salmon or mackerel. If you are on the go, canned products like tuna or sardines also pack in the protein and are great for post workout fuel.
Chicken Breast
Boiled or grilled, white meat chicken is hands down one of the highest sources of quality protein out there. It packs in up to 45 grams of protein per 150 gram portion. Chicken breast obviously has minimal fat, depending on how you cook it, so you need to supplement your meal with a source of unsaturated fat (olive or flax seed oil). Dark meat chicken is also high in protein, but also contains more fat too.
Cottage Cheese
Diary is the ‘mother’s milk’ of protein, but you need to be cautious in what you pick, as not all dairy products have the best protein to fat ratios. Cottage cheese has the highest ratio of protein per volume, with about 31 grams per cup of 2% milk fat product. I like pairing cottage cheese with acidic fruits such as pineapple, as it makes a delicious snack. Ricotta cheese is also very high in protein, but can be more challenging to incorporate into your diet. Make sure you stick with low milk fat products to keep overall fat intake under control.
Chicken Eggs
The incredible, edible egg. Prepackaged in a sturdy shell, this fantastic source of high quality protein contains about 6 grams per egg. Eggs place high because of the variety of ways in which they can be consumed. Fried, scrambled, boiled, poached, or combined in other recipes, eggs are easy to consume. Again, make sure you are monitoring the fat intake, as it is easy to sneak in some butter or cheese and blow your daily fat threshold.
Whey Protein
Little Miss Muffet sat on her tuffet, chugging a protein shake. Ok, that’s not how the rhyme goes, but it should. Whey is a by-product of the cheese making process. Whole milk contains about 87% water and 13% milk solids. These solids are comprised of 30% fat, 37% lactose, 6% minerals, and 27% protein. This protein is made up of 80% casein and 20% whey. The ‘curds’, or solids, in Miss Muffet’s bowl are the casein product, and the liquid is the ‘whey’ part.
Whey protein is consumed naturally in many dairy foods, but the best consumption is a whey protein concentrate product, such as protein powder or other nutritional supplements. The amount of protein varies in these products, but they generally contain 25-30 grams of protein per serving.
While last on my list here, Whey Protein is actually a top choice as it contains all the essential amino-acids that are necessary for building muscle. It is also low in fat and can be consumed in a shake or other liquid, making it the ultimate portable protein source. Remember, the athletic individual should be consuming approximately one gram of high quality protein per pound of body-weight per day in order to maintain or improve muscle mass.
Good luck with your training, and good eating!
