To build muscle, or even more important conserve muscle if you are trying to lose weight, eating foods high in protein is essential.  But to design your diet in the most efficient way, you want to add proteins to your diet without a lot of added fat, carbs, and calories.  Here is a list of foods that offer the highest ratio of protein to calories.

Lean Poultry and Fish

Skinless poultry and fish are excellent food sources of protein in comparison to the amount of calories they provide. For example, about 3.5 oz. of roasted light meat chicken offers 27g of protein and only 150 calories. Roasted chicken breast provides about the same amount of calories and protein. Breast meat from a roasted turkey, about 3.5 oz, is even lower in calories and higher in protein, offering 135 calories and 30g of protein. Less fatty fish offer a lot of protein per calorie. A 3-oz. portion of Atlantic baked cod offers about 90 calories and 19g of protein. The same amount of cooked king mackerel offers about 114 calories and 22g of protein. A 3-oz. portion of canned, water-packed light tuna offers 99 calories and 22g of protein.

Soy Foods

Soy protein isolate is pure soy protein powder. Most brands of soy protein isolate powder supplements provide 25g of protein and 95 calories per 1 oz., or 28g, of powder. Light firm tofu is also very low in calories but rich in protein. A 100-g serving, or about 3.5 oz., provides 8g of protein but only 55 calories. One slice of soy-based vegetarian meatloaf or patty (about 56g) offers approximately 12g of protein and only 110 calories. Vegetarian hot dogs or frankfurters provide 11g of protein for just under 75 calories for each link (about 57g). Textured vegetable protein (TVP), also known as “soy crumbles” when rehydrated, are rich in protein. On average, 2/3-cup offers about 10g of protein and 70 calories.

Dairy Products and Eggs

Nonfat dry milk powder is rich in protein but low in calories. For example, 1 oz., or 28g, which is enough to make one 8-oz. glass of fluid milk, offers 10g of protein for 99 calories. Nonfat yogurt, sweetened with a low- or no-calorie non-nutrative sweetener, on average offers about 100 calories and 10g of protein for an 8-oz. container. The amount of protein and calories varies by brand, flavor and type. Lowfat (1 percent milkfat) cottage cheese is a low-calorie, protein-rich food. A 4-oz. serving provides about 14g of protein yet only 80 calories. Other types of cheese are high in protein, but also very high in calories. One egg is the equivalent of 1 oz. of meat in the amount of protein it has. A whole egg provides about 7g of protein and about 80 calories. Most of the protein in an egg is in the white. So, dried egg whites are excellent, concentrated sources of protein. About 28g, or 1 oz., of dried, powdered egg white provides 23g of protein but only 107 calories.

Whey Protein

Whey protein powder which is derived from milk,  is widely used by athletes and body builders. It is a great source of quality protein that is easy to digest and is very low in fat.  A typical whey protein powder will contain about 23 grams of very high quality protein with only 120 calories.  Whey protein smoothies are a great way to build muscle, kill your appetite and lose weight.

For me, I cannot control my appetite without eating protein with virtually every snack and meal. Carbs only make me crave more carbs. When I am on my most efficient  healtjag, lots of protein is the key.

To comment on this post, click on the title, or email the author dennis@healthjag.com

Only 45 percent of 18,883 people (who were examined as part of the federal government’s National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey) had 30 nanograms per milliliter or more of vitamin D, the blood level a growing number of doctors consider sufficient for overall health. Scientists are now linking Vitamin D deficiency to a host of chronic diseases including osteoporosis, cancer and multiple sclerosis.  One of the leading sources of Vitamin D is sunlight, and many people in the U.S. are now avoiding exposure to the sun to reduce the chance of skin cancer, or are sunlight deficient in the winter months. Many people believe that since milk is fortified with Vitamin D, they receive the minimum government recommended daily allowance, but you would have to drink around a quart of milk a day to get that amount of Vitamin D from milk.  The U.S. government’s recommended daily allowance for Vitamin D for adults is only 400 IU,  and more and more scientists are recommending 1000 IU.  The only realistic method of obtaining this amount is through a dietary supplement.  My personal physician recommends this amount, and my informal survey of Vitamin D toxicity on the internet did not reveal any concerns about toxicity at this higher level.  I was not previously aware of how common deficiency is in this Vitamin, and the health concerns that result. My daily multi-vitamin provided 400 IU, but I am going to increase this to 1000 IU tomorrow.

To comment on this post, click on the title, or email the author dennis@healthjag.com

Drugstore.com is having a huge sale through August 28, 50%-70% off plus free shipping on selected items.

A survey conducted by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institute of Health concludes that Americans spend about $34 billion per year on alternative therapies that are not covered by insurance, things such as homeopathic medications and nutritional supplements (more details can be found at their website). This is approximately 11% of the total spent for ALL out of pocket health care in this country.  Unlike medications that are prescribed by physicans, this market is highly unregulated and most of these remedies have not undergone rigorous testing for efficacy or safety. Basically, our government is saying BUYER BEWARE for a huge percetage of our national health care costs. I don’t believe I have heard this mentioned at all in the debate over the President’s health care intiative.

Consumerlab.com, an organization that evaluates nutritional supplement and vitamin claims found that many multi -vitamins do not contain the quantities shown on their labels, may contain contaminants,  and in fact singled out 11 that were particularly bad. There is so little control over the labeling and manufacture of vitamins and supplements that you should only purchase known brand names.

Many health and medical professionals recommend supplementing your diet with fish oil and a low dosage of aspirin on a daily basis. I have added these supplements to my diet as my family has a history of heart disease. However, I have wondered whether the blood thinning effects of aspirin would be multiplied in an unsafe way by adding fish oil. Dr. William Harris, former professor of medicine at the University of Missouri-Kansas City and Director of Nutrition and Metabolic Diseases Research at the University of South Dakota Health Research Foundation has reviewed the medical literature for studies that relate to this issue and concludes that “omega-3 fatty acid supplements do not increase the risk for clinically significant bleeding, even in patients also being treated with anti-platelet or anti-thrombotic [blood-thinning] medications”.

I was happy to find this article because I have been trying to find an answer to this question for some time. You can read the details of the interview with Dr. Harris at Vitalchoice.com.

Americans ingest hundreds of millions of tons of soy annually in their diet. If you are NOT a soy eater, think again. Read the labels on all the processed foods in your pantry. I guarantee that you will find soy added to many if not most of these products. The agricultural industry along with the multi-national companies that supply the consumer products food industry have conspired to slip soy into almost all of our processed foods. We have been sold on this “healthy” protein supplement, but the facts about soy are very disturbing and have not been publicized. Continue reading »

                                                                    Metamucil is not just for grandpa anymore! Many of us have become wise to the health benefits of fiber in our diet but it’s difficult to eat enough raw fruits and vegetables to get our daily quota. Metamucil, the laxative of choice of our grandparents, has come up with a product that is great for our hectic lifestyle. If you’re looking for an easy way to add fiber to your diet, without changing the taste of many of your favorite beverages and foods, try Metamucil Clear & Natural.

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The French paradox is the observation over the centuries that even though the French consume a diet high in saturated fats, are crazy smokers, and Parisians are not known for their physical activity outside of the bedroom, they have a much lower incidence of coronary artery disease than Americans. The most recent explanation for this phenomenon is their consumption of red wine (although I don’t think we should discount the relationship of their bedroom activities to longevity ). Recently Dr. Oz, Oprah’s health guru, endorsed the dietary supplement resveratrol, the ingredient in red wine that is believed to be the source of these health benefits.  High doses of resveratrol have been linked to longevity and cancer prevention in species other than humans. Continue reading »

Baseball.

It’s as simple as that. We now have a consensus that the home run records of Barry Bonds, Mark McGuire and Sammy Sosa were fueled by steroids, the ultimate nutritional supplement. We also know that marginal major league baseball players and 45 year old pitchers have been catapulted to MVP performance levels by steroids.

I am not suggesting that steroids are a good thing, only that they demonstrate that we know for sure that certain nutritional supplements do have a dramatic effect on your body’s performance AND your health. Most of us want to take advantage of the health benefits that nutritional supplements can provide. The biggest concern is the unregulated nature of the supplement market. There is no guarantee that what the label says about those pills is actually what’s inside those pills.  Nor are there guarantees about ingredients or impurities not listed on the label. We don’t know for sure that they are effective or that the negative effects don’t outweigh the positive. There are hundreds of unregulated supplements advertised on the internet and I am sure that most of them are either useless or harmful. Continue reading »

Two years ago my sedentary lifestyle and poor diet left me unable to effectively fight the everyday battles that life brings.  It had sapped my physical energy levels, drained my  intellectual energy levels and affected my personal relationships. I felt that if I had totally lost control of everything in my life, and didn’t know how to regain it.  Many of the self-help books and tips that I read told me that control over your life is an illusion anyway so you have to learn to accept this reality.  But for a control freak, that is not an acceptable answer. I know that I can’t control how the economy is affecting my life, and I can’t control the choices that other people make that affect me.  But as I thought about it, I came to realize that there are a few things in my life that I can control. I CAN control the choices I make each day of what to put into my mouth, and the choices I make about my daily activities, and the choices I make about what I am thinking. And these choices have a major impact on the quality of my life, in spite of the fact that the rest of the universe seems indifferent to my existence. So I chose to end my crying jag and begin something more productive: a HealthJag. Continue reading »