Protein PowerPHYSICAL WELLNESS SEGMENT: PROTEIN... A BASIC BUILDING BLOCK PART 2

posted by Kashi
http://www.kashi.com/articles/protein_power


Protein Power

You have probably heard about high-protein diets or maybe you have actually tried one. All kinds of protein-focused diet books are available promising weight loss based on different menus and diet plans. Typically, most of these books are based on the author’ own experiences or theories without any real scientific support. However, science is proving that there may be some benefit in eating a higher-protein diet. Research over the past several years has shown that protein may help with weight loss and improve risk markers for cardiovascular disease. Additionally, soy protein has gained attention for its own potential health benefits.

Benefits of high-protein diets

Studies suggest that protein actually helps you feel fuller longer. This can help to decrease the amount of calories you consume throughout the day. Several studies were able to demonstrate not only a decrease in hunger and total calories consumed but also that high-protein diets can facilitate weight loss. Experts believe this is partly due to an increase in thermogenesis, meaning the body burns more calories just to digest higher-protein foods. Additionally, the higher-protein diets favorably impacted cardiovascular health by promoting healthy blood lipid levels, including increasing HDL cholesterol (the good cholesterol). It is important to realize however, that these studies used lean protein sources and replaced high-fat or highly refined carbohydrates. Simply eating more high-fat protein foods will not help you to achieve the beneficial effects mentioned here. So what is a higher-protein diet? Well, there is no regulated, defined term; however, researchers have seen results with diets containing 25 to 30% of calories from protein.

Increase your protein in a healthy way

For example, a higher-protein diet may look something like this: 45% carbohydrate, 25% protein, and 30% fat. For a 2,000-calorie diet this would translate into 225 grams of carbohydrate, 125 grams of protein, and 67 grams of fat each day. Here are some tips to help you increase your protein intake in a healthy way:

• Replace refined carbohydrate snacks with whole grain snacks providing at least 3 grams of protein.
• Eat lean protein sources such as beans, nuts, seeds, low-fat and nonfat dairy products, fish, and lean poultry.
• Replace fatty fried foods such as french fries with lean protein sources such as beans.
• Replace spreads such as mayonnaise and butter with protein-containing spreads like all-natural peanut and almond butters.

What about soy protein?

There are now all kinds of soy products available. You may have heard or read about the benefits of working soy into your diet. The news is based on recent studies that suggest soy protein may promote cardiovascular health, bone health, and may even reduce the risk of certain types of cancer. In fact, soy protein helps lower cholesterol so predictably that in 1999 the Food and Drug Administration approved the following health claim for food labels:

As part of a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol, 25 grams of soy protein a day may reduce the risk of heart disease.

Soy protein is also currently being studied for its potential to help with a variety of diseases and conditions, some of which include weight management, diabetes, kidney disease, and women’ health issues. There are several ways to increase your soy protein intake:

• Look for soy-containing snack foods and cereals.
• Try soy milk with your morning whole grain cereal.
• Make fruit smoothies with tofu and top with a soy-containing cereal.
• Snack on soy nuts, which come in several varieties including honey roasted.

Foods	Protein content
Kashi GOLEAN Cereal	13 g / ¾ cup
Kashi GOLEAN bars	8–13 g/bar
Ostrich	10 g/oz
Soybeans (dry)	10 g/oz
Milk	8 g/cup
Beef	7 g/oz
Cheese (such as cheddar)	7 g/oz
Egg (large)	7 g/egg
Fish	7 g/oz
Peanuts	7 g/oz
Poultry	7 g/oz
Lentils (dry)	6.5 g/oz
Almonds	6 g/oz (23 kernels)
Red beans	6 g/oz
Cashews	5 g/oz
Baked potato (medium)	4 g/oz
Bread	3 g/slice
Vegetables	2 g/ ½ cup

USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, Release 18 (2005)

PHYSICAL WELLNESS SEGMENT: PROTEIN... A BASIC BUILDING BLOCK PART 1

Written By Monica Rowland

In order to kick of the Physical Wellness Segment this month, I thought we could start out talking about some key nutritional basics. Protein has had both good and bad press in the last ten years, with people yo yo-ing back and forth between high protein, and low fat diets.

Let me start off by saying that protein is a basic building block in our bodies. We need it to build healthy muscle and tissue, as well as for other important bodily functions. Fat is also a basic building block, and is important to ingest, as long as it is the right kind of fat. We need it to metabolize certain foods, as well as; move them through our digestive system. Depriving ourselves or overwhelming our bodies with either of these important nutrients can be detrimental to our health; and is not in keeping with a balanced body.

Below is an article talking about the basics of Protien, and how we should use it to maintain a proper balance nutritionally.

posted by Kashi
http://www.kashi.com/articles/protein_basics

Proteins are truly amazing nutrients because they are involved in just about everything that happens to your body. About 15% of your body is made up of protein, most of which is in your muscles. However, there are different types of proteins throughout the body, such as enzymes, hormones, immune factors, and blood-clotting factors. Proteins also help regulate fluid balance (how much water your body stores), your ability to see, and your acid-base balance (the pH of your blood). They also provide energy when necessary at 4 calories per gram. See, we told you they were important!

Amino acids

Protein is made up of individual building blocks called amino acids. There are 20 different amino acids the body uses to make various proteins. However, the body itself can make about 11 of these amino acids, leaving 9 that we must get from food. These remaining 9 are called essential amino acids, meaning it is essential that we get them from our diet.

Calling amino acids the building blocks of proteins is an understatement. Your body arranges the 20 different amino acids in an almost infinite number of configurations to form proteins. It's the configuration that ultimately determines the role and function of each protein. And if the amino acids are arranged incorrectly, it may mean the difference between health and disease. For example, sickle cell anemia results from just one single wrong amino acid being used to make hemoglobin. Okay, now that you get how important they are, where do you get them?

Protein sources

Nearly all animal foods, such as meat, dairy products, eggs, and fish, are concentrated sources of protein because they typically contain all 9 essential amino acids. However, some animal protein sources are also high in saturated fat, which can raise cholesterol levels, so you have to choose wisely.

An often overlooked source of protein is plant foods. Specifically nuts, seeds, beans, and peas can be terrific sources of protein. One thing to keep in mind with plant sources of protein, especially if you’re eating a vegan diet (no animal foods whatsoever), is that not all plant proteins are equal. Plant foods tend to have lower levels of certain essential amino acids compared with animal foods, but certain plant foods complement each other with their amino acid profiles. For example, beans tend to be low in one amino acid that grains are high in, so combining these foods helps to form a more complete protein. Although ideal, combining these foods in the same meal isn’t necessary to ensure you meet your protein needs. If you eat a wide variety of plant foods and meet your calorie needs, getting enough protein is rarely an issue.

Nowadays there are numerous meat and dairy substitutes that are delicious and have plenty of high-quality protein. Be adventurous and try the wide variety of veggie burgers, veggie dogs, veggie deli-slices, alternative milks (like soy milk), and other products now widely available.

How much protein should you eat?

The amount of protein needed per day differs from person to person. For healthy adults, the Institute of Medicine publishes a report — the Dietary Reference Intakes Report — that recommends a range of protein between 10 and 35% of calories. For a 2,000-calorie diet, that would mean consuming between 50 and 175 grams of protein. The reason for the wide variability in protein allowance is that research indicates a healthy diet can be achieved consuming levels anywhere within this range. Your goals, personal preferences, and lifestyle choices can dictate where your protein intake should fall. As long as your protein choices come from lean sources and/or plant sources (so that your intake of saturated fat isn’t too high), consuming more protein than had been previously recommended can be considered part of a healthy diet.

Beyond Black and White: Diverse Reactions to the Obama Election

by Maria Niles

Much of the perspective provided during the campaign and reactions to the election of Barack Obama have been framed by the legacy of America's long history of blacks, whites, racism, oppression and the struggle to realize civil rights.

However members of many other groups who do not fit the traditional black-white American racial paradigm, including Native Americans, Latinos and Asian Americans, have expressed their views on what Obama's victory and presidency might mean to their communities.

Some reactions are general hopes, dreams and explanations of what the election of a black president means to them. Others are looking at what policy changes they would like to see from an Obama presidency while there are those who are interested in whom he will appoint to serve in his administration.

Maegan la Mala of VivirLatino notes that Afro-Latinos were overlooked and seen only as discrete groups, has a round up of some reactions and writes:

One point that we, and other blogfriends have been trying to make ever since the start of the very long road to the White House, was that the way race and racial politics are talked about and analyzed needs to change. There was a clear reason why being Black and Latino was viewed as two mutually exclusive realms of being.

Claire at Hyphen Magazine explores the concept of Obama as Asian-American and concludes:

I don't know what that means for the future, except that Obama is my president. He is the only political leader I've ever seen who truly represents not just my experience, but my point of view on domestic and foreign policy. This is a view that is shaped by knowing and understanding -- as only a child living across two cultures can -- that America is not the only country, that American ways are not the only ways, and that we as a nation and a people have much to learn from others. That's not so much where race breaks down as it is where race gives way to things that have more meaning.

Ennis at Sepia Mutiny asks What Obama's victory means for me (and perhaps you):

What does this mean for desis? Well, not much in some ways. We’re still a small group, and we’re not going to get singled out for ponies and party favors.

But I think, for the first time, we’ve been truly seen and recognized. Obama knows both South Asia and South Asians. We aren’t just some weird American fringe ethnic group to him. He has called himself desi, cooked dal, and travelled in the desh.

His campaign drew upon desis not just for topics to do with South Asia, but for every day campaign issues. The director of my local Obama campaign office was actually a Ugandan Desi ABD whose father was born in Jinja. One of the core staff members in the office was a desi female, one of the Patels from Kentucky.

I am hopeful that under an Obama administration our background will not be seen as a liability or as something intrinsically un-American. And that, to me, is change that we sorely need.

That is my birthright as an American, what all of us are promised as citizens, that we will be part of one nation, indivisible, where all are acknowledged as equal. I think that, on Tuesday, we took a small step in the right direction.

Angela Pang at AsianWeek has a round up of Asian American reactions:

Locally and nationwide, Asian American groups are excited about President-elect Barack Obama. Here are some thoughts on how Obama’s historical election will affect the Asian American community in general and the work these organizations are doing in the community.

Ginny of Ginny's Thoughts & Things shares her Thoughts From An American Muslim Obama Supporter and she is very cautiously optimistic:

As a Muslim who voted for Obama, I didn’t see him as the “mahdi”, I didn’t have this vision of grandeur in my head that my life, and the lives of others, Muslims and non-Muslims alike, would all of a sudden, miraculously, get better upon his election and/or his assumption of the office of President come January 20th....

As far as the issues regarding Obama’s cabinet and governing choices and how they will affect Muslims both here and abroad, I’m taking a wait and see approach as far as that goes.

Jessica Yee, Special Correspondent to Racialicious writes about Barack Obama and the Native Vote:

Like millions of people all over the world, I’m ecstatic, over-the-moon inspired by Obama’s win. If for no other reason (and all the others too in which we share the same opinion, like abortion for example) than his win is actually a good thing for the people in my community. Yes indeed, the new leadership of Barack Obama in the United States of America is good for Native people, and you can sure as hell bet that a whole lot of us voted for him, and are counting on him to really give a crap about the issues we are facing.

Some bloggers are focusing on specific policy they would like to see enacted after January 20th. Maegan la Mala at VivirLatino highlights What a Colombian Indigenous Group Wants from Obama:

During a pre-election debate, Barack Obama made a clear point about one of the reasons he did not support the Colombian Free Trade agreement, the violence against workers. The Association of Indigenous Councils of Northern Cauca, ACIN, were appreciative of Obama's position, but wanted to shed light on their specific struggle and the struggles of other Native peoples in Colombia. So they, like so many others are doing, sent a letter to the President-Elect.

La Macha at VivirLatino and Marisa Treviño at Latina Lista both call for a moratorium on immigration raids.

Marisa writes:

The unprecedented turnout of Latino voters for Barack Obama signaled not just a desire for change in the country but a change in how federal immigration policy is adversely impacting Latino communities....

So I vote that Obama make immigration reform a priority. Unlike the financial help being afforded Wall Street and debated for the auto industry, which takes a trickle down effect to reach Main Street USA, the Obama Administration can implement a form of help that would immediately relieve countless Latino communities across the nation — put a moratorium on immigration raids.

La Macha links to a petition asking Obama to make this policy change.

And, although the media has focused on the possibility of Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State, Obama has also met with Bill Richardson about the role. Latino and Asian bloggers are buzzing about the possibility of Richardson and others serving and also looking at who is participating in the transition.

Jennifer at VivirLatino notes that a group of Latino activists are lobbying for Richardson.

Seneca at LatinoPoliticsBlog.com is not optimistic:

Hispanics will not fare high in initial appointments in the new Obama administration. Only three have been even mentioned: Richardson, Salazar (Sen. Ken) and perhaps Frederico Peña, but really only Richardson gets any real play.

And Seneca suggests that perhaps eyes should be on some different prizes:

Most Latinos have not yet figured out that most often an appointment to a regulatory agency (FCC, FDA, FTC, Nuclear Energy Commission, Highway Commission et al) is far more coveted by the economic movers and shakers because the regulatory process is the realm of the true economic gatekeepers in Washington not the normal executive departments.

Until the new administration takes office there is the transition team (which could be a farm team for some plum assignments). Eugenia Beh at Asian Americans for Obama '08 reports that transition team Executive Director, Chris Lu, is the most searched for person at their site. Beh also spotted several Asian American members of the Agency Review Teams.

It is wonderful to read the range of reactions from diverse communities. And while many are hopeful after Obama's election, most seem to understand that while a president of color inspires, his victory does not erase the need to continue seeking representation and policy of specific interest to those communities.

What policy changes impacting communities of color would you like to see President Obama make? Is there anyone in particular you are hoping will serve in a diverse cabinet?

BlogHer CE Maria Niles blogs about both race and politics at her personal blog PopConsumer