Sources of Protein

[BarkinMad]

Having sufficient protein in our diet seems to be a big deal for athletes and those training at any serious intensity. But what is the best source-what works for you?

I have long suffered from IBS and find that many animal protein sources upset my stomach. I can't eat beef, no matter how lean, and even chicken can cause problems if it's not cooked to absolutely dry and nasty.

I eat some eggs and low fat cheese but worry about the cholesterol. I eat beans a lot-but worry about the effects that beans can have too :D

Tofu can only be interesting for so long.

So what sources of protein do you rely on when training hard?

[loopthelaces]

I normally stick to puoltry myself:chicken, turkey and ostrich. I also enjoy rabbit when I can get it, but its pretty expensive if you don't have a friend who raises meat rabbits like I do. I think the trick to tofu is making different firmnesses to imitate what meat might be like. Using a softer tofu in palce of chicken often works well.

[Sprinter]

get some protein shakes or bars mate

[mudskipper]

Rabbit is indeed some wonderful meat and very healthy considering the fat content, and is similar to chciken in flavor and texture. My grandfather used to make spaghetti and sauce with cooked shredded rabbit in it and it was wonderful. Protein replacement powders, shakes, bars, etc can be rather hard to digest so that may not be the best for your IBS.

[BarkinMad]

Rabbit is great but I always found it too greasy, and like you say hard on the tummy. The worst is beef which can near kill me.

The shakes were always high in calories, the ones I found. I don't want to replace meals with them because I get hungry too fast on them, but would have no choice because of the calorie content. I see you are UK too, so maybe you could recommend something better?

[KevinSK]

Eggs contain a wide range of different amino acids, the building blocks of proteins, so you'll get all the kinds of building blocks for your muscles..

[mudskipper]

I know in the US there are now protein waters produced by Kelloggs under the name of Special K or K2O. They sell it in bottles and powdered form as a diet aid to help you not be hungry. Never tried them myself but they might be a quick thing to add if they sell them in UK.

[BarkinMad]

I haven't seen those drinks that you mention but since we get the Special K range maybe it will reach these shores eventually.

Eggs are good yes, but. They contain a lot of cholesterol and I am not entirely sure that is a good thing. So I only consume a moderate amount of them.

[mudskipper]

They are sold in the health/special diet sections here next to the vitamins at the grocers. AS for eggs, I know egg-whites only was popular at one time and has held on. I imagine there are still plenty of proteins in the whites and less cholesterol overall compared to a whole egg with yolks.

[Big Dawg]

Tuna will help boost your protein intake if chicken and beef are a no go. Even if its just 1 tin a day. Those bad boys contain at least 27g of the real deal. But try sticking to brine or water containers mainly. Protein shakes are are great way to boost your intake also. 1 shake can give you as much as 50g of protein, and not feel stuffed if you had to eat 50g of meat to get that protein.

[KevinSK]

Eating whole eggs shouldn't be a problem if you're healthy. Really, it shouldn't. Eating healthy means eating things such as soluble fiber and other things that facilitates healthy cholesterol, so.. it shouldn't be a problem.

[Richie]

The cholesterol of eggs is all in the yolk-the baby birds use it for brain formation (the brain being mostly fat) and other important things that we adult humans don't need. The protein in an egg is in the albumen-the white. So you could happily separate the two. However the white can reduce B vitamin uptake-B vitamins being found in abundance in the yolk. So in an egg, its self compensating, but other foods are not so.

Tuna has it's own concerns, with mercury in the fish. For women of reproductive age its not recommended that you have more than one serving a week as it could negatively affect future children. And even for men-well I don't know how much mercury I would be willing to take on.

[KevinSK]

Also, whey protein is a good source. That is a byproduct from cheese production... Or simply drink milk :D It is easily digested and aids in recovery