According to US & Canadian Dietary Reference Intake guidelines, the average woman needs to consume 46 grams of protein per day, and the average man needs to consume 56 grams of protein per day to avoid a deficiency.
Protein deficiency can create oedema (swelling under the skin due to fluid collection), wight loss, hair loss or thinning of the hair, poor skin condition, general weakness and lethargy, muscle soreness, poor wound healing and nausea and stomach pain.
The general medical guideline for protein intake, measured as intake per kilogram body weight, is 0.8 g/kg.
So, for an average woman, this is around 46 grams of protein a day. This can be achieved by the following (all are approximate values):
200grams of chicken
200grams of turkey
120grams of soya beans
210grams of almond nuts
200grams of tuna
Protein is a nutrient needed by the human body for growth and maintenance.
It is important to know that there are different types of protein, and they all get absorbed differently and operate in the body differently. A varied diet is essential for these reasons.
Aside from water, protein is the most abundant molecule in the body. Protein is found in all cells of the body and is the major structural component of all cells in the body, especially muscle.
It is generally regarded that the body will crave protein and that a high protein diet will tend to aid weight loss, especially when the protein is consumed early in the day. There is some conflicting evidence with this suggestion that this might not be the case, so it worth observing whether eating protein early in the day helps you with your weight loss as evidently results may vary.
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