REPLY 1

Proteins play a crucial part in the structure, function, and control of the body’s tissues and organs, and they spend most of their time in cells. They are essential for living a healthy lifestyle.I need it to manufacture hair, blood, connective tissue, antibodies, enzymes, and other things. Every day, my body need an adequate supply of the appropriate types of protein. During growth spurts (particularly in adolescents and teenagers), pregnancy and lactation, and recovery from illness, the body may require more protein than usual (Mignogna & D’Adamo 2018).

As far as proteins go, I eat eggs, almonds, chicken breast, oats, Greek yoghurt, and milk because they are quite beneficial to me. Seitan, lentils, beans, nutritional yeast, hemp seeds, and green peas are the main protein sources for vegetarians. Because vegetarian diets contain fewer or no animal products, they are low in total and saturated fat, as well as cholesterol. Vegetarians are less likely to develop ailments like heart disease and type 2 diabetes, according to numerous research. Furthermore, vegetarian diets may result in a “choline crisis.” Choline is an essential vitamin for brain health and other bodily functions (Chiu et al., 2019).

REPLY 2

Proteins are important in the body and they have different functions such as aiding in muscle contraction, help the eyes, and help in blood clotting in cases of injury. Based on my age and gender, I think I consume more protein than the recommended amount. According to Jaret (2020), most people get enough protein but there is an issue with the protein choices. Adult men require about 56 grams of protein daily while women required 46 grams per day with pregnant and breastfeeding women requiring around 71 grams of protein daily (Jaret, 2020). At least 10% of daily calories and not more than 35% of the calories should be from protein. Generally, the recommended dietary allowance for protein is set at 0.8 g of protein/kg per day for adults (Phillips et al., 2015). I take more protein than the recommended since I consume an average of over 100 grams of protein per day.

Most often I consume milk and other milk products, eggs, beans and other legumes, and different types of meat. These are the types of protein that I mostly consume with at least each of the protein in every meal. These foods contribute to my high protein intake considering I ensure that all my meals including breakfast, lunch, and dinner are made up of proteins. Moreover, I also eat protein based snacks in between these meals.

Vegetarians also need protein in their meals since it is an important part of the body. Plant-based proteins are available for the vegetarians. Some of the common types of plant-based proteins include edamane, lentils, chickpeas, peanuts, spirulina, almonds, mycoprotein, quinoa, beans with rice, potatoes, and protein rich vegetable such as mushrooms, kale, and broccoli (Phillips et al., 2015). These types of foods can be summarized under vegetables, beans, nuts, and legumes (Jaret, 2020). Since vegetarians do not consume animals and animal products, these are the best protein options available for them.

While the vegetarian diet may seem healthier, it can be unhealthy when one is not careful. Moreover, there are some proteins aspects found in the animal products that affect diet quality and cannot be found in the plant-based proteins (Phillips et al., 2015). According to Kellly (2019), vegetarian diets have been associated with lower risk of hypertension, blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, and other heart diseases.  However, the optimal amounts of protein have been established with focus on the type of protein-containing food being an important aspect. Consuming only plant-based protein foods is not good for the body since the body also requires proteins from animal-based products (Phillips et al., 2015). However, there is need to balance between these protein sources since most of the animal-based protein sources contain fats that may lead to other conditions in the body. The population needs to get education on the daily protein requirements based on their age, gender, and weight to determine their daily dietary intake. Moreover, it is important to choose healthier protein sources which are mainly plant-based. Nevertheless, animal-based protein sources need to also be incorporated into the diets.

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