Your body needs protein as energy source, to build muscle mass, fix blood component and replace damaged body cells.
Generally, there are high-protein food that is good enough to meet your daily protein needs, including meat and lentils. However, there are some people who choose to not eat meat due to their choice to bevegetarians or for health purposes.
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Buthow can one get enough protein intake without eating meat?
How much protein do our bodies need?
There are some argumentation about the daily need of protein for our bodies. So far, BPOM (Indonesian Food and Drug Monitoring Agency) recommends us to get at least 60 grams of protein per day.
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If our protein intake is too much, our body will transform it into fat. Lack of protein causes muscle atrophy and general impaired body function.
High-protein food besides meat:
1. Egg
Egg is asource of protein thatcontains certain vitamin B, including B6, B12, thiamin, riboflavin, and folate. Egg is good as your protein source when you do not eat meat as one egg contains 7 grams of protein.
However, consuming egg too much is also not good becausethe yolk contains high cholesterol which can increase the risk of diseases related to cholesterol.
2. Soybeans
Vegans or vegetarians usually lean on lentils as their main source of protein. One of low-fat lentils with high protein is soybean. Soybean has fiber, omega-6 fatty acid, antioxidant and phytoestrogens.
Youcan also consume snacks made of soybeans which contains high-fiber-and-protein soybeans thatwill make you full for longer time.
3. Cottage cheese
Besides egg, cottage cheese also has high protein. Half-cup of cottage cheese contains 13 grams of casein protein to fulfill the nutrition for muscle recovery.
What is casein protein? It is a protein which is digested slower than common protein. It is good to build muscle mass, and it is often consumed by athletes.
Besides, this cheese can help build bones by its high calcium content. To process it, you can mix it with lentils, fruits or cinnamon to add more taste, fiber and antioxidants.
4. Vegetables
Besides having high nutrition and vitamin, vegetables also contain macronutrients such as protein which is good for body. For example, broccoli has2.8 grams of protein per cup and asparagus has2.4 grams of protein per cup.
Other vegetables that are easy to get and have high protein is corn since 100 grams of sweet corn contains 3.3 protein while one hump contains 4.68 grams of protein.
5. Peas
Vegetarians and vegans have consumed peas as main protein source. One cup of peas has 7.9 of protein which is the same with a cup of milk.
If you do not really like to consume peas, try to cook and mash it then serve it as main food companion.
The article was previously published inHellosehat.com and all medical data has been reviewed by a licensed medical doctor.