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Protein-Rich Foods
American Heart Association recommendation: Include fat-free and
low-fat milk products, fish, legumes (beans), skinless poultry, and lean
meats.
Why
Eat Protein-Rich Foods?
What Are Protein-Rich Foods?
Understanding Serving Size
Why Eat Protein-Rich
Foods?
- To reduce
fat and cholesterol
Full-fat dairy products (whole milk, yogurt, cheese), poultry skin,
and many cuts of meat are high in saturated fat and cholesterol.
Saturated fat raises blood cholesterol. A high level of cholesterol
in the blood is a major risk factor for coronary heart disease, which leads to heart attack.
Dietary cholesterol
can affect blood cholesterol levels, but it does so to a much lesser
degree than was originally thought, and also much less than saturated
fat. Since saturated fat and cholesterol are often found together
in foods, by limiting saturated fat, cholesterol intake will go down
as well. Foods such as shrimp and lobster that are high in cholesterol,
but very low in saturated fat, are not damaging to the heart. It is
when these foods are drenched in butter or other saturated-fat rich
sauces or ingredients that they can be a problem. Use lemon juice,
broth, or olive oil instead.
Legumes have very
little fat. And, like all foods from plant sources, legumes do not
contain cholesterol. Legumes are also a good source of soluble fiber,
which can lower blood cholesterol levels.
- To keep arteries
healthy
Fish has
less total fat and saturated fat than meat and poultry. Some fish are
high in fat, but the fat is mostly omega-3 fatty acids-a type of polyunsaturated
fat. Unsaturated fats, both mono
and poly, are heart healthy. Omega-3s
are believed to help prevent arteries from hardening, and to help prevent
blood from clotting and sticking to artery walls. With these actions,
omega-3s can help prevent atherosclerosis and heart attacks.
- To help lower
blood pressure
Low-fat
dairy products can help to prevent and lower high
blood pressure. This finding came from the DASH
Study, which examined dietary means of preventing and lowering high
blood pressure. Researchers are not sure of the exact reason for this
effect, but they believe it is partly due to the mineral calcium, which
is abundant in dairy products.
What
are Protein-Rich Foods?
Leaner
Meats
When eating
meat and poultry, make leaner choices, for example:
- light meat of chicken,
Cornish hen, and turkey without skin
- lean cuts of beef,
such as round, sirloin, chuck, and loin
- lean or extra lean
ground beef that has no more than 15 percent fat
- lean ham and pork,
such as tenderloin and loin chop
- lean cuts of emu,
buffalo, and ostrich; they are very low in total fat, saturated fat,
and cholesterol
In restaurants and
when cooking at home, choose lighter cooking methods, such as:
Make these substitutions:
- Use ground turkey
in place of ground beef.
- Buy "choice"
or "select" grades of beef instead of "prime."
- Use turkey sausage
in place of regular breakfast sausage.
- Try soy and vegetable-based
products; often with the other flavors of the recipe, you'll barely
notice the difference if you use:
textured vegetable
protein in place of ground meat
veggie
or soy burgers and hot dogs in place of the meat versions
Return
to What are Protein-Rich Foods?
Beans
Legumes
are very versatile. Try some of the following ways to work them into your
diet:
- Roll a tortilla
around pinto beans, diced tomatoes, shredded lettuce, and low-fat cheese,
and warm it in the oven.
- Top a baked potato
with sautéed black beans, onions, scallions, and some salsa.
- Dip carrot sticks
and apple slices in hummus.
- Use a bean spread
on sandwiches instead of mayonnaise.
- Toss white beans
and tomatoes with pasta and fresh basil.
- Throw a can or
two of beans — any kind — into a pot of chili or soup.
- Fold eggs around
pinto beans and tomatoes for your next omelet.
- Have baked beans
with hearty dinner rolls for a warm, satisfying meal.
Return
to What are Protein-Rich Foods?
Dairy
To make
the switch to lower fat dairy products, try this:
- If you are used
to full fat or 2 percent milk, mix your regular milk with 1 percent
at first to wean yourself off the higher fat milk. Slowly make the mixture
more 1 percent until you are used to the lighter taste.
- If you can't get
used to skim milk, 1 percent is still a good low-fat option.
- Mix cheeses, too.
Use some regular and some low-fat, so you won't feel you're missing
out on the flavor.
- When choosing low-fat
yogurts, note that the calorie levels are often only lower in the versions
that are "light" as well as low in fat.
Return
to What are Protein-Rich Foods?
Understanding
Serving Size
The American
Heart Association recommends eating no more than six ounces cooked (two
servings) per day of fish, shellfish, poultry (without skin), or trimmed
lean meat. A typical serving is three ounces, which is about the size
of a deck of cards. This is equal to:
- 1/2 of a chicken
breast or a chicken leg with thigh (without skin)
- 3/4 cup of flaked
fish
- 2 thin slices of
lean roast beef
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