The sweat and exhaustion after completing a workout causes a person to look for one thing: a source of protein. Protein is an important macromolecule composed of long chains of amino acids that serve as a main building block for our body. After a workout, muscles undergo microtears and require such protein to repair them, making them look bigger. However, these sources of protein can vary. This can include whey protein, which comes from animals, and pea protein. The benefits of both animal and plant protein sources will be discussed below.
Animal Protein Benefits:
Variety: The main aspect of animal protein is its sheer variety of where you can get it. This can range from all the different meats, including beef, chicken, lamb, and fish. This can also include sources such as eggs and milk. Additionally, many protein shakes are yogurt or dairy-based. Compared to plants, animal protein sources are much more variable and can give people multiple options when selecting their protein intake.
Minerals: Animal protein sources include multiple minerals and vitamins that can not typically be found in plant sources. This includes calcium (needed to repair bone health), zinc (responsible for growth and development of the body and supports immune system), iron (essential for oxygen delivery in the blood) and Vitamin B12 (responsible for blood cell production).
Quantity and Quality: Overall, animal protein sources, such as meat, contain the same necessary amino acids that plants contain, but at a higher magnitude. For example, a vegetarian may need to eat a larger variety of plants, whereas a person with a meat diet can fulfill the required minerals with a lesser portion of food.
Plant Protein Benefits:
Lower Saturated Fat Intake: Diets in high animal protein come with risks of increased fat intake from meats. By following a vegetarian, protein-based diet, one can reduce the intake of these fats. This would lead to an overall reduction of LDL cholesterol levels and decrease a person’s BMI to reduce the chances of obesity.
Economics: In the protein industry, it is more sustainable to grow plants than to produce animal protein products. It takes less energy and labor and is overall cheaper than meat products. An example of this can be soy production. Also, farming crops in general produces less greenhouse gasses such as carbon dioxide or methane, which is found in meat production.
Overall Improvement of Cardiovascular Health: By choosing a vegetarian protein diet, the effects of red meat are limited. This means that there will be a lesser amount of cholesterol intake, promoting heart health. This can also prevent the clogging of arteries and other vital functions regarding our circulatory system. However, one may need to take supplements of other amino acids needed to keep their bodies healthy when engaging in such a diet due to lower concentrations of amino acid intake compared to animal sources of protein as mentioned earlier.
Conclusion:
There are many different benefits from choosing one source of protein over the other. Whether that be different minerals, health concerns, or budgeting reasons, it is important to recognize how the two sources differ. Thus, which protein option would you pick?
Comments are closed.