By Staff Writer - March, 5th 2014

Proteins include virtually all hormones such as insulin and progesterone.  Hemoglobin, a blood protein, carries oxygen to the cells.  Heat shock proteins help rebuild our cells after stress.  Transferrin and other transport proteins bind to minerals and carry them through the body.  Muscle protein is responsible for our ability to move.  Proteins such as RNA and DNA in the nuclei of our cells are responsible for the genetic code. Proteins are also essential for the body structure.  Bone forms in a protein matrix.  Other structural proteins include collagen, cartilage, elastin and keratin that forms the skin.

Natural Health News — We all have to eat, but that doesn’t mean that understanding nutrition is easy. The issue of protein – how much and what type – is a good case in point.

Two new studies suggest that not all sources of dietary protein are the same and that the benefits of healthy sources of protein are far more complex than we first thought.

In the first study Californian researchers tracked a large sample of adults for nearly two decades. They found that eating a diet heavy in animal protein during middle age makes you four times more likely to die of cancer than someone with a low-protein diet. In fact the effect was comparable to smoking.

Not only is excessive protein consumption linked to a dramatic rise in cancer mortality, but middle-aged people who eat lots of protein from animal sources – including meat, milk and cheese – are also more susceptible …

If you want to build and maintain muscle mass, you need to eat enough dietary protein. But did you know that distributing protein consumption throughout the day may be the most efficient way to build muscle? Whether you’re an athlete looking to bulk up, or just someone interested in maintaining muscle as you age, to build and maintain muscle over time it may be more effective to aim for around 30 grams of protein (that’s about four ounces of chicken meat) per meal three times a day, as opposed to the typical American habit of eating most of our protein at dinner.

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