Protein

Oily fish (salmon, sardines, trout, tuna) is a good source of protein. It has the added advantage of being high in types of fatty acid that provide protection against heart attack and to some extent stroke.

Oily fish contain up to eight times as much omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids as lean fish (cod, haddock, skate).

Plant protein
Plant protein contains many amino acids, but no single source contains all of the essential amino acids. This type of protein is found in:

You need to combine different plant proteins to make up the complete range of amino acids needed by your body. In practice this is achieved without any special effort, for example by eating baked beans with bread (toast) or using milk on cereal.

Plant versus animal proteins
In terms of healthy eating, you should aim to eat a diet with a higher proportion of plant proteins than animal ones.

Processed foods Sausages and burgers may be the obvious culprits, but so are smoked foods which are also high in salt.

Try to keep foods such as smoked bacon and salmon to occasional treats.

How much do I need?

Energy and protein

1g carbohydrate: 3.75 calories.

1g protein: 4 calories.

1g fat: 9 calories.

1g alcohol: 7 calories.

How much protein do foods contain?
Below are some examples of foods, so you can compare protein content. You can also check nutrition labels to find out how much protein something contains.

One skinless chicken breast (130g): 41g protein.

One small fillet steak (200g): 52g protein.

One beef burger or pork sausage: 8g protein.

One portion of poached skinless cod fillet (150g): 32g protein.

Half a can of tuna: 19g protein.

One portion of cheese (50g): 12g protein.

One medium egg: 6g protein.

150ml glass of milk: 5g protein.

One tablespoon of boiled red lentils (40g): 3g protein.

One portion of tofu (125g): 15g protein.

One slice medium wholemeal bread: 4g protein.

One slice medium white bread: 3g protein.

Tips for healthy living

Include oily fish in your diet at least twice a week.

Try using soya products such as veggie mince and tofu. They will take up the flavour of the dish if you add them to stews and sauces.

Snack on seeds and unsalted nuts. Try sunflower, pumpkin or sesame seeds and brazils, cashews, walnuts, hazelnuts or almonds.

Look at using pulses as an alternative source of protein. They include chickpeas, a wide range of lentils, split peas and a vast range of beans from the black-eyed to the broad, butter and kidney.

Have one vegetarian meal each week.

You don't need to banish meat from your diet altogether.

Use lean cuts of meat and poultry.

Trim off any fat, eg the skin on chicken breasts and the rind on bacon.

Choose smaller portions.

Reduce the frequency of meat-based meals.

Pay particular attention to how you cook meat.

Temperature is the most important factor in the production of heterocyclic amines (HAs).

Frying, chargrilling, and barbequing produce the largest amounts of HAs when the cooking temperature is increased from 200°C to 250°C.

Oven roasting and baking use lower temperatures, and so produce lower levels of HAs.

Stewing, boiling and poaching all use temperatures below 100°C and so produce very few HAs.

Avoid gravy made from dripping because it contains substantial amounts of HAs.

Microwaving meat for two minutes before cooking reduces the HA content by about 90 per cent.

Cooking meat for a long time (ie well done or very well done) produces more of these chemicals.

Protein from milk, eggs, tofu and organ meats such as liver have very little or no HA content, even when cooked.

Other articles in this series

General lifestyle management

Body weight

Fats

Carbohydrates

Fibre

Soya

Water

Caffeine

Smoking and nutrition

Alcohol metabolism

Exercise

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