Protein (nutrient)

Proteins are one of the basic macronutrients similar to carbohydrates and fats that are essential for life and form building blocks for many tissues.

Protein in foods

Healthy dietary patterns include a variety of protein foods in nutrient-dense forms.

Protein food group

The protein foods group comprises a broad group of foods from both animal and plant sources, and includes several subgroups: meats, poultry, and eggs; seafood; and nuts, seeds, and soy products.

Vegetarian sources of protein

The beans, peas, and lentils may be considered a part of the protein foods group as well as the vegetable group.

Dairy

• Protein also is found in some foods from other food groups, such as dairy.
• Meats and poultry vary in fat content and include both fresh and processed forms.
• Most intake of meats and poultry should be from fresh, frozen, or canned, and in lean forms (e.g., chicken breast or ground turkey) versus processed meats (e.g., hot dogs, sausages, ham, luncheon meats).

Protein rich foods

Protein rich foods include the following:

Meats, Poultry, Eggs

• Meats include beef, goat, lamb, pork, and game meat (e.g., bison, moose, elk, and deer.
• Poultry includes chicken]], Cornish hens, duck, [[game birds (e.g.), ostrich, pheasant, and quail), goose, and turkey.
• Organ meats include chitterlings, giblets, gizzard, liver, sweetbreads, tongue, and tripe.
• Eggs include chicken eggs and other bird eggs.

Seafood

Seafood examples that are lower in methylmercury include: anchovy, black sea bass, catfish, clams, cod, crab, crawfish, flounder, haddock, hake, herring, lobster, mullet, oyster, perch, pollock, salmon, sardine, scallop, shrimp, sole, squid, tilapia, freshwater trout, light tuna, and whiting.

Nuts, Seeds, Soy products

Nuts and seeds include all nuts (tree nuts and peanuts), nut butters, seeds (e.g.), chia, flax, pumpkin, sesame, and sunflower), and seed butters (e.g.), sesame or tahini and sunflower).

• Soy includes tofu, tempeh, and products made from soy flour, soy protein isolate, and soy concentrate.

See also

• Azotorrhea
• Biological value
• Bodybuilding supplement
• Leaf protein concentrate
• Low-protein diet
• Protein bar

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External links

Nutrition lookup (USDA)