Protein or Fat -- Too Much of a Good Thing?
June 20, 1990 - Boston Globe / Food - Alexis Beck

During the past two decades nutrition experts have encouraged us to increase our intake of fiber and complex carbohydrates, while warning us to reduce the amount of fat, cholesterol, sugar and sodium we consume.

Somehow protein has managed to escape the lists, even though it plays a major role in the American diet. In fact, it may play too large a role: Most Americans consume two to three times more protein that their bodies need. And often where there is protein, there is fat.

The recommended daily dietary allowance for protein is about 63 grams for men and 50 grams for women. These recommendations, made by the National Academy of Sciences, are based on average body weights of 174 pounds for men and 138 pounds for women. Requirements increase by about 15 percent for pregnant and lactating women. Infants need just 13 or 14 grams of protein, and the average growing child, after age 3, is satisfied by 25 to 28 grams.

To put these recommendations into perspective, consider that 50 grams of protein might translate into three oatmeal pancakes, a tuna sandwich on whole-wheat bread, a serving of steamed broccoli, a baked potato, a banana and a glass of milk.

A man could easily satisfy his daily requirement by eating one of the following combinations: two shredded-wheat biscuits with milk, a corn muffin, 2 cups of pasta with a tablespoon a Parmesan cheese and 4 ounces of broiled chicken; or a sesame bagel topped with peanut butter, a bowl of lentil soup with a piece of corn bread, two slices of a vegetable-cheese pizza and a small veal chop.)

These lists are not intended to be menus, but rather to illustrate an important point: It doesn't take much to meet our daily protein requirement. (For more information on the protein content of various foods, see the accompanying chart.)

A regular supply of protein is necessary because the body has little protein reserve, but if more protein is consumed than is required, the excess is stored as body fat.

This brings us back to the issue of the hidden fat content in many of the traditional animal-based sources we count on for our protein. Some of these foods, such as beef, actually contain more calories from fat than from protein; with as much as 50 percent of the fat being the undesirable saturated form.

With the exception of nuts, the protein in plant sources - including legumes, seeds, grains and some vegetables - is significantly lower in fat than that in meats, eggs and even many of the low-fat dairy products we think of as protein sources. Plant foods are cholesterol- free and virtually all without saturated fats.

But there's a catch. Most protein from plant sources is "incomplete" - that is, it does not contain all the essential amino acids in sufficient amounts. The solution is to combine this incomplete protein, which your body will use just as effectively as it will the protein supplied by a steak. Such combinations are referred to as "complementary proteins."

Here's how the incomplete proteins match up to form complete proteins:

Combine legumes (soy, kidney, navy, pinto and lima beans, peas, chickpeas or peanuts) with grains such as wheat, corn, rye, oats, barley, buckwheat or rice; or with seeds such as sesame or sunflower.

Combine rice with legumes, seeds or wheat.

Combine wheat with legumes; or with soybeans and peanuts; or with soybeans and sesame seeds; or with rice and soybeans.

Thus, if you eat a bowl of lentil soup with a piece of corn bread, you've got a complete protein. A peanut-butter sandwich is another example of a high-quality complete protein.

A simple way to get the most out of plant proteins is to eat them with a small amount of animal protein, thereby reaping the advantages of the complete protein while reducing fat, cholesterol and, often, calories.

Your best bets from the animal kingdom are fish, with 90 percent of its calories coming from protein and only 10 percent from fat; and skinless chicken, which is two-thirds protein. Steak has twice the calories and fat of chicken.

Why not keep track of the next three days' worth of your typical diet? Use the accompanying chart

To determine if you may be getting more protein than you need.