How Much Protein Do You Need?

Your body needs protein to make and repair your cells. We know muscles are made of protein, and your hair, eyes, and fingernails are too! If you get hurt, or just when you grow bigger and stronger, protein is needed to put the building blocks of you together!

Protein can also help your body:

Fight infection
Build and contract muscles
Clot blood, which makes a cut stop bleeding.

Foods that Contain Protein:

Both animal and plant foods contain protein. Some sources are healthier than others. Rich protein foods can have a lot of fat in them too, and we want to limit them so a sometimes food group:

Meats and poultry: bacon, fried chicken, hot dogs, lunch meats, sausage and ribs
Fish and shellfish: breaded and fried fish sticks, fried calamari, and other fried fish.
Whole-fat dairy: whole milk and other whole-fat dairy foods.

Other protein foods are lean sources of protein are considered heart-healthy. They don’t have a lot of fat in them Here are some lean protein food options:

Meat, poultry and eggs: lean cuts of beef, pork loin, skinless chicken and turkey
Fish and seafood: salmon, tuna, cod, shrimp
Low-fat or fat-free dairy foods: yogurt, milk, cheese, cottage cheese
Legumes: beans, lentils, soy, peanut butter
Nuts and seeds: walnuts, almonds, chia seeds, pumpkin seeds

Getting the Right Amount of Protein

MyPlate includes general protein recommendations for people age 2 and older.

Age	Sex	Daily Protein Recommendation
2-3 years	Female and male	2-ounce equivalents
4-8 years	Female and male	4-ounce equivalents
9-13 years	Female and male	5-ounce equivalents
14-18 years	Female	5-ounce equivalents
14-18 years	Male	6½ ounce equivalents

How much is one ounce? Its about the size of one egg… Can you imagine an egg in your hand?

Usually we eat more than a one egg sized serving of protein though. If I make a peanut butter sandwich, I put more than one tablespoon of peanut butter on my two pieces of bread…

Look at Barbara’s menu for a day, and find all the protein servings she has!

Breakfast
- Scrambled eggs with tomato slices
  - 2 eggs scrambled = 2 ounces of protein
  - ½ beefsteak tomato
- Whole-grain toast
  - 2 slices with ½ teaspoon butter
- Coffee or tea
Lunch
- Peanut butter and banana on whole-grain bread, 1 tablespoon peanut butter = 1 ounce of protein
- Carrot, sticks ½ cup
- Milk,1 cup, low fat
Dinner
- Baked salmon, 3 ounce piece of salmon = 3 ounces of protein
- Cheesy steamed spinach
  - 2 cups fresh spinach
  - ⅓ cup low fat cheese
- Bulgur, ½ cooked with ½ teaspoon olive oil
Snack
- Cheese and celery sticks
  - Low-fat cheddar or Swiss cheese, 1½ ounces
  - Celery sticks, ½ cup