Protein: A Nutrient and A Food Group

Protein: A Nutrient and a Food Group

One of the more considerable challenges in conversation about nutrition is when people classify nutrients as a food group.

For example, when people refer to carbs and how bad they think they are and believe they shouldn’t eat them. I am surprised that people think we should not eat any fruits, vegetables, or beans?

Because carbs are a nutrient. And the nutrient carbohydrates include fiber, starch, and various sugars.

Confused?

Let’s first back up a bit. Nutrients are a substance that provides nourishment essential for growth and the maintenance of life. And there are six essential nutrients – meaning we must consume them regularly for energy and optimal health. These nutrients are widespread in our foods and include carbohydrates, protein, fat, vitamins, mineral, and water. With getting these nutrients regularly, we will not have a healthy life (like with not getting proper amounts of vitamins and minerals) and certainly die in a short period. Here, when referring to nutrients, I am not talking about any specific food. Rather than rehash everything in this post, look at Food Groups vs. Nutrients where I explain this more.

Now when it comes to protein, we have an extra twist here.

Protein is an essential nutrient with many, many roles in the body. Most people think of muscle building. Protein helps repair muscle and other tissues from exercise that helps build and strengthen muscle. If protein alone helps build muscle, I will never have a reason to pick up a weight again.

But protein has other roles too. For example, antibodies, the “soldiers” that fight invaders like viruses and other enemies to the body, are proteins. Protein also helps with skin and tissue repair, helps with hair and nail growth, helps with pH balance in the body, helps with fluid balance in the body, and enzymes are proteins. So protein is a “working-parent” nutrient that doing multiple things and does its best to keep the body well-functioning.

Now, here is the twist. As much as I hate that people call food groups “carbs” when carbs are in all the food groups, we had a shakeup in our food groups when we switched to the MyPlate food icon in 2011 from that silly pyramid.

Going back to the start of the food guidance visuals in the mid-1940s through the 2000s we had a food group most often called the “Meat, Poultry, Fish, or Egg” Group. On a food guidance visual I have in my office from the 1950s, Group 5 of the Basic 7.

However, as people were choosing vegetarianism more often, and some cultures don’t eat various forms of meat, we had alternatives to these visuals. So when the Food Guide Pyramid was in place, I thought I had five different options that accommodated vegetarians, vegans, and several other options.

So, when the MyPlate came out, to help be more inclusive of most dietary approaches, the former “meat, poultry, fish, and egg” group became the “protein” group. This group includes not just those animal sources of protein but also beans, nuts, seeds, peas, legumes, soy products, and of course, peanut butter.

While this food group is a good source of protein, this does not mean that we don’t get protein in other foods. As I stated in the earlier reference article, except for sugar and oil, ALL foods have protein from grains, fruits and vegetables, dairy, and of course, the foods in the protein group.

It is not appropriate or reasonable to think that the only foods that provide protein are the foods in the protein group. ALL food contributes to overall protein.

So, protein is an essential nutrient found in all food groups. And foods in protein food are not the only source of protein in the diet.