That's Fit

I consider myself a pretty good eater. I mostly consume fruits, veggies, non-red lean meats, some whole grains, and only an occasional basket of bread -- ah, my weakness. I'm sure I eat the appropriate amount of calories in a day -- not too many, not too few -- but one thing that makes me wonder a bit is this: Am I getting enough of the good stuff in my diet -- the protein, the fiber, the calcium, the iron? My mom and I discussed this the other evening while power walking through our neighborhood. Protein was the topic. After our walk, I came home and did some research. Here's what I found.

Apparently, most Americans get more than enough protein in their diets, according to Health Central's MyDietExercise.com. Sometimes, though, our erratic eating habits and tendencies toward fad diets throw our protein intake out of whack, which undermines energy, exercise performance, and overall health.

So how much exactly is enough protein? Well, it depends on a few factors, says Health Central -- like age, gender, and activity level. For me, after plugging my stats into their handy dandy calculator, I learned that I need 81 grams per day. Seems like a lot but check out how these common foods stack up in the protein department -- chicken has 35 grams per four-ounce breast and salmon has 23 grams per three-ounce serving. One six-ounce can of tuna has 40 grams, four ounces of cottage cheese has 14, and one egg has six.

This site says I don't need as much protein, more like 60 grams per day -- seems men and women both would do fine with this limit. As a rule, though, the average requirement is calculated based on 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight. For instance, a 130 pound (59 kg) woman would need 47 grams of protein daily. Requirements for athletes would be higher.

Regardless of what tool I use to pin down my own protein requirement, it seems I'm likely doing just fine. The others, like fiber, calcium, and iron -- I'm not too sure about those yet. Once I do a little investigating, I'll let you know.