When you think of protein, fruit doesn’t usually come to mind.
“The best sources include chicken, fish, seafood, turkey, tofu, Greek yogurt, beans, lentils, cottage cheese, and eggs,” says registered dietician, Melissa Majumdar, senior bariatric dietician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston and spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. “Other foods that are good sources include nuts and seeds, nut butter, cheese and milk, and green peas and edamame.”
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Not a single fruit makes the list, and that’s because it simply doesn’t meet the requirements.
“To be considered a good source of protein, one serving should have over 6 grams,” says Majumdar. “Whole grains, fruits, and vegetables will offer a few grams each, but they are often not complete sources of protein and provide us with more macronutrients (fat, carbohydrates) than protein.” Unless you’re eating kilos of it, fruit comes in well below that amount per serving.
Fruit does provide some protein, but it won’t make a huge dent. Mostly, what you’re getting is carbs, says Majumdar: “On average, fruit provides about 15 grams of total carbohydrates from natural sources of sugar like fructose and glucose and fibre in a 1/2 cup serving.” These carbohydrates help fuel your body and aid in protein synthesis. “Foods that provide carbohydrates, like many fruits, give us energy and fibre that allows our body to spare the protein for muscle growth, repair, and formation,” says Majumdar.
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Still, if you can get a little bonus protein from your fruit on top of carbs, that can’t hurt, right? Keep reading to find out five fruits that contain relatively high amounts of protein, as well as the other benefits they offer.
The post Is Fruit The Protein Source We’ve All Been Missing Out On? appeared first on Men's Health.
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