How a High Protein Breakfast that Includes Milk
Can Power Your Morning
protein basics
The Importance of High Protein Foods in Your Diet
Why is it important to include high protein foods in your diet?
No matter your age or fitness goals, there are many reasons your body needs protein to be healthy and strong – from muscles to hair to healthy bones and teeth.
The latest research suggests that it’s not just about how much protein you need, but it’s also about when you get your protein. Read on to find out more about this important nutrient and how you can find good sources of protein for breakfast to help get the protein you need.
What Is Protein?
Along with carbohydrates and fats, protein is one of the three macronutrients, or nutrients that provide energy (or calories) in your diet. Protein long has been recognized as the foundation for the body. In fact, the word protein comes from the Greek word protos, which means first. Scientists now have discovered more than 30,000 proteins in our bodies. Each of these unique proteins is made up of a set of building blocks called amino acids, which food sources of protein provide. Nine amino acids are considered essential because your body can’t make the unique proteins it needs to survive without them. High quality proteins – like those from milk, meat or fish – contain all nine of these essential amino acids.
Why Do We Need Protein?
Protein is the nutrient of the decade and its profile continues to rise. It’s a nutrient that more people want to get more of every day and often make sure to meet their daily protein requirements. That’s because protein is a valuable multitasker and does many important things in our bodies. In fact, protein is part of every cell in your body.
Getting enough protein, especially as part of a healthy breakfast, can help with:
- Building lean muscle – Protein supplies your body amino acids it needs to build strong muscles. Along with being physically active, getting enough protein in your diet helps build and repair muscle.
- Keeping you fuller, longer – Protein has a more powerful effect on satiety than either carbohydrates or fats. Including enough protein at breakfast can help you feel full, and satisfied with your meal so you don’t feel hungry again by mid-morning.
- Energy and focus – Power up your mornings with a high protein breakfast. Many experts now recommend starting the day with 25 to 30 grams of protein to help energize your morning. You’ll feel fuller longer so you can focus on the things you want to accomplish.
- Maintaining bone health – Along with key bone-building nutrients like calcium and vitamin D, research shows protein is also a key factor in building healthy bones.
- Maintaining a healthy weight – Protein plays a role in maintaining a healthy weight. As part of a calorie-controlled diet, protein has been linked to more lean muscle and less fat.
It’s important to keep in mind the type, amount and timing of your protein.
Foods High in Protein
Looking for Foods High in Protein?
While all foods with protein can help contribute to meeting your daily protein needs, it’s important to look at the amount of protein in each serving. Not all foods with protein on their own are good sources of protein. Check out these morning food choices and how much protein they contribute (or don’t contribute) to your diet. It’s also important to look at the quality of the protein you get. Keep reading to learn more.
USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, Release 27.
Protein in Milk
Why the Protein in Milk Is the Complete Package
When it comes to meeting your daily protein requirements, not all foods are created equal.
In addition to considering the amount of protein in your food, there are several other factors to consider when it comes choosing the right protein food:
The Facts About Milk’s
High-Quality Protein
When it comes to protein content, milk hits it out of the park. But milk is more than a good source of protein. It also offers eight other essential nutrients, including calcium, vitamin D and potassium — nutrients that most Americans – including children – are missing in their diet.
How much protein is in milk? You’ll find two types of protein in milk: whey (20 percent) and casein (80 percent). Both are considered high-quality proteins because they contain all essential amino acids in sufficient amounts to qualify milk as a good source of protein.
Milk is also a complete protein, which means that every glass contains a full mix of the essential amino acids our bodies need. Most plant-based protein sources are not considered complete proteins and other foods like protein bars often try to compensate for their lack of natural protein by adding in soy protein isolate or other processed forms of protein alongside added ingredients, like sugar.
Plus, a recent study suggests a diet rich in milk protein is associated with better bone strength (higher bone mineral density) compared to some other patterns high in popular protein sources, like red meat.1
Milk is a wholesome, affordable and versatile source of protein that can be enjoyed in a glass, cup or bowl. You can also find it in many forms – from fat free to whole to organic. And where else can you get 8 grams of protein, along with 8 other essential nutrients, for only 80 calories – all for around a quarter a glass? Nowhere, except in fat free milk.
Milk is also a great post-workout beverage. In fact, lowfat chocolate milk has the right protein to carb ratio scientifically shown to help you recover after a tough workout.
How Milk Protein Compares
to Other Sources of Protein
When considering your daily protein intake, there’s good reason to add milk at meals. There are 8 grams of protein in a glass of milk — that’s a gram of high-quality protein in every ounce. Each serving of milk has more protein than the 6 grams found in a large egg. When compared to almond milk, which only has 1 gram — a glass of dairy milk has eight times as much protein. Plus, there’s even new research underway that suggests milk could be the gold standard for protein, according to the World Health Organization.
Take a look at how the protein in milk compares to other foods.
(to the dollar)
(additional nutrients)
USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, Release 27. Additional nutrients signify food provides 10% or greater of the Daily Value of labeled nutrients.
†IRI Sales Data (milk, soymilk, almond milk), USDA Retail Prices (eggs), Average Online Grocery Prices (peanut butter). USDA Retail Prices based on available online data, may not be nationally representative.
Protein Intake
Discover how much protein you need and what you’re currently getting
