Proteins are the building blocks of our body. They are essential for human health and are required for the growth and development of our hair, muscles, bones, ligaments and other body parts. Protein is also required to repair worn-out tissues and for the formation of new body tissues.
Without proteins our body would lack enzymes and hormones that are required for the various essential processes of the body such as digestion, metabolism etc.
The two major protein sources are – Animal and plant or vegetarian protein source. Animal protein food includes meat, fish, poultry, dairy products etc. Vegetarian protein sources include legumes - lentils, kidney beans, split peas, lima beans etc. Grains such as brown rice, oatmeal, wheat germ, wheat, rye, barley, buckwheat all are protein rich.
Vegetables rich in protein are green peas, artichokes, broccoli, eggplants, mushrooms, turnip greens, spinach, cabbage, mustard green, lettuce etc. Fruits such as apple, grapes, papaya, strawberries, watermelon, peach, pear etc all have protein in them and are worth mentioning. Nuts and seeds like almonds, peanuts, sesame seeds, walnuts, cashews, sunflower seeds etc are also very rich in protein content.
Out of all these, the most important and the richest vegetarian protein source is soy. Lot of delicious soy products like soy milk, soy cheese, tofu, soy nuts are easily available in the market and are very useful for our health. Tofu is the richest soy product having very high protein content. You need to combine these different protein sources to get a balanced diet that is beneficial for your body.
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