Thursday, September 12, 2013

Get a great body -- AND protect the planet. Win-win!

I'm talking about protein sources here, which doesn't sound very sexy....but in fact if you want to be trim, fit and yes, sexy, you need to eat a lot of good-quality protein. My trainer tells me I should shoot for 75 grams a day, which is way beyond my abilities (though I haven't admitted that to him). Web-MD, on the other hand, suggests about 46 grams for adult women and a little more (56 grams) for men. If you're a meat-eater, it's not that hard to rack up that amount. But there's the rub: meat is something we should minimize, especially red meat, for health reasons alone.
And then there's the planet. The worldwide surge in the popularity of beef is horrible for the environment. Rain forests are being cleared to provide land to graze cattle, and the beasts also emit gases that further pollute the air and water.
So what's a girl to do? Well, here's a list of non-meat/fish protein sources that are low in fat (thus the sexy body) and "green" in terms of environmental impact. In many cases, you might want to choose organic products over conventional ones, if you can afford the price hike.
1. Beans and lentils
2. Nuts and nut butters
3. Low- or non-fat milk and yogurt
4.  Tofu
5. Brown rice, quinoa and other high-protein grains such as millet
 


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