Plus a High Protein Meal Plan with Recipes

Are you struggling with symptoms like PMS, painful periods, cravings, fatigue, mood swings, irregular cycles, hair loss, or a sluggish metabolism? Or maybe you're struggling with hormonal imbalances like high stress hormones, hypothyroidism, estrogen dominance, low progesterone, or insulin resistance? If you resonate with any of these symptoms or hormonal imbalances then you likely need more bioavailable protein in your diet.

In this blog, we learn about the purpose of protein, why we need a protein-rich diet, the signs of protein deficiencies, the difference between animal and plant protein, why animal protein remains superior in order to enhance our health as humans, and my favorite animal protein sources. We also explore how much protein we need daily along with what to do if you feel like you don’t digest animal protein well. Finally, we wrap up with a Meal Guide and Recipe book to help you increase your protein intake.

What Actually Is Protein?

Protein is an essential macronutrient, just like carbohydrates and fat.

Protein can consist of 20 different essential amino acids, which are considered the building blocks of life and utilized for numerous purposes in our body.
Of the 20 amino acids, nine are considered essential, meaning we must obtain them from food. The body can manufacture the rest. However, many of us, especially if undernourished and over stressed, have trouble manufacturing these 11 so-called non-essential amino acids, so I believe we should obtain all 20 amino acids through foods to best optimize our overall health and wellness.

What Is the Purpose of Protein Within the Body?

One may think of high protein diets for gym rats or bodybuilders, but we all really need protein for numerous reasons. The following highlights the most important:

Protein builds biological structures in our body, including organs, muscles, bones, hair, skin, nails, tendons, and cartilage, which are all made of protein. If we don’t eat enough protein, the essential function of these physiological functions often become impaired.

Protein fuels thyroid production and conversion of triiodothyronine (T3). T3 affects every cell and all the organs in the body including detoxification, blood sugar balance, digestion, body temperature, ovulation, blood pressure, cell repair, and much more. Read THIS blog to learn more about the importance of thyroid hormones.

Protein aids in our liver's ability to detoxify, utilizing great amounts of protein to perform its 500 plus responsibilities, including detoxifying excess estrogen, something many women struggle with.

Protein promotes good digestion, especially keeping the junctions in our gut tight and properly regulated. Not eating enough protein may lead to leaky gut and impaired ability to digest foods properly.

Protein is also a crucial component of making enough stomach acid. Without enough stomach acid, our digestive systems struggle to break down our food and digest it well, leading to potentially heartburn, acid reflux, or other common digestive ailments.

Protein helps transport nutrients throughout the body.

Protein hugely helps the body manufacture enzymes, enhancing natural chemical reactions in the body, like speeding up the breakdown of food and making energy to power the body.
Protein, especially animal protein, helps one feel full and satisfied after a meal.
Lastly, protein remains essential for blood sugar regulation and preventing blood sugar spikes.

Many reasons resound why we should eat sufficient amounts of protein, but unfortunately many women unintentionally under-eat protein.

Not eating enough protein daily leads to an undernourished and over stressed body, eventually causing hormonal imbalances, plaguing women today.

Protein Deficiency and Hormonal Imbalances

Protein deficiencies often lead to numerous hormonal imbalances, such as hypothyroidism, high cortisol, estrogen dominance, low progesterone, and insulin resistance along with other unwanted symptoms.

Low Thyroid Hormones or Hypothyroidism

Lack of protein suppresses thyroid function, production, conversion, and utilization of thyroid hormones. Many modern women struggle with low thyroid function because they’re not eating enough protein, resulting in symptoms of fatigue, hair loss, cold hands and feet, and insomnia.

High Cortisol Levels

Lack of protein also increases cortisol levels because the body must energize with cortisol due to the lack of protein building blocks to perform numerous biological functions within the body. When protein intake is low, cortisol rises to compensate to find stored forms of protein throughout the body and break it down.

Estrogen Dominance

Protein aids in detoxification pathways. Lack of protein leads to less excretion of excess estrogen, resulting in symptoms of PMS, painful periods, and irregular menstrual cycles.

Low Progesterone

Low protein consumption and poor thyroid function hinder the body’s ability to produce enough progesterone, resulting in symptoms like shorter menstrual cycles, trouble conceiving, PMS, bloating, and more.

Insulin Resistance

Eating enough protein throughout the day remains a key factor in keeping our blood sugar balanced. Many women eat too many carbs without enough protein, leading to a dramatic spike in blood sugar. Over time this lack of protein can lead to insulin resistance and eventually diabetes.

Along with hormonal imbalances, here are some additional health issues related to protein deficiencies.

Protein provides a crucial component in creating enough stomach acid and gastric juices. Without enough protein over a long period of time, chronic indigestion may occur, leading to other nutrient deficiencies.

Lack of protein may increase inflammation due to the lack of amino acids which help regulate inflammation.
Lack of protein can also contribute to hair loss. Most of us want strong, thick, healthy hair but without the building block to build hair, our hair growth and retention can greatly suffer.

We also become more susceptible to infections if we don't have the protein-building blocks to fight off disease, so getting sick constantly could be a sign you need more protein.

Lastly, animal protein specifically, makes us feel full and satisfied after eating, so if we don't eat protein with every meal, we can often feel hungry sooner or simply never feel full.

So, as you can see from this list, protein provides us with a macronutrient, especially designed by the biology of our bodies for regulating our hormones and allowing our body to function normally. However, not all protein is equal and a proven key to avoiding these negative symptoms includes consuming the majority of your protein from animal sources.

Why Is Animal Protein Superior to Plant Protein?

Plant-based diets are hyped hard lately. However, I wholeheartedly believe from research and experience that cutting out animal protein does more harm than good. Almost all foods contain protein, but animal protein remains the most superior and most optimal source.

When we eat a meal or snack, we should aim to always consume some kind of animal protein. Plants can absolutely be part of a balanced diet, however, your liver, thyroid, and digestive function all prefer protein from animal sources.

Let's compare and contrast animal and plant protein:

Animal Protein

Examples of animal protein include muscle and organ meats, eggs, dairy, fish, and shellfish.

Animal proteins are much more bioavailable, meaning much easier to digest and absorb the available nutrients.
The main reason why animal proteins are more bioavailable is because they are virtually void of anti-nutrients. Anti-nutrients, such as, lectins, oxalates, goitrogens, phytoestrogens, phytates, and tannin, are compounds found in plants which block and/or reduce the body’s ability to absorb other essential nutrients.

Since animal protein is so bioavailable and void of anti-nutrients, we absorb 80 to 100 percent of the protein-rich nutrients.

Animal proteins also are complete proteins, meaning they include all 20 amino acids.

Plant Protein

Examples of plant proteins include seeds, grains, nuts, legumes, soy, and soy products, like tofu, tempeh, and edamame.

Plant proteins are less bioavailable, making it much harder for our body to digest and absorb the protein from these plant foods.

One reason why plant proteins are less bioavailable is because most, if not all, plant proteins are bound to anti-nutrients and enzyme inhibitors, like phytates and lectins, which block or limit absorbing not only the protein but other essential vitamins and minerals. Although, soaking, sprouting, fermenting, and properly cooking helps lower antinutrients.

Even with proper preparation, we only absorb 40 to 60% of the nutrients in plants. This percentage still remains highly debated and continually studied, but either way, plant protein certainly absorbs differently in our human bodies compared to animal protein.

Plant proteins also have an incomplete amino acid profile, lacking all the essential amino acids to live. Plus, the total amount of amino acids in plants remains much lower compared to animal proteins.

The table below contrasts the essential amino acids in steak versus soybeans.

When contrasting steak versus soybeans, steak has double the amount of protein plus a more complete amino acid profile compared to soybeans. The steak not only has more protein but also contains more vitamins and minerals, including vitamin A, D, B12, zinc, and selenium, not shown on this graph.

Now, am I saying never eat beans? Absolutely not, I love beans and when properly prepared with a strong digestion, they can be a great contribution to a healthy diet. That said, the point of this contrast proves plant protein never compares to animal proteins. It's much more difficult to obtain enough protein in our diet by ONLY eating plant proteins.

Plus, if you're reading this you're likely struggle with negative symptoms like poor digestion, a sluggish liver, sluggish metabolism and/or a hormonal imbalance, so many of these plant proteins can be super hard on your digestion due to their anti-nutrients, hinder your liver function, and slower your metabolism.

Now that we’ve established that animal protein is the optimal source for bioavailable protein, you might wonder how much protein you need daily.

My Favorite Sources of Animal Protein

Now that you understand why animal protein is superior to plant protein, here’s a list of all my favorite sources of animal protein.

muscle meats

beef
pork
lamb
chicken
bison
venison
deli meats

organs

heart
liver
kidney
tripe

fish and shellfish

fish

cod
salmon
tuna
trout
tilapia
sardines
mahi mahi
mackerel
anchovies
halibut

shellfish

oysters
shrimp
crab
lobster
scallops
mussels

eggs and dairy products

eggs
milk
cottage cheese
Greek yogurt or skyr
some cheeses (note most cheeses are not high in protein)

bone broth

homemade
store Bought

Bonafide
Kettle & Fire
Epic

protein powders brands

Mt. Capra
NorCal Organic
Paleo Valley

Remember it's best to choose organic, grass-fed, pasture-raised, wild-caught sources whenever possible. That said, if high quality animal proteins are out of your budget, I believe it's better to eat low-quality, conventional animal proteins than avoiding animal products altogether.

How much protein do you need daily?

Unfortunately, like mentioned earlier most women are not eating enough protein and this lack of protein remains why so many women struggle with hormone imbalances and the symptoms that follow.

As a general rule most women need at least 100 grams per day of bioavailable protein. If you have poor digestive function, do strength training, have high stress levels, or if you’re pregnant or breastfeeding, you likely need to increase your protein intake even more.

If you want to find your exact number of protein needed per day, use this calculation:

goal body weight in pounds X 0.8 = minimum grams of protein per day

It’s also crucial to note that we can only absorb about 40 grams of protein per meal. The rest will likely be peed or defecated out. Therefore, aim for at least 20 to 30 grams of protein per meal and 10 grams per snack.

What does 100 grams of protein per day actually look like?

Below are two examples of a daily meal plan, one containing 100 grams of protein and the other containing 130 grams of protein. The recipes for all of the meals and snacks shown can be found in my Meal Guide and Recipes Ebook. Scroll to the end of this blog post to learn more.

What if I Don't Seem to Digest Animal Protein Well?

One complaint I often hear when I recommend eating more protein is “I don't digest animal protein well. Animal meat makes me feel bloated, heavy, or grossed out.”

One main reason why people don't digest protein is likely due to not enough stomach acid or hydrochloric acid in your stomach. When we don't have enough essential stomach acid, animal proteins do not digest well. So, the undigested food just sits in your stomach, ferments, bubbles, and makes you feel bloated and very uncomfortable. So, you think animal protein is the issue, when in reality, the issue is likely due to a lack of stomach acid.

So how can you improve your stomach acid?

One helpful tip is to use a digestive bitter or apple cider vinegar before meals. You can buy digestive bitters at your local health food store and spray it on your tongue about 15 minutes before eating. My favorite brands include Urban Moonshine or Organic Olivia. Alternatively, you can add a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar to a glass of water and drink 15 minutes before a meal. Both of these methods help increase digestive juice naturally and improve protein digestion.
Another helpful tip is to make sure you're adding salt to your food at each meal. The chemical name of salt is sodium chloride and the chloride found in salt helps create hydrochloric acid which makes up our stomach acid.
Another tip is to start with easier to digest animal proteins, like bone broth, eggs, and hard cheeses, and then gradually make your way to fish, poultry, and eventually red meat. This can be especially helpful if transitioning from a vegan or vegetarian diet. Also, aim to eat high quality animal protein from pasture raised animals which often enhances the taste. Quality raised meat is completely different compared to meat from cheaply, conventionally CAFO raised animals, fed on corn and soy.
The long term approach to making enough stomach acid is ironically to eat enough protein. We need a daily dose of protein to make enough stomach acid, but we also need enough stomach acid to digest our protein, you can see how this can turn into a vicious cycle. Digestive bitters can help at first, but we shouldn't have to rely on them long term. Once you can digest protein better, make sure you're eating enough protein so you can naturally make enough stomach acid.

To reiterate, if you're struggling with PMS, painful periods, cravings, fatigue, mood swings, irregular cycles, hair loss, sluggish metabolism, or hormonal imbalances like high stress hormones, hypothyroidism, estrogen dominance, low progesterone, or insulin resistance, you likely need to increase the amount protein in your diet.

If you're interested in a meal guide with tons of high protein recipes, I highly recommend checking out my Meal Guide and Recipes Ebook. This resource includes:

over 40 delicious recipes
tips on sourcing quality food
guide to quality brands
full grocery list
guide on how to build balanced meals and snacks
example meal plan

This resource not only provides tons of recipes to help increase your protein intake but also additional recipes to help with hormone balance. Click HERE to learn more about this resource.

Meal Guide & Recipes Ebook

Ready for some guidance on how to balance your hormones for good?

Learn more here!

If you have any questions about this blog, the Meal Guide and Recipes, or how to restore your hormone balance for good, please leave a comment below or send me an email to bella@nourishwithbella.com

A High Protein Diet Is Essential for Balanced Hormones