Mums, you may have already heard how protein plays a huge part in your health and well-being. It helps build, maintain and repair tissues in our bodies, and also produces enzymes, hormones and other chemicals.1 To put it simply, protein not only builds strong muscles for our daily activities such as walking, running, exercising and working, it is also behind the formation of important tissues such as your skin and hair too!1 This is why protein is essential for you and your family. But did you know not all protein are the same? And have you ever heard of high quality protein foods?
Consider High Quality Protein Foods for a Strong Family
Protein is a “macronutrient” that your body requires a large amount of in order to function well. When a protein-rich food enters your stomach, it is broken down into different types of amino acids2 before your body can absorb it for the various functions and benefits.
This means it is crucial for your health – and the health of your family – to fuel your body with all the essential amino acids in the right ratios.2
Hence, it’s a good idea to really consider where we get our protein intake in our diet to ensure our overall well-being by stimulating the growth of our muscles and the development of our bodies.4 This is why it’s important for you and your family to consume foods with high quality protein.
What Is High-Quality Protein?
A high-quality protein is determined by:3
- the quality and quantity of the amino acids profile – complete protein
- its biological value – how well the protein is utilised by your body
- its digestibility – how well it breaks down in your body
There are two types of proteins: complete proteins and incomplete proteins.
Complete protein, which is from animal sources like meat and milk, contain all nine essential amino acids that our body cannot produce, while incomplete protein, which is plant-based, is labelled “incomplete” because it does not contain all nine essential amino acids.5 As such, animal-sourced protein is more biologically complete than plant-sourced protein!
Fulfill Your Protein Requirements with Milk!
Milk is very important to Malaysians’ diet as a source of many essential nutrients. According to Indra Balaratnam, Consultant Dietitian at Indra Balaratnam Nutrition, you can get your sources of protein, retinol, riboflavin, vitamin D, vitamin B12, zinc, magnesium and potassium from milk and dairy.6 They are an important source of nutrients for all age groups of the general Malaysian population throughout their life cycle.
Unfortunately, Malaysians are consuming way less milk than the amount of our body needs. Based on the Malaysian Adults Nutrition Survey 2014, Malaysian adults only consume 0.4 glasses of milk per week.7 This is far from ideal. The recommended intake by the Malaysian Dietary Guidelines recommends two to three servings of milk per day.8
Milk is indeed a great source of high-quality protein and other essential nutrients that our body needs. Indra recommends milk to be included in everyone’s daily diet for the many health benefits they provide.
Here’s why you should enjoy the goodness of milk every day:
- Milk contains nine essential amino acids that are required to build and maintain a healthy body.10
- Milk has high protein digestibility ratings, which means your body can efficiently utilise the sources of protein from it.9
- Milk is made up of 80% casein protein and 20% whey protein.9 The branched amino acids in whey protein are essential for tissue maintenance in the body.11 In other words, they’re what you need for muscle building, maintenance and repair.
- Your body cannot produce calcium on its own. Therefore you need to consume calcium from your daily diet. The high calcium content in milk helps children to develop stronger teeth and bones in their growing years.12As for adults, calcium helps to maintain healthy bones and prevent loss of bone mass.13
- Milk boosts immunity, lowers blood pressure, rehydrates you after a physical exercise and cleanses your skin too.14
A Stronger Start with Dutch Lady +Protein
The good news is it’s simple to achieve your family’s protein requirement.
Ready-to-drink milk is a great choice of protein source because you can enjoy it any time, especially during your hectic mornings. Other foods with high quality protein like meat, eggs and fish require time to cook or prepare. Plus, you may lose some nutrients by overcooking or overheating your food.15
So if you’re looking for a fuss-free way to have a stronger start to your day, go for a protein-filled breakfast with NEW Dutch Lady +Protein! It is the perfect breakfast choice for you – and your family – because it fuels your body with all the essential nutrients you need for an active day ahead:
- Every glass of Dutch Lady +Protein gives you 10g of high-quality protein.
- Two glasses of Dutch Lady +Protein fulfill 40% of the protein requirement for you and your family.16
- It’s packed with high-quality protein for STRONGER MUSCLES, high calcium for STRONGER BONES and other essential nutrients for your body such as vitamin A for healthy eyes, vitamin B2 to support the release of energy and vitamin D to aid the absorption of calcium.
It’s so easy to enjoy Dutch Lady +Protein every morning. No cooking is required – just enjoy this delicious milk with your favourite wholegrain breakfast cereal, blend it with fruits to make a smoothie or simply drink it on its own! It’s convenient and affordable, tastes good and really is the smartest way to give you and your family a protein and calcium boost for a stronger start, every day!
Let’s start your day stronger with Dutch Lady +Protein today! It’s available at your nearest hypermarket, supermarket, minimarket and selected provision store, or you can buy online at www.eshop.tesco.com.my.
For more information about Dutch Lady +Protein, please visit Dutch Lady Malaysia Facebook at www.facebook.com/spread.the.goodness.of.milk or https://www.dutchlady.com.my/plusprotein.
References:
1 The Benefits of Protein. Retrieved from https://www.webmd.com/men/features/benefits-protein#1
2 Essential amino acids: Definition, benefits and food sources (2018, June) Retrieved from https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/essential-amino-acids
3 What is a “high-quality” protein? (2018, May) Retrieved from https://www.bornfitness.com/high-quality-protein/
4 Getting childhood off with a strong start with protein (2010, October) Retrieved from https://foodinsight.org/getting-childhood-off-to-a-strong-start-with-protein/
5 University of Massachusetts at Amherst, https://www.umass.edu/nibble/infofile/incprot.html
6 Malaysian Dietary Guidelines, National Coordinating Committee on Food & Nutrition, Ministry of Health Malaysia, 2010)
7 Current nutrient intake among Malaysians, Adult: Finding from MANS 2014, THE MEDICAL JOURNAL OF MALAYSIA, VOL.70 SUPPLEMENT 1 SEPTEMBER 2015, pp12. Retrieved from https://www.e-mjm.org/2015/v70s1/Asia-Pacific-Conference-on-public-health.pdf
8 Malaysian Dietary Guidelines (National Coordinating Committee on Food & Nutrition, Ministry of Health Malaysia 2010); Page 9
9 Hoffman JR & Favlo MJ. Protein – Which is best? Journal of Sports Science and Medicine. 2004; 3: 118-130. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3905294/
10 Milk Protein. Retrieved from https://www.milkfacts.info/Milk%20Composition/Protein.htm
11 MacLean D.A., Graham T.E., Saltin B. (1994) Branched-chain amino acids augment ammonia metabolism while attenuating protein breakdown during exercise. American Journal of Physiology267, E1010-1022. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7810616
12 MOH (2010). Guide to Nutrition Labelling and Claims (as at December 2010). Food Safety and Quality Division, Ministry of Health Malaysia, Putrajaya. Retrieved from https://extranet.who.int/nutrition/gina/sites/default/files/MYS%202010%20Guide%20to%20Nutrition%20Labelling%20and%20Claims.pdf
13 National Institutes of Health (1994) NIH Consensus Statement 12:4. Optimal Calcium Intake. Bethesda, MD: NIH. Retrieved from https://consensus.nih.gov/1994/1994optimalcalcium097html.htm
14 9 incredible benefits of drinking milk. Retrieved from https://www.medclique.org/nutrition-and-diet/milk-health-benefits-nutrition/
15 Recommended Nutrient Intakes for Malaysia, 2017. A report of the technical working group on nutritional guidelines. Ministry of Health. Retrieved from https://nutrition.moh.gov.my/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/FA-Buku-RNI.pdf
16 In accordance to NRV Malaysia