Menu
Members Log InBook Now

Find Your Local Aura Centre

Your Location
Drogheda
Dublin 7
Dundalk
Grove Island
Leitrim
Letterkenny
Navan
Trim
Tullamore
Youghal
Close
  • Home
  • Covid-19 FAQs
  • Home Workouts
  • Swim Academy At Home
  • Re-Opening
  • Our Locations
    • Drogheda
    • Dublin 7
    • Dundalk
    • Grove Island
    • Leitrim
    • Letterkenny
    • Navan
    • Trim
    • Tullamore
    • Youghal
  • Swim Lessons
    • Swim Academy
  • Membership
  • Group Exercise Classes
  • Personal Training Courses
  • Training Courses
  • Nominate2Celebrate
  • Aura Arena
  • Contact Aura Leisure Centres
  • Blog
  • About Us

Blog

Join Now
Book a Free Trial

Book a Free Trial

Leave your details below and we'll get back to you!
  • GDPR Notice

    GDPR Notice: By completing this form and submitting an enquiry, availing of a free trial, purchasing a membership or fitness class I expressly consent to the retention of my name, email address and any other personal details I have provided on this form for the sole purposes of the completion of this form and dealing with my enquiry, free trial, membership or fitness class. I also acknowledge that this data will be retained for training or mentoring purposes and that I may seek removal of my data or complete a subject access request. I understand that my data (name and email and any other personal details) will be stored on a secure server in the UK for this purpose and that it will not be shared with anyone.
  • From time to time we may wish to contact you about products and services which we feel may be of interest to you. If you are happy to receive this information please tick the relevant boxes below
  • A free trial entitles you to free entrance to any one activity at Aura e.g. Swim, Gym visit or Group Exercise class. The activity must be booked in advance by completing the form above and is only valid after completing an application from at reception. Other T&C's apply
×
Pay As You Go

Find Your Local Aura Centre

Your Location
Drogheda
Dublin 7
Dundalk
Grove Island
Leitrim
Letterkenny
Navan
Trim
Tullamore
Youghal

Demystifying Protein – Everything you need to know!

06 Mar | 2020

The month of March marks National Nutrition Month across the globe. To celebrate, over the course of this month I will be delving into the following vital nutrients as part of any healthy balanced diet – Protein, Carbohydrates & Healthy Fats.

What is Protein?

Proteins are an essential part of the human diet. It is suggested that the body consists of roughly 16% protein. So you can imagine the importance of this particular nutrient to a person’s overall health. The science behind protein is that it is made up of building blocks, known as amino acids and are used to repair damage.

There are 20 amino acids in total. Only 9 out of these 20 amino acids are deemed ‘essential’. This makes them no more important than the other 11. However, their description refers to our inability to synthesise them, to put it simply we must ingest them as part of our diet!

Why do we need protein?

It is health & fitness ‘bible’ to emphasise protein intake when working towards any type of fitness goal. Protein is a popular talking point for any fitness enthusiast, this is because protein is vital for muscle growth and repair, muscle toning, muscle recovery and overall muscle maintenance. It also acts as a source of energy. If you are training at a high intensity, and not taking in enough protein, you are leaving yourself vulnerable to serious injury and muscle imbalances. This is why protein supplements are so commonly utilised.

How much protein do we need?

According to the World Health Organisation and recommended dietary allowance, estimated daily protein intake for healthy adults is roughly 0.8 g/kg of body weight.

Protein recommendations can also vary depending on age and gender. Additionally, if a person has health conditions there is a risk of protein deficiency meaning their protein needs may increase. Follow the below chart to find out how much daily protein is required at different ages to avoid a progressive nitrogen loss!

Types of Protein

There are two types of protein sources. Animal or Plant based proteins. Both have unique benefits and can be used in synergy with one another.

Animal Based Protein – an excellent source of protein containing plenty of amino acids in favourable amounts. Sources include Meat, poultry, fish, dairy produce and eggs. All of which contain the right combination of amino acids to deem them ‘complete proteins’. This type of protein usually packs more calories along with it, ideal for adding lean muscle mass.

Plant Based Protein – A poorer source of protein based on the fact they contain fewer amino acids and smaller amounts of them overall. Their deficiency in one or more of the essential amino acids results in them being deemed ‘incomplete proteins’. There are exceptions. One example of a plant based complete protein is quinoa. A positive of plant based proteins is the fact that in some cases they have less calories and wont upset your stomach as easily.

Hearing this, it may be easy to assume that animal-based food provides more protein than plant-based food. However, there are exceptions. For example, one cup of tofu has the same number of grams in protein as 3 ounces of steak, chicken or fish. Here we have an example of an animal-based protein diet against a plant based protein diet. Worth noting both types of diet provide us with 64 grams of Protein

A Final Word

It is essential for us to remember the importance of protein not only for training, but for your overall health! Protein supplements remain popular options for increasing protein intake and rightly so. However, the key word there is ‘supplement’. Relying on protein shakes for overall protein intake should not be the answer. Everyone can and should meet their protein needs through a variety of whole foods both animal and plant based.

Vinny Pyper – Marketing Co-Ordinator

Published: 06/03/2020

FacebookTwitter

Search Blog

Our Latest Posts

AURA WINS DOUBLE AT THIS YEARS NATIONAL IRISH SAFETY AWARDS

4th February 2021

Continuation of Level 5 Restrictions – 28th January Update

28th January 2021

Level 5 Closure Announcement – January 2021

31st December 2020

Aura Leisure Re-Opening – 1/12/2020

27th November 2020

10 Home Workout Tips To Maximise Results

29th October 2020

Level 5 Closure Announcement

21st October 2020

INVEST IN A HEALTHIER, HAPPIER YOU!

14th September 2020

AURA LEISURE NAVAN WELCOMES BACK SWIMMERS WITH COMPLETITION OF CHANGING VILLAGE REFURBISHMENT

27th August 2020

Aura Letterkenny Completes Refurbishment Works at Leisure Centre Including Brand New Gym

25th August 2020

NEW CORK GYM IS FIRST TO BE DESIGNED FOR SOCIAL DISTANCING

14th July 2020

Tags

aura Aura Boyne Swim AuraLeisure Bananas Basketball Chicken Breast Diet Eggs Exercise Fall Fitness Football Hall Greens Gym Hall Hire happier health HealthierHappier HealthyEating heart heathier IHF Inspiration ireland Ironman Kiwi's mental health Mohill Motivation Nutrition Oats PowerThrough programme Salmon schools ShoppingBasket SportsHall SweetPotatoe Swim SwimLoughRynn SwimLoughRynn2019 Swimming Wellbeing Wellness Youghal
« PREVIOUS POST
Health & Safety Update (Covid-19)
NEXT POST »
Health & Safety Update – Covid-19 and Swimming Pools

Type and press enter to Search

A Healthier & Happier Ireland

Links

  • Careers
  • CSR
  • Legal
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy
  • Youth Protection Policy

Newsletter

Sign up to our newsletter

Tags

Swimming heart Swim mental health Nutrition PowerThrough ireland Gym Inspiration heathier Wellbeing health happier Motivation HealthierHappier Wellness Exercise AuraLeisure aura Fitness
©2021 Aura Leisure
Community. Quality. Passion.
We value your privacy
We use cookies, pixels, tags for Analytics, Marketing, Functional and Social Content purposes. We use these technologies to collect your device and browser information for required purposes (e.g. security, sign-up and logging in). We may share this data with third parties - including advertising partners like Google and Facebook - for Marketing purposes. By clicking "Accept All", you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. Please visit our Cookie Policy for more information.
Accept AllManage Preferences
Manage Cookies

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.

Social Media Content

These cookies may be set by social media embedded content such as YouTube, Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.

Analytics

We use Analytical cookies to understand how visitors interact with our website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic sources and how users interact with web pages. We use Google Analytics and Hotjar Analytics to help us improve user’s experience on our website.

Functional

Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.

Advertisement

Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.

Uncategorized

Undefined cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.

Save & Accept