What you need to know about protein: Advice from a local doctor & director of bariatric surgery

 SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Have you noticed an influx of foods that are not typically high in protein, displaying high protein content? Things like protein muffins, protein donuts, or even protein pancakes?

Dr. Eric Knapp, Director of Bariatric Surgery at Saint Joseph Health System, says he thinks it’s good that protein is in more things, but says just because an item like a pancake or granola says it has protein, it doesn't make it a purely protein food. That's because the protein is added to it. He says they can still be heavy-carb food items.

"I think they're less healthy because they're processed. I think by definition, if the protein's added to something, it's a processed food. So my preference would be a whole food source, such as meat, eggs, dairy, Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, those are pretty quality sources. But again, if you're going to have pancakes, I think it's better to have the protein pancakes. If you're going to have a granola bar, it's better to have a higher protein granola bar," said Knapp.

Dr. Knapp says in his opinion, protein is the most important macronutrient.

"You know, all of us might have different dietary goals. For example, if you're trying to lose weight, your diet might look different than if you're trying to just be as healthy as you can be and maintain your weight. So, it can really differ depending on what your specific goals are. But I think all of us, no matter what the goal is, protein is very important in the macronutrients," said Knapp.

Educating people about dietary needs is a large part of what they do at Saint Joseph Wellness and Weight Management.

Dr. Knapp says the purest protein sources are animal-based because they are almost guaranteed to be a complete protein source, meaning they contain all 20 amino acids. He says if you’re getting your protein from a complete protein source, it doesn't really matter where it came from.

"If you don't eat meat, you can have vegetable sources of protein, but sometimes those are incomplete. You have to be a little bit careful with the amino acid profile of the protein itself. Whey protein will be from milk. That's very good. One comment on that is if you're looking for whey protein, it should be a whey protein isolate. Whey Protein concentrate is okay, but it's going to be less bioavailable, meaning you're going to excrete some of that as waste," said Knapp.

Dr. Knapp says you need protein to build new muscle.

"So, muscles are essentially made of protein, and you have to have protein to build new muscle. There's kind of a constant buildup and breakdown of muscle. Every day, we go through at least a microscopic amount of muscle buildup and breakdown. So, if you're not continually putting in adequate proteins every day, you'll wind up with a deficiency in muscle<" said Knapp.

In terms of the amount of protein you should be eating per day, it varies.

"I often recommend that patients get around 100 grams of protein per day, as a rough general rule of thumb. That can differ from, you know, 80 grams if you're smaller stature to up to 120 plus grams if you're larger statured. That's just general rules of thumb, and it really comes down to, I think, maintaining muscle mass," said Knapp.