What has a lot of protein?

Proteins. THE nutrient of today. A few years ago, only athletes drank protein shakes and ate protein bars, but nowadays many other people also pay attention to their protein intake. Meeting protein needs in everyday life is not always easy. That’s why the question often arises: What has a lot of protein?.

That’s exactly what this article is about: I’ll explain which foods have a lot of protein, how much protein we really need, and why proteins are so important at all.

Your knowledge to go: What has a lot of protein?

• A distinction is made between animal (e.g., meat and dairy products) and plant-based protein sources (e.g., legumes and nuts).

• Especially with vegetarian and vegan protein sources, it is important to combine different protein sources to get a complete amino acid profile.

• Protein powders and high protein products can help meet protein needs.
  

Let’s get started: What has a lot of protein?
Okay, you’re right. It makes more sense if we start with the basics:

Your protein needs

Let's take a look at how much protein you actually need per day. Right upfront: This question is much more complex than you might first think. That’s why we have written two special articles on the topic where you can learn everything important:

How much protein per day?

How much protein per kg?

In short: Protein needs are individual and depend on many different factors such as body weight, age, or activity level. For the general population, a recommendation of 0.8 g of protein per kg of body weight applies. However, other values apply for groups like athletes (1.2-2 g) or older adults (1 g). There is also an increased protein requirement during pregnancy or breastfeeding.

Why are proteins important?

Why do we actually need to consider what has a lot of protein? Why are proteins so much in focus?
Proteins are incredibly versatile nutrients and the current hype is well justified! Proteins are small all-rounders and important for our entire body.

Basically, we know proteins alongside carbohydrates and fats as one of the macronutrients. Proteins provide us with energy and additionally supply us with important building blocks for our body: the amino acids.
In the body, proteins, or rather amino acids, are involved in many areas in different processes:

• Energy metabolism

• Hormonal balance

• Bone and muscle metabolism

• Immune system

• …
  

It is therefore very important that we consume enough proteins, to supply our body with important amino acids and thus contribute to a balanced diet. According to professional societies, a long-term insufficient protein intake can lead to limitations in everyday life – e.g., reduced performance or increased fatigue. We don't want that! Therefore, pay attention to sufficient protein intake and generally a protein-rich diet.

So, how do we approach this? What has a lot of protein?

What has a lot of protein – the best protein sources

When asking what has a lot of protein, a distinction is made between animal and plant protein sources.
To shorten the probably already emerging discussion about which is actually better: It is individually different for everyone what the better choice is. Depending on personal values, diet, and preferences, either plant or animal proteins or a wild mix is the right decision for you. A detailed look at this topic can be found in our article "Animal vs. plant protein".

But first, let's take a look at various protein-rich foods:
What has a lot of protein – an overview.

Animal protein sources

When you think of proteins and consider what has a lot of protein, the keywords meat and eggs often come to mind right away. And rightly so. These foods actually contain a lot of protein!
Small spoiler in advance: Plant-based protein sources are just as good as animal ones.

Here is a small overview of some protein-rich animal foods:

Some important notes:

• The type of product (high-fat, low-fat, etc.), preparation, and the exact variety of the product influence the final protein content.

• The table is not complete; there are simply too many products to display them all here. Therefore, we have focused here on some of the highest-protein and most commonly used foods.

• For most products, the protein content of the raw product was given: the cooked / fried / baked / ... product has a different protein content.

• Don't be fooled: It's obviously much easier to drink 100 g of milk than to eat 100 g of Parmesan... well... Anyway, back to the topic: A high protein content per 100 g is not everything. Always consider how much of a food you can or want to eat.
  
  

Plant-based protein sources

Contrary to what many people think, plant-based foods also contain large amounts of protein. Therefore, sufficient protein can also be consumed in vegetarian and vegan diets. No wonder – there are even vegan bodybuilders! They are living proof.
Especially legumes stand out with very high protein levels comparable to meat. Soy is one of the best-known legumes, so it gets a special place in our table.

So: What has a lot of protein in the plant-based product world?

Some important notes:

• The type of product, preparation, and also the exact variety of the product influence the final protein content.

• The table is not complete; there are simply too many products to display them all here. Therefore, we have focused here on some of the highest-protein and most commonly used foods.

• For most products, the protein content of the raw product was given: the cooked / fried / baked / ... product has a different protein content.

• Dried foods have a much higher protein content:
  dried tomato: 11.3 g / 100 g
  fresh tomato 0.8 g / 100 g

Of course, fruit also contains proteins. However, the amounts are so small in comparison that we decided not to include them in our list "What has a lot of protein." But you can also make smart choices when selecting fruit and choose higher-protein varieties like berries (especially elderberry with 2.5 g) or passion fruit with 2.2 g protein.

One product category is still missing from our overview on the topic "What has a lot of protein?" Clearly: protein powders. If they don't contain much protein, then what? Let's take a closer look.

Protein powders and high protein products

Of course, protein powders, protein bars & co. can also help meet your daily protein needs. However, it is clear: protein shakes are not a substitute for balanced meals. As a small snack, a quick protein portion, or as an exception as a breakfast replacement when time is tight, protein shakes are great.

When buying such products, be sure to pay attention to the following points:

• Quality: preferably organic quality, sensible and high-quality ingredients, high protein content, as clean as possible

• biological value of the protein (more on this shortly)

• Composition: Are there other valuable ingredients like fiber, vitamins, or healthy fatty acids included?

As you can see, it’s not only the question “What has a lot of protein?” that matters, but you have to look at the product as a whole.

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Choose your proteins smartly

Protein is not just protein. And a product with an extremely high protein content is not necessarily better than one with less. Why is that?!

Let's start with a brief explanation: proteins are made up of amino acids. These are distinguished between

• non-essential amino acids (the body can produce them itself): alanine, arginine, asparagine, aspartic acid, cysteine, glutamine, glutamic acid, glycine, proline, serine, and tyrosine

• essential amino acids (the body cannot produce them (in sufficient amounts) itself and therefore they must be obtained through food: isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan, and valine

If we want to meet our protein needs, our goal should always be to consume as much of each amino acid as we require. How can this be achieved? Through a balanced and varied diet and smart combining of different foods. All foods contain different types, ratios, and amounts of amino acids.
Animal foods often already contain all the essential amino acids – with plant-based protein sources, you need to pay a bit more attention. It can help to combine different plant protein sources, as their amino acid profiles complement each other, resulting in an almost complete amino acid profile.

Example: grains and legumes (e.g., lentil stew with bread):
Grains: low in lysine, threonine, and tryptophan, but rich in methionine
Legumes: low in methionine but rich in threonine and tryptophan

So instead of just going by the highest protein content (like What has a lot of protein?!), you should also pay attention to the biological value.
Oh oh, a new technical term! Don’t worry, biological value simply describes how efficiently a protein from food can be converted into body protein. The prerequisite is that the amino acid profile is good. So we want a as complete as possible amino acid profile with a good balance of amino acids to achieve a high biological value.

A suitable protein powder we developed especially for you. Give it a try!

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Conclusion: What has a lot of protein?

So what has a lot of protein? Top contenders are legumes, nuts, seeds & kernels as well as meat, dairy products, and fish. A balanced diet is the best foundation to meet your protein needs. Feel free to combine different food groups like protein-rich vegetables, tofu or meat, and legumes into a protein-rich meal. We also have a great recipe collection with high-protein dishes for you – feel free to check it out!

PS: Feel free to take a screenshot of our table above. So when you ask yourself again at your next shopping trip, "What has a lot of protein?" you have the answer right at hand.

Literature & sources

1. Bieler, S. (2021). Swiss nutritional value table3rd edition. BLV (Federal Office for Food Safety and Veterinary Affairs).

2. German Nutrition Society (2021). Selected questions and answers about protein and essential amino acids. https://www.dge.de/fileadmin/dok/
   healthy-nutrition/faq/DGE-FAQ
   -Protein-2021.pdf

3. Heseker, Prof. Dr, H. & Heseker, B. (2019/2020). The nutritional value table6th edition. DGE (German Nutrition Society)

Do you have questions? Then feel free to write me a Email – I look forward to hearing from you! :)

The information shared in this article does not replace individual medical or nutritional advice.

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