[caption id="attachment_450" align="alignleft" width="300"]Seitan – Proteins are the building blocks of your body. Read about it in Healthy and Happy with Proteins. Seitan – Proteins are the building blocks of your body. Read about it in Healthy and Happy with Proteins.[/caption]

Proteins are found in your skin, nails, bones, organs and muscles, but also in your enzymes, hormones, eggs and sperm. Vitamins and minerals only constitute 1.5% of the dry building materials in your body.

Proteins make up the largest part of the dry matter in your body.

Cells are replaced every day by new ones, and proteins constitute the most important building blocks. This shows how important proteins are for your health.

60 billion cells are working with proteins 24/7. An amazing number! This occurs individually in the power station (the mitochondrion) of every cell. These 60 billion power stations need proteins
to do their work. If you have a shortage of proteins, some of these power stations are forced to shut down. Depending on the duration and the extent of the shortages, they can result in serious health problems. Enough complete proteins are needed for cells to work optimally.

[caption id="attachment_451" align="alignright" width="225"]Seitan Fingers made with Tamari Bloc Seitan Fingers made with Tamari Bloc[/caption]

Every protein has a specific function.
Just as there are different vitamins, each with their own individual functions, so there are also different proteins. Proteins for the skin are not the same as proteins for the muscles. And you need other proteins for your hormones. Your body needs to be fed a whole range of proteins every day.

Last year, I visited New York. You can find all sorts of products there for vegetarian cookery, but one product in particular stole my heart: seitan. I tasted the best, most delicious seitan I have ever had. Back in the Netherlands, I went in search of the texture, taste and sensation that had stolen my heart in New York. I found what I was looking for in Bertyn’s products. I was very pleasantly surprised by the structure of the fibres and the fact that these products are so easy to season and prepare!
--- Lisette Kreischer, food concept developer, founder of The Dutch Weed Burger and cookery writer

Vegetarians and vegans eat smart

• They monitor the combinations of proteins to ensure they eat the necessary amino acids at the same time. Grains together with legumes, for example, gives the body the essential amino acids in the right proportions

• They eat lots of different vegetables, to take in as many different amino acids as possible.

• They regularly enjoy a piece of seitan because 100gr of seitan has a higher protein content than tempeh, tofu, Quorn and the average veggie burger.

•A handful of nuts is their ideal snack: a good source of protein and healthy fats with less environmental toxins than animal proteins and fats.

An adult person has a minimum requirement of approximately 30 to 65 grams of proteins.

Proteins are probably the most important nutrients for your daily vitality. With regard to proteins, it is all a question of absorbing enough of the nine essential amino acids through your food. After all, you cannot make these amino acids yourself. It is therefore important to vary your sources of protein.

The daily requirements vary enormously from person to person and from amino acid to amino acid. People often get the balance wrong because the standards say that, generally, they are consuming too many proteins. But that isn’t necessarily always the case.

[caption id="attachment_452" align="alignleft" width="225"]Greek Tomato Soup with Seitan Balls Greek Tomato Soup with Seitan Balls[/caption]

With stress, illness, smoking, fatigue, depression, poorly working bowels and strenuous physical effort the protein requirements are greater.

With a diet emphasising proteins and fats, it is easier to lose weight or remain slim

When you eat carbohydrates (pasta, bread, rice, dry biscuits, etc.), you manufacture insulin. Insulin ensures that the nutrients circulating in your blood are absorbed by your cells and that you accumulate energy. With fast-acting (or simple) carbohydrates your blood sugar levels fluctuate. When they drop, you crave food and you want to eat snacks.

Proteins and fats, on the other hand, have little influence on your insulin management and blood sugar levels. A number of studies have demonstrated that a diet based on proteins stimulates your body to burn more calories (up to 22% more, according to the book Power Eating by Susan Kleiner). Your muscles remain intact and your fatty layers ‘burn’ better. A protein diet is probably the best strategy for burning fat and maintaining muscles. A diet rich in proteins and low in carbohydrates also gives a fuller feeling.

Seitan is the protein champion and is super-low in carbohydrates.

83% of the calories in seitan come from complete proteins. On top of this, seitan contains almost no fat, even less than in cod or chicken breasts. That is why authentic seitan fits perfectly in every protein diet.

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Which dish do you often make with seitan?

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