Protein Sources- Desperately Required!

nerdysal

Everytime I have a blood test, my albumin levels are always extremely low. My consultant can't understand this as I have an extremely protein rich diet. Here's an average day:

-Breakfast: Bowl of cereal with at least 300ml milk, toast & tea.
-Snack: Crisps
-Lunch: ALWAYS have protein source either eggs or chicken/ham with a 200ml glass of milk
-Snack: Tea & special K mini breaks
-Dinner: ALWAYS contains protein and I always eat it first.
-Snack: Cheese, mousse, Scone, popcorn, crackers with cream cheese and ham (I would generally have 2 from this list).

I should probably mention that I have crohn's disease.

Can anyone see where I am going wrong? Or where I could add extra protein to my diet.

Any milk that I use is full fat by the way!

I'd really appreciate any suggestions... my protein has being so low for so long that it's starting to get really frustrating.

corkcomp

nerdysal wrote: »

Everytime I have a blood test, my albumin levels are always extremely low. My consultant can't understand this as I have an extremely protein rich diet. Here's an average day:

-Breakfast: Bowl of cereal with at least 300ml milk, toast & tea.
-Snack: Crisps
-Lunch: ALWAYS have protein source either eggs or chicken/ham with a 200ml glass of milk
-Snack: Tea & special K mini breaks
-Dinner: ALWAYS contains protein and I always eat it first.
-Snack: Cheese, mousse, Scone, popcorn, crackers with cream cheese and ham (I would generally have 2 from this list).

I should probably mention that I have crohn's disease.

Can anyone see where I am going wrong? Or where I could add extra protein to my diet.

Any milk that I use is full fat by the way!

I'd really appreciate any suggestions... my protein has being so low for so long that it's starting to get really frustrating.

a lot of people go overboard on protein intake .. your diet doesnt actually look very high protein though ... Milk is totally over rated in terms of protein content (btw low fat milk actually has a higher protein content per 100ml) - you would need to drink al ot of milk to get the same protein as a tin of tuna ... my advice would be to stick to whole unprocessed meats like beef, chicken and turkey and lots of tuna and salmon, also lots of pulses .. I would stay away from processed meats like ham, they dont have much protein tbh!

neuro-praxis

I know from previous posts that you struggle with maintaining a healthy weight due to your body's tendency to drop too low. Therefore if you can stomach it I would suggest adding 2 eggs to your breakfast, on top of the cereal and toast. I find scrambled goes down the quickest with toast. You'd hardly notice 2 scrambled eggs.

I would also suggest (and I wouldn't normally) trying some protein shakes to drink between meals. Whey isolate has 78% protein typically, which is a lot (eggs have 12%, and they're one of the best sources!). Some of the locals can advise you on the best tasting brands I'm sure.

Nuts and nut butters too, are good sources of healthy fats and protein, and keep eating your chicken and steak.

Corb

More eggs and cheese I'm guessing would up your protein a lot.

El_Dangeroso

Have you ever heard of the 'specific carbohydrate' diet?

It's free and all the details are here:

http://www.breakingtheviciouscycle.info/

A friend of mine with crohn's did it and gained a stone.

nerdysal

It's only now looking back on my original post that I realise my diet isn't near as high in protein as it used to be.

Before I was trying to gain weight and get my protein levels up but I've finally got the weight maintained so it's just the protein that I have to concentrate on.

I know milk isn't as excellent a source of protein as some foods but I'm hardly going to put tuna on my Special K!? :rolleyes: And a glass of milk with my lunch has more protein than a glass of water!!!

corkcomp

nerdysal wrote: »

It's only now looking back on my original post that I realise my diet isn't near as high in protein as it used to be.

Before I was trying to gain weight and get my protein levels up but I've finally got the weight maintained so it's just the protein that I have to concentrate on.

I know milk isn't as excellent a source of protein as some foods but I'm hardly going to put tuna on my Special K!? :rolleyes: And a glass of milk with my lunch has more protein than a glass of water!!!

nobody said you should put tuna on breakfast cereal! you said your diet was protein rich - in reality it isnt. id say you would be hard pushed to get 50g per day on that diet ...

Davei141

nerdysal wrote: »

I know milk isn't as excellent a source of protein as some foods but I'm hardly going to put tuna on my Special K!? :rolleyes: And a glass of milk with my lunch has more protein than a glass of water!!!

Jesus christ. Congrats on completely missing his point and acting like a bell end in the process.

Tuna, chicken, sardines, salmon, turkey, chops, cottage cheese, steak and eggs. Add them to your diet during the Snacks and have eggs with your toast.

GuanYin

nerdysal wrote: »

Everytime I have a blood test, my albumin levels are always extremely low. My consultant can't understand this as I have an extremely protein rich diet.

With respect, if your physician is a GI specialist and doesn't know why you, a Crohn's patient, has low albumin levels I would STRONGLY suggest changing physician.

Albumin levels is a classic presentation of Crohn's disease and you really need a nutritionist consult to set up a diet plan. I wouldn't try anything from the internet, it's just a bad idea. The diets tend to be bland and involve supplementation, but they tend to work as a disease management approach.

Go see a doctor, or, if you stay with your current one, tell him you'll leave when he reads his literature and follows what, in my experience, is standard practice for several years now.

rubadub

GuanYin wrote: »

With respect, if your physician is a GI specialist and doesn't know why you, a Crohn's patient, has low albumin levels I would STRONGLY suggest changing physician.

+1. I'm afraid I am going to have to lock this thread as with your condition you should really be getting advice from a medical professional, not random posters on the web, who could inadvertently give poor or even harmful advice.