The body uses protein to build muscle and repair damaged cells. Protein may also be converted to energy or stored as fat, depending on your calorie consumption and expenditure. During digestion, protein is broken down into individual amino acids. Many of the 20 types of amino acids can be created inside the body, but others must be obtained through food. Some high-protein foods include meat, fish, dairy products, nuts, legumes, grains and eggs.
Step 1
Read the "Nutrition Facts" section of the product label. Make note of the serving size and the grams of protein per serving.
Step 2
Look up the serving size and protein content of your food on a calorie counting website such as livestrong.com, dailyburn.com or fitday.com if you do not have the product label or cannot find any nutritional information on it.
Step 3
Visit the manufacturer's website if you are calculating the protein content for a commercially-produced food. Manufacturers are required by law to provide the nutritional information of their products and many of them now include this information on their websites.
Step 4
Use a measuring cup or food scale to find out how much food you have. Divide this amount by the serving size to calculate the number of servings. Multiply the grams of protein per serving by the number of servings to calculate the total protein content in your food.
Tips and Warnings
- For more information on reading product labels, visit the Food and Drug Administration website.
Things You'll Need
- Measuring cup or food scale
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