How to pack in the protein

Plus: Short-staffing nurses has consequences

View this email online February 25, 2024 by Andrea Muraskin Reporter Allison Aubrey is on a healthy aging quest, and many of our listeners and readers are too. This week, she’s upping her protein intake in order to build muscle. She shares some of her favorite advice from readers below, including a recipe for “mock” chopped liver and a pitch for adding nutritional yeast to your meals. Plus: A police detective joins a nurses’ campaign for mandated staffing levels after his wife’s tragic death in a Michigan hospital; and a program in Colombia teaches dads skills traditionally assigned to women. Also: A look inside the racial politics of a pending ban on menthol cigarettes.  Eating more protein can support muscle as we age. Here are your tips for how to add it to your diet by Allison Aubrey, Correspondent Allison Aubrey/NPR Last week, I shared my wake-up call for adding more protein to my diet. Like millions of women, I’m a bit ‘under-muscled’, so I’m actively working on building strength. As I explained in this piece, high-protein foods are a big part of the equation. Thanks to so many of you for sharing your go-to high-protein meals. I’m inspired by your creations! I’m aiming for 30 grams per meal – which was a big challenge at first. Now, I’m in the swing of it, and plan to incorporate your tips, too! For instance, we heard from Lisa Lazinsky in Bethel, Maine, who has upped her protein intake at breakfast with a high protein yogurt blended with hemp hearts protein powder along with chia seeds or coconut and fruit, estimating she gets about 60 grams of protein from this power breakfast. “I am full until lunch time and it gives me plenty of energy,” she told us. Although eating more meat and fish is one simple way to add protein, many of you who wrote in share a common goal: Adding more plant-based proteins and limiting animal products.  Matt Leece from Montgomery County, Penn., uses “copious” amounts of nutritional yeast (available in most grocery stores) sprinkled on anything savory, from soups and stews to salads and veggies. At 3 grams of protein per tablespoon, Leece says it’s an easy way to increase protein intake and add flavor. “ 'Nooch' takes a little getting used to at first,” describing its flavor as a cross between chicken bouillon and parmesan cheese, but “it’s so delicious!” I borrowed Leece’s tip last night, adding nutritional yeast to my soup. I quickly sautéed mushrooms and added them to a miso base. Then I stirred in 2 tablespoons of nutritional yeast, which added about 6 grams of protein to my bowl. Yum! It was a nice umami punch! Many of you noted that plant proteins are easy on the budget. Lentils, chickpeas and other beans are usually less than a dollar a can, and even cheaper when you buy them dried and cook them yourself. Virginia Davis wrote in to give us her budget-friendly, favorite: frozen edamame. They’re so simple, you just “steam in the bag,” she wrote, and she buys them for $1.98 at Walmart. Martha Stone, 70, of Poland, Maine, says she started focusing on building muscle after she lost her spouse and had to do more physical work around the house, like hauling wood. She loves to make what she calls "Mock chopped liver" – cooked lentils, caramelized onions, walnuts and olive oil, ground together in a food processor. “Use as a spread on bagels or on crackers,” she says.    Martha Stone  Sarah Roberts, 69, of Belle Mead, N.J. says she adds protein to baked goods by combining different types of flour: “When I bake I use combinations of oat flour and chickpea flour,” which gives a distinctive taste and adds some protein. “I love desserts made with nut flours or ground nuts,” she says. Not only does adequate protein consumption help sate our appetites, it’s key for strength. Ann Martin, 69, of Wilmington, Del., says six months ago she decided to try to build strength. “I started a weekly exercise session at a gym to build muscle,” she says, and added arm weights during her daily walk. She also swapped oatmeal for high-protein quinoa in the morning: “I simmer a cup of quinoa in two cups water for 15 minutes,” she says. Then she tosses in cherries or blueberries, pomegranate seeds, walnuts, almonds, cinnamon and almond milk. “I can feel myself getting stronger,” Martin says.   Ann Martin Bonnie Jones of Asheville, N.C., says adding more protein to her meals “has enhanced my ability to increase weights during strength building workouts.” That’s great to hear, as this was the main point researchers made in my story.  What I love about all these protein ideas is that I’m focusing more on what I should eat -- instead of worrying about what I should avoid. By default, I'm eating less processed foods and fewer snacks, since my meals are more satisfying.  Now that I'm on this roll, it feels frictionless. I’m eating lots of the things I enjoy and having fun exploring the limitless ways to put these plant-based proteins at the center of the plate. I hope you're inspired too! And Ill be reporting more on ways to approach strength training soon. Stay tuned. Read Allison’s tips for how to get more protein into your diet and how it can help prevent frailty.  And share your own. subscriberid%%--> Newsletter continues after sponsor message Hey, guys, wanna know how to change a diaper or make a ponytail? Try the School for Men Ben de la Cruz/NPR Many women in Colombia face a dilemma. They’re joining the workforce in greater numbers and making better money, but they’re still expected to do the lion’s share of housework and caregiving at home. Enter the Bogotá Care School for Men, a city-run program that teaches guys how to do chores and care for children. The program launched during the COVID pandemic, to help fathers step into domestic roles when their partners fell ill, as Christina Noriega reports. The training is also paired with conversations about defying gender norms and traditional notions of masculinity. Forty year old Ferley Sáenz says attending a 6 week course with the care school has deepened his relationship with his family.  Before, he would spend his days working or hanging out with friends. Now, he says “dedicating quality time to [my children], participating in their development and learning process, has made us closer. My eldest son tells me about his day at school, which he didn't do before," said Sáenz. "It's an incredible feeling." Here’s how the program is helping redefine masculinity and fatherhood. Also: I'm a new dad. Here's why I'm taking more parental leave than my wife Stand behind independent journalism, cultural discovery, and intelligent discourse by supporting the NPR Network. Your donation fuels unbiased reporting, diverse perspectives, and insightful conversations that shape our community, our nation, our world. Join us in fostering a more informed public by contributing today and ensuring a future where trustworthy information thrives. Donate Now The fight over banning menthol cigarettes has a long history steeped in race Stanford Research into the Impact of Tobacco Advertising In 1975, the menthol cigarette brand KOOL began sponsoring jazz festivals targeted towards African American consumers. By 1980, KOOL described these events as “the premier events in Black soul music,” and cited the attending audience as “90% Black.” Today, 80٪ of Black smokers say they prefer menthol cigarettes. Menthol's popularity with the Black community came from decades of racially targeted marketing, as NPR’s Yuki Noguchi reports. The FDA was set to enact a ban on menthol cigarettes and cigars last August, but the White House delayed it until next month, agreeing to hold meetings with groups opposed to the ban.  The cooling flavor of menthol masks the smoke and soothes the throat, making it easier to inhale deeply, which means more nicotine and toxins enter the lungs compared to ordinary cigarettes. “Thousands of lives are being lost because of the inactivity of the FDA and now the White House," says public health activist Phillip Gardiner. He says opposition to the proposed ban by groups like Al Sharpton’s National Action Network comes out of the tobacco industry’s financial influence within the Black community. Here’s why race matters in the debate over banning menthols. Listen: The story of the real-life self-styled superhero/vigilante who made it his mission to free Black America from the thrall of the menthol After his wife died, he joined nurses to push for new staffing rules in hospitals Beth Weiler/Michigan Public For Michigan police detective Tim Lillard, his wife’s 25 day hospital stay was a terrifying emotional rollercoaster. His wife Ann, who had rheumatoid arthritis, was feeling short of breath a few weeks after a mild COVID infection, so he drove her to Huron Valley Sinai hospital. After a few days she developed pneumonia, and doctors put her on a ventilator. Eventually she seemed to be stabilizing, and a nurse told Lillard she would be discharged soon. But a few days later, she was dead –  her lungs had failed as the result of an infection.  What happened? At Ann’s side in the hospital, Lillard noticed that the nurses taking care of her were overstretched, running from one patient to the next. After her death, he pored over her charts, and interviewed hospital staff. He came to believe that if the ICU had more nurses, Ann would have been monitored more closely, and would have survived. And he’s joined a movement of nurses advocating for mandatory minimum nurse-to-patient ratios, as Michigan Public’s Kate Wells reports. Nurse activists point to a hospital industry that intentionally understaffs its units in order to cut costs and boost profits. This isn't, they say, a shortage of nurses. It's a shortage of nurses willing to work in those conditions.  Here’s Tim Lillard’s story. Plus: A history of nurses: They once had the respect they're now trying to win We hope you enjoyed these stories. Find more of NPR's health journalism online. All our best, Andrea Muraskin and your NPR Health editors Listen to your local NPR station. Visit NPR.org to hear live radio from WUFT 89.1 (edit station). What do you think of today's email? 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