How to Increase Protein For Plasma Donation

When you go for plasma donation, a low protein level will keep you from being accepted for plasma donation. Eating foods high in protein can help so you will be eligible for plasma donation. Some foods that are high in protein may surprise you.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Food Labels
• Tablet to jot down grams of protein taken in daily.

1. Count the grams of protein you get on a daily basis, particularly the day before and day of your plasma donation. Normally, the body needs 50-80 grams of protein a day. (This varies per individual. You may need more or less protein for a successful plasma donation). Check labels for grams of protein per serving. If you have been deferred for plasma donation because of low protein, you may not even be aware of how little protein you are consuming. Aim for 50-80 grams of protein daily and increase if needed.

2. Choose milk, eggs, cheese or yogurt for protein. One cup of 2% milk has 9 grams of protein, 1 medium egg 6 grams of protein, yogurt varies from 5-13 grams depending on brand and ingredients. Protein grams in cheese also varies from 4-10 grams in cheeses such as Colby, Swiss, etc. Cottage cheeses are generally higher, some as high as 28 grams per serving!

3. Eat fish. An excellent high protein food to increase your protein level for plasma donation. Grams of protein vary depending on type of fish. A few examples are: 12 grams in canola oil packed tuna, 25 grams in Atlantic Cod.

4. Add chicken to your diet. You can get 15-35 grams of protein from chicken.

5. Choose beef as another excellent source of protein. Roast beef can have 28 grams or more, ground beef and steaks can have 20 grams or more of protein.

6. Add nuts or beans to your diet to increase your protein for plasma donation. A 1 ounce serving of cashews is 5 grams of protein, roasted peanuts 7 grams, 2 tablespoons of peanut butter 9 grams. Kidney beans 5-7 grams, Lima beans, 5-7 grams.

7. Add protein drinks or protein bars for an extra boost of protein.

Tips & Warnings

• Read food labels to find out how many grams of protein are different foods. This will help you quickly realize which foods are good choices of protein. Once you are familiar with the protein grams, you should be able to increase that protein level for a successful plasma donation!
• Be aware of fat levels and make sure you don't take in an excessive fatty food right before plasma donation, see link below for more info.
• Check serving sizes. If the serving size is for 1 ounce of nuts and you are eating 2 ounces, you have doubled your protein grams!
• Some protein items are high in calories, keep that in mind if watching your weight and choose lower calorie high protein foods.

Resources

• How to Successfully Donate Plasma
• How to Increase Your Iron Level for Plasma Donation

[riverwalk]

on 8/12/2009 Been working on increasing protein levels to build muscle mass for a couple of years now. These are excellent suggestions

[igislandgirl]

on 8/6/2009 Interesting information...

[booksrme]

on 8/5/2009 Very helpful information!