Articles written by Devin Sherrington about health, wellness and fitness in regular column called Fit to Be Tried in the Daily News:

The Daily News - Fit to Be Tried by Devin Sherrington

Hillary Swank reportedly ate 200 grams of protein each day training for Million Dollar Baby. Fad diets claim you can eat bacon and cheese all day, just don't touch a piece of whole wheat bread or an apple. Protein is in.

So just what is protein all about?

Protein is basically the building block of any cell in your body. Whether your plan is to build muscle, burn fat, or just get into better shape you need protein. Protein affects everything in your body. Fingernails, hair, skin, brain, internal organs, teeth and of course your muscles.

Protein allows your body to build and repair muscle after you exercise. And you know, you don't build muscle while you're in the gym. It's when you're at home resting or sleeping that your body repairs and strengthens itself.

But how much protein do you need?

There a lot of "rules" concerning just how much protein is needed for an average person's body. Bodybuilders eat around 1.8 to 2 grams of protein for every kg of body weight. This helps them to build and maintain the muscles they have.

As you can guess, that's a lot of protein to eat over the course of a day. The average person who gets to the gym 3 or 4 times a week doesn't need as much.

I always tell people that if they exercise and want to stay fit, they should eat about 1.2 grams of protein per kg of body weight. That's enough for your body to build muscle after your workout, and repair the cells that broke down.

Of course no one wants to go out and eat red meat, chicken and fish all day. Those are the foods with the highest concentrations of protein, but let's be honest, they can get a little boring after a while. Plus it's no fun trying to figure out just how much protein was in that piece of chicken breast you had for dinner.

Fortunately there are a huge number of protein powders, bars and drinks that can give you the protein you need and taste great at the same time. In fact protein supplements have become so popular in the past few years there are hundreds of different types out there.

Now I certainly haven't tried all of them or even come close. When people ask me about protein I tell them to ask an expert in the field like Rob Lough from Popeye's in Halifax (www.popeyeshalifax.ca).

Rob is in the business of protein and health supplements. He has a great amount of knowledge concerning which protein supplements are good for you, and the type of workout you're doing. Plus he knows which ones taste the best, and if you're anything like me that weighs into consideration when buying a supplement.

Figure out just how much protein you need and then make sure you eat that much everyday. You'll be surprised just how good you feel and how much more quickly your body will respond to exercise when it's properly fed.