Better, cheaper ways to bulk up

Meeting your daily protein requirements through a balanced diet rather than supplements is best for both your health and your wallet.

You can roughly calculate how many grams of protein you need daily by multiplying your body weight by 0.4. For athletes, a general rule of thumb is about 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight per day.

A sandwich with 3 ounces of chicken and an 8-ounce glass of whole milk provides about 40 grams of protein, which is more than half the 72 grams required by the average 180-pound person and most of the 48 grams required by someone weighing 120 pounds. According to federal health survey data, Americans get an average of 82 grams of protein per day from their diet.

You can find the protein content for a wide range of foods at http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/Data/SR18/nutrlist/sr18a203.pdf. Because foods can also be a source of exposure to cadmium or other heavy metals, you can find out the levels in many different types of foods by viewing the Food and Drug Administration's list at www.fda.gov/downloads/food...totaldietstudy/ucm184301.pdf.