No, We Don’t All Eat “too Much” Protein.
If you’ll allow me to rant – I promise to make it fact-heavy and interesting – I’m tired of the articles that pop up every few months claiming that we’re all eating “too much” protein. They give an inaccurate picture of how the body uses protein and demonize perfectly healthy high-protein foods. It’s time to set the record straight.
How can these articles be so wrong? I think the authors usually have the best intentions, but their facts do not support the conclusion. They tend to back up their arguments with truthful statements, such as the fact that the RDA for protein is set at 0.36 grams per pound of body weight, that high-protein foods are in vogue, and that it is possible to get plenty of protein while also being vegan. diets. But the wording and conclusions don’t follow because eating more protein doesn’t mean you’re getting “too much” protein.
What foods contain protein?
Recall that protein is one of the three caloric macronutrients (fats, carbohydrates, proteins) that make up our diet. Proteins are made up of amino acids and are essential for the growth, repair and functioning of our bodies.
We can get protein from different sources. The meat is especially rich in protein; chicken breast contains about 35 grams of protein. Other animal products, such as milk and eggs, are also rich in protein. Plant-based foods tend to contain less protein, but meeting or exceeding protein needs is not difficult even on a vegan diet. For example, beans, grains and soy products such as tofu contain significant amounts of protein.
If you want a cheat sheet on how much protein you should be consuming based on your activity level, you can find it here . And this is a good place to start dissecting the myth of “too much protein,” because before we can declare an amount of protein to be “too much,” we need to understand how much is “enough.”
RDA should be considered minimal
The government provides targets for various nutrients to encourage us all to eat a healthy and balanced diet. These targets are the basis for % Daily Value labels on food packaging and for determining the nutritional composition of school lunches. RDA, or recommended daily allowance, is defined as “the average daily dietary intake level sufficient to meet the nutrient requirements of nearly all (97 to 98 percent) of healthy people in a group.”
So how are these “nutrient requirements” determined? For protein, this is based on nitrogen balance . Humans break down proteins to release nitrogen as part of daily body function. If you eat enough protein (which contains nitrogen), the amount of nitrogen you excrete will be the same or greater than the amount you eat. In other words, if you don’t break down your body’s own proteins (beyond what you eat), then whatever you eat should, in some sense, be enough.
From this point of view, the recommended daily intake is the minimum required to maintain health. More is normal; less would mean you may not be getting enough. Some nutrients also have a UL, or upper limit, that says exceeding a certain amount is too much. Upper limits are calculated for vitamins and minerals; there is no upper limit for protein .
Therefore, there is no official definition of “too much” protein. If someone eats more than the recommended daily allowance, they are not eating too much; they just eat more than the minimum. You should eat more than the minimum.
How much is the recommended amount of protein and how much does the average American actually eat?
The recommended daily intake of protein is set at 46 grams per day for a 125-pound woman and 56 grams per day for a 154-pound man. This is based on the recommended daily protein intake of 0.8 grams per kilogram of body weight, which is 0.36 grams per pound. So a 200 pound person would need 72 grams of protein per day.
This USDA report shows that most adult men average 90 to 100 grams of protein per day, although men age 70 and older only get about 80 grams of protein per day. Women typically consume an average of about 70 grams per day, while people aged 70 and older consume 62 grams.
Above RDA? Yes. Too much? I don’t see a way to dispute this. And before you say we’re getting almost twice as many referrals, let’s check the math. These RDA numbers are for people weighing 125 and 154 pounds. On the other hand, averages for what we eat are based on real people , not ideals. The average American man weighs 200 pounds, and the average American woman weighs 171 pounds . Thus, their recommended daily intake is 72 and 62 grams per day, respectively. Compared to these figures, the average woman barely exceeds the minimum; the average man weighs 20-25 grams more.
Again, there is no need to stick to the minimum; Exceeding 25 grams is normal. It’s probably better to pass by than to just sneak by, and many of us may not be getting enough. Let me explain.
Many older people don’t get enough protein
Let’s start with the elderly. Not only does protein intake tend to decrease with age, but older adults are vulnerable to problems associated with muscle loss . People typically lose 3-5% of their muscle mass per year starting at age 30, but strength training and protein intake can support the maintenance of muscle mass and thus likely prevent or reduce this decline.
The Dietary Guidelines include a note: “About 50 percent of women and 30 percent of men age 71 and older do not meet protein recommendations.” Meanwhile, the study found that older adults who do not meet the guidelines “are more likely to be limited in bending, squatting or kneeling, standing or sitting for long periods of time, climbing 10 steps, preparing meals, and walking for a quarter of an hour.” mile.”
So, even if it is true that the average adult gets more protein than recommended, it is clear that many older adults do not. These are the same people who have more problems functioning in daily life. This could be a “chicken and egg” situation – was the functional decline a cause or a consequence of a change in their diet? — but this is definitely not the group of people who should eat less protein.
You need more than the default recommended daily allowance if you are pregnant or breastfeeding.
There’s another large group of people who benefit from more, not less, protein: people who are pregnant or breastfeeding. Instead of 0.36 grams of protein per pound of body weight (62 grams for a 171-pound person), the RDA for pregnant or breastfeeding people is 0.5 grams per pound (that is , 86 grams of protein per day ).
When you’re pregnant, you also have higher calorie needs, so increasing your total food intake makes it easier to get more protein. However, it makes sense to spend energy on getting enough protein rather than worrying about getting too much.
High protein diets support healthy exercise and muscle mass.
You knew we were heading in this direction (I speak between reps of barbell squats while wiping a protein shake from my lips): People who exercise should get more protein than just the recommended daily allowance.
Although fear-mongering articles about “too much protein” sometimes mention that bodybuilders or elite athletes need protein, they tend to brush it off as a special problem that doesn’t apply to normal people. But I think it’s worth taking a closer look at – and frankly, this situation applies to a lot more people than just a few athletes.
There is no official recommended daily allowance for athletes; people who exercise can prevent malnutrition by using the same 0.36 grams per pound as everyone else. But that doesn’t mean RDA is the best goal to aim for.
The International Association of Athletics Federations, which governs athletics, recommends that most athletes who are maintaining or gaining weight eat between 0.59 and 0.77 grams of protein per pound of body weight per day. That’s 101 to 131 grams for the average 171-pound woman and 118 to 154 grams for the 200-pound man .
A group of organizations, including the American College of Sports Medicine, largely agree, recommending a range of 0.54 to 0.9 grams per pound for all athletes whose weight is stable or increasing. This includes people who do endurance training, such as long-distance running, as well as strength athletes whose exercise primarily involves lifting weights. These ranges could be as high as 153 grams for our 171 lb woman and 180 grams for our 200 lb man .
You don’t have to be an Olympian to consider yourself an “athlete” in this sense. If you’re training for a half marathon, you’re doing a lot of long distance running and you should train accordingly. And if you’re “just” lifting weights at the gym, but take it quite seriously by training regularly and working hard, you should also consider eating within those limits.
High Protein Diets Promote Healthy Weight Loss
Dieting to lose weight is not only a popular pastime in America, but it may also have health benefits, at least. If you’ve recently been on a diet or are planning to diet, you’re also not the person who should settle for the recommended daily allowance.
Research shows that protein intake (and strength training – they go hand in hand!) are important for maintaining muscle mass as we lose weight. After all, you’re aiming for fat loss, not muscle wasting.
For example, this study found that diets containing 0.48 to 0.72 grams of protein per kg of body weight (that’s 82 to 123 grams for our 171-pound woman and 96 to 144 for our 200-pound man ) resulted in to less weight gain after dieting and helped people maintain muscle mass and feel more full while dieting.
What if you lose weight and exercise? The IAAF recommends that athletes who are “engaging in quality weight loss” consume at least 0.72 grams per pound of body weight, and possibly as much as 1.09 grams per pound. This would be 186 grams for a 171-pound athlete or 218 grams for a 200-pound athlete . Most people don’t need to go that high, and it’s unclear whether athletes need to go that high. But I’ve included these numbers so you can see how high the ranges actually are.
Ultimately, it is widely believed that weight loss is more effective and produces healthier results with a higher protein intake rather than a low one. When people focus on eating less without thinking about what their diet actually consists of, it’s easy to forget about protein. But evidence suggests that you should increase your protein intake while decreasing your total calories.
Does “too much” protein turn into fat?
This is a common talking point in articles about “too much” protein, and it’s kind of true, but it also doesn’t mean what you think it means.
When you eat more food than your body needs, your body can store it as fat. This is true whether the excess consists of protein, carbohydrates, fat, or even alcohol. The protein you eat is used in your body for a variety of purposes. You can build it into muscle tissue, use it to grow and repair different types of cells, and so on. You can also use it for energy—essentially burning it for calories.
So, if you eat a perfectly balanced diet and then decide to add an extra 100 grams of protein per day, then of course most of that protein will be used for energy, and since we have excess energy, it will decrease. stored as fat.
But if you eat more protein and that protein replaces other foods in your diet, there won’t be any extra calories to store. No one is saying that you should drink a couple of protein shakes in addition to your regular diet. They say (I say) that you should plan your meals and snacks to include more protein.
For example, if your typical lunch is a turkey and cheese sandwich with chips, you can improve the protein content of your diet by adding more turkey to the sandwich and replacing the chips with an apple. Same total calories, but more protein. As long as your total daily caloric intake does not exceed your needs, the “extra” protein will not be stored as fat.
Is it bad to get too much protein?
In general, high protein diets do not have serious health consequences. However, there is an important exception: for some medical conditions, you may be advised to limit your protein intake to protect your health.
For example, people with chronic kidney disease are often advised to use the recommended daily allowance (0.36 grams per pound of body weight) as a maximum, not a minimum. Your kidneys play a role in processing protein for excretion, so lower protein intake reduces the amount of work the damaged kidney has to do. However, once a person with chronic kidney disease begins dialysis, they may be advised to increase their protein intake to improve their health now that their body can handle higher levels.
People with certain other disorders, such as phenylketonuria and homocystinuria, may also be advised to eat a low protein diet. Obviously, if you have one of these conditions, you should get nutrition advice from your healthcare team (ask for a referral to a dietitian!) rather than from general articles on the Internet.
Wasn’t there a study that said too much protein was bad?
Beyond these known medical concerns, periodic reports of eating “too much” protein tend to fit into the “X is good for you/X is bad for you” news cycle . This is not a holistic assessment of the effects of protein on overall health , but rather specific research questions that remain to be clarified.
For example, this study found that a high protein (and fiber) diet seemed to slightly worsen one measure of insulin resistance; but it also improved metabolic health and body composition. The researchers concluded that the subjects’ body chemistry likely simply responded appropriately to changes in the nutrient content of their diet. A few years later, a study of women with high BMI and insulin resistance showed an improvement in their insulin resistance on a high protein diet .
Or to take another example, a study earlier this year found a link between a high-protein diet and atherosclerosis. But if you look at what the researchers actually studied, they looked at how leucine (one amino acid found in protein) affects the mTOR biochemical pathway in certain types of white blood cells . By the way, this mTOR pathway is involved in many more processes in the body than atherosclerosis, and also provides many benefits.
So are these results interesting and worthy of further study? Definitely. Should protein recommendations change? Only if this effect is found to (1) actually lead to worse health outcomes and (2) outweigh the known benefits of higher protein intake. The body of evidence does not support either lowering protein intake recommendations or introducing an upper limit.
There is no immediate health problem that can be solved by reducing protein intake.
So, if protein is good for us, and most of us can’t get “too much”, why do so many people argue that we overdo it?
I think part of the reason is simple misunderstanding (the authors tend to have no background in nutrition, especially sports nutrition), but more often than not I think they’re talking about a completely different issue.
Often, the phrase “too much protein” is simply a way to talk about the environmental consequences of eating meat or dairy farming. The people making this argument are trying to snatch double cheeseburgers out of our hands and assure us that we’ll be fine. I don’t think attacking protein is an appropriate way to make this point, since plant-based proteins do exist and are a great alternative. But I understand where they are coming from.
Ultimately, if you’re trying to prove that we eat “too much” protein for our health, you really can’t do it without some evidence that we eat so much protein that it’s detrimental to our health. common level. And this evidence simply does not exist.
To understand this point, just look at the Dietary Guide for Americans . It is the main document that tells us what we should eat and what government programs should be funded. Goals include reducing rates of heart disease and diabetes, and ensuring people get enough vitamins. There are key recommendations for limiting certain nutrients, especially sugar, saturated fat, sodium and alcohol. There are no recommendations for reducing protein intake.