How much protein is too much?

One of the biggest questions in nutrition is how much protein is too much? With the combination of popular high protein diet fads and mass supplement marketing, there has been a tremendous misunderstanding with the recommended daily intake for protein. 

Overuse of protein is now widely accepted and even believed to be healthy.  Those popular fad diets, like Atkins, suggest carbs are the culprit of weight gain and you can’t turn the corner without finding a high protein supplement or bar. The increased hype is leading to very high and unfavorable protein diets.

The over consumption of protein in our diet can lead to health issues, including:

• ·      Kidney Problems
• ·      Digestion Problems
• ·      Risk for Osteoporosis
• ·      Increased Allergic Responses
• ·      Nutrient Deficiency
• ·      Ketosis and Heart Disease

When you consume protein, your goal is to provide the adequate amount to create protein synthesis. Protein synthesis simply means that your body builds proteins with the amino acids (the building blocks of protein) available from either essential (those that must be obtained through diet) or non-essential (those that can be created by the body) sources. 

Your body builds proteins for a variety of purposes, but we are going to focus on those that help in rebuilding of muscle proteins after you workout. 

“PROTEIN PER SITTING”

A lot of people are confused about how much the body can absorb per sitting. Much of today’s research is finding the same results. The Exercise Metabolism Research Group at McCaster University in Hamilton, Canada report 20g of intact protein is sufficient to maximally stimulate protein dose response of muscle and protein synthesis [1].

In a similar study, Symons and colleagues compared the 5-hour response of a moderate serving of lean beef containing 30 g protein with a large serving containing 90 g protein [2]. The smaller serving increased protein synthesis by approximately 50%, and the larger serving caused no further increase in protein synthesis, despite being triple the dose. The researchers concluded that the ingestion of more than 30 g protein in a single meal does not further enhance muscle protein synthesis.

As a rule of thumb, almost everyone will fall into the category that recommends 20-30g maximum serving per meal.  Anything above 30g is simply leading to increase calories, not muscle.

“SUPPLEMENTING PROTEIN”

With the aim of 20-30g per sitting, a very important consideration you must make is how to supplement protein. Supplement companies are after max revenues and companies traditionally suggest 2 scoops of their powder.  This commonly leads to 50g+ of protein. Read the nutrition fact serving size to stay within the recommended range of 20-30g (or one scoop). Remember, more protein doesn’t mean more muscle.

“CALCULATING YOUR DAILY PROTEIN REQUIREMENTS”

There are several ways to find your daily protein needs and there are many factors that do apply. However, here is a simple and research supported way to calculate your protein needs:

Use your KILOGRAMS of bodyweight (to get kilograms take your weight in pounds and divide by 2.2) and multiply by the factor that fits your activity the best from the chart that follows. 

Activity Level	Protein Intake
Sedentary	0.8 g per KG bodyweight
Endurance/Recreational Athlete	1.2-1.4 g per KG bodyweight
Body building/Intense Athlete	1.4-1.8 g per KG bodyweight
Intense Body building phase	1.8-2.0 g per KG bodyweight

Once you have your daily requirements, you can divide the total grams either by the number of meals you eat a day or by 20-30 (grams suggested per serving).  This will give you a quick guide to adding the appropriate lean and healthy protein sources throughout the day.  Lean and healthy protein sources include: 

Fish

Chicken

Lean Beef

Eggs

Legumes

Quick tip: When choosing protein sources, "the less legs the better!"

Always remember, MORE PROTEIN DOESN’T MEAN MORE MUSCLE.

1 Am J Clin Nutr. 2009 Jan;89(1):161-8. Epub 2008 Dec 3

2 Symons TB, et al. A moderate serving of high-quality protein maximally stimulates skeletal muscle protein synthesis in young and elderly subjects. J Am Diet Assoc. 2009 Sep;109(9):1582-6.