Are You Getting Enough Protein?

If you’re looking for a boost in energy and strength, or just want to feel full for a longer stretch, one nutritional area to examine is your protein intake. Protein is a vital component for a healthy diet, helping provide your body with the building blocks it needs for daily function, from supporting your immune system to repairing bone and muscle.

“It is an essential nutrient made up of amino acids, some of which are made by the body and others that need to come from food like meat, eggs, fish, nuts, and grains,” says Sirida Subudom, a clinical dietitian at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center. “Protein plays a role in nearly every part of the body, making up our hair, blood, and connective tissue. Regardless of whether you’re vegetarian, vegan, or eat animal products, you want to consume a variety of foods to make sure you’re getting enough.”

So how much protein do you really need?

Sirida shares with Health Matters the recommended intakes, as well as easy ways to incorporate high-protein foods into your daily routine. She also explains when you might need a protein powder and what happens if you eat too much protein.

How much protein do you need a day?
Sirida: A person’s protein intake varies based on sex, height, weight, and level of physical activity, but overall, the current federal guidelines for adults recommend 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram to meet your basic daily needs.

Think of it as roughly 60 grams of protein for a 165-pound person – that’s about three servings of protein.

What does a serving size of protein look like?

• 2 to 3 ounces of meat, poultry, fish, or tofu (approximately the size of your palm or a deck of cards)
• 1/2 cup of beans, legumes, grains, or Greek yogurt (the size of your fist)
• 2 tablespoons of hummus or nut/seed butter (the size of a golf ball)

What are the symptoms of protein deficiency?
If you don’t have enough protein, your body can potentially start to break down muscle mass.

Some symptoms of protein deficiency include:

• Loss of strength
• Feeling hungry between regular meals
• Slow-healing injuries

Are there certain people or populations who should increase their protein intake?
On average, most Americans tend to get enough daily protein through meats, poultry, and eggs. However, almost 90 percent don’t meet the recommendation for seafood, and more than half don’t meet the recommendation for nuts, seeds, and soy products, according to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

You may need more protein depending on factors including:

• Exercise activity
  If you’re very physically active, you’ll need more protein to help build back and maintain your muscle mass.
• Pregnancy
  Nutrition needs change during pregnancy. Increased protein can help support growth and help the body handle additional demands during this time.
• Age
  Children and adolescents need more protein compared to adults in proportion to their body weight, due to their growth. While protein requirements are the same for adults across all ages, recent research suggests that older adults need more protein to preserve muscle mass and maintain strength and immune function, particularly in those with decreased food intake and activity.
• Chronic or acute illness
  Increased protein can help maintain strength for individuals with wounds or injuries, along with those with chronic illness.

Is there such thing as eating too much protein?
Our bodies can only metabolize a certain amount of protein at one time – around 25 to 40 grams – and the excess just sits in our gut. So, if you’re going to consume large quantities of protein, you may not necessarily get all the benefits.

The body’s receptors take in the amino acids from food to form different proteins for different functions. Think of it like a computer processing data. Only so much can be sorted through at once, and when there’s too much, the rest is set aside while the body puts it together.

A high-protein diet may also impact people with chronic kidney disease, so it’s important to speak with a healthcare professional before making any dietary changes.

Is there a difference between animal and plant protein?
Animal products typically provide more protein per serving than other foods, but there are also many high-protein plant-based options like soy, beans, and legumes.

Proteins in our bodies are made up of various combinations of 20 different amino acids: 11 of which the body makes on its own, while the other nine must come through the food we eat, which is why they are known as the “essential” amino acids.

Complete proteins, many of which come from meat and other animal products, contain all the essential amino acids our body can’t produce.

Incomplete proteins like nuts, seeds, and vegetables, don’t have all nine of the essential amino acids, but it doesn’t make them lesser in quality because consuming a variety of incomplete proteins will still provide the body with amino acids needed.

It’s always a good idea to consume a variety of different foods to make sure you’re getting a mix of the nutrients you need.

How can you balance your intake of cholesterol and fat with protein?
Everything in moderation, and again, you want to have variety. People may think of eggs or shrimp as protein foods that are a little bit higher in cholesterol, but you also want to focus on the type of fats you may be adding or using to cook these proteins. Saturated fat, or those that are solid at room temperature, has been shown to have a bigger impact on cholesterol levels.

For example, if you typically cook shrimp in a butter sauce, you can skip the butter or other fats that are solid at room temperature and opt to use olive oil instead. Also opt for lower-fat dairy products, leaner cuts of meat or poultry, and consume more of the egg whites instead of egg yolks to reduce excess intake of fat.

Are there benefits to taking protein powder?
Protein powders can be good for individuals who have difficulty getting enough from solid food. Those who are bodybuilding and looking to increase their muscle mass often use protein powders. But it’s important to note that protein powders are considered a dietary supplement, so they’re not regulated by the United States Food and Drug Administration. This means safety and product labeling are up to each manufacturer, and a protein powder can say that it contains benefits, but there’s no real way to know.

Many also contain added vitamins and minerals, but if you focus on consuming a variety of fresh, whole foods, you’re usually getting the vitamins and minerals you need without having to get them from a protein powder.

If you’re someone who would like to increase your protein intake by using protein powder in addition to whole fresh foods, I recommend finding one that is 100 percent pure whey protein or pea protein, without additives. Since our body doesn’t absorb more than 40 grams at a time, try not to overdo it.