Such thing as too much protein?

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  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
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    too much protein can hurt the kidney...HOWEVER, too much is relative... and unless you already have some underlying condition, getting the amount that would be considered too much is damn near impossible for most to do...

    Why would it be hard? If you eat so much protein that you don't get enough other nutirents (macro or micro), it's too much. If you eat so much protein that you become overweight, it's too much. If you eat so much protein that you suffer GI distress, it's too much. If you eat so much protein that you damage your organs, it's too much.

    Nice fear mongering based on speculation. The answer is in the post right after yours. It is very difficult to consume the amount of protein that would cause any health problems. Try dealing in data (which based on our last discussion on this subject, you don't have) instead of speculation.

    Oh silly me for not consulting Wikipedia before I posted. :huh:

    Did you ever hear the expression "Empty barrels make the most niose"?

    Nope

    ETA: Also, I know you just like to argue with all my posts, but my post wasn't fear mongering. While a couple of the scenarios may be less probably than others, a couple of them aren't so improbable.
  • blu_meanie_ca
    blu_meanie_ca Posts: 352 Member
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    Protein is broken down into glucose just as carbs are... only more slowly. Too much protein (which also infers an excess of calories) will add to body fat. So, yes, you can get fat on a 0 carb diet. The risk to high protein diets is a risk of vitamins and minterals due to a one sided diet.
  • sozisfitnow
    sozisfitnow Posts: 209 Member
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    too much protein can hurt the kidney...HOWEVER, too much is relative... and unless you already have some underlying condition, getting the amount that would be considered too much is damn near impossible for most to do...

    Why would it be hard? If you eat so much protein that you don't get enough other nutirents (macro or micro), it's too much. If you eat so much protein that you become overweight, it's too much. If you eat so much protein that you suffer GI distress, it's too much. If you eat so much protein that you damage your organs, it's too much.

    Nice fear mongering based on speculation. The answer is in the post right after yours. It is very difficult to consume the amount of protein that would cause any health problems. Try dealing in data (which based on our last discussion on this subject, you don't have) instead of speculation.

    Oh silly me for not consulting Wikipedia before I posted. :huh:

    Its been proved medically that the atkins diet is bad for health, high protein :flowerforyou:
  • MightyDomo
    MightyDomo Posts: 1,265 Member
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    You'd have to consume a lot of protein while not moving your body at all in order to really do damage, it's very hard to take in enough protein in the average diet to get to an amount that would be considered 'damaging' to your kidneys or liver.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
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    too much protein can hurt the kidney...HOWEVER, too much is relative... and unless you already have some underlying condition, getting the amount that would be considered too much is damn near impossible for most to do...

    Why would it be hard? If you eat so much protein that you don't get enough other nutirents (macro or micro), it's too much. If you eat so much protein that you become overweight, it's too much. If you eat so much protein that you suffer GI distress, it's too much. If you eat so much protein that you damage your organs, it's too much.

    Nice fear mongering based on speculation. The answer is in the post right after yours. It is very difficult to consume the amount of protein that would cause any health problems. Try dealing in data (which based on our last discussion on this subject, you don't have) instead of speculation.

    Oh silly me for not consulting Wikipedia before I posted. :huh:

    Its been proved medically that the atkins diet is bad for health, high protein :flowerforyou:

    I don't believe it has.
  • ladyraven68
    ladyraven68 Posts: 2,003 Member
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    What if you added protein powder/ate protein for every meal? What are the side effects of consuming too much?

    Or...
    Are there any negative consequences from eating a very high protein diet?

    too much of anything is not good. Your body will have to convert the excess proteins to energy and discard the nitrogen. I'm no expert, but I think this puts an extra load on your kidneys and liver.

    I thought this too. Surely too much protein can't be good.

    Again, not an expert either, but I know that protein can come out in your urine if you eat a lot of it, that doesn't sound good to me?

    If I remember rightly, you are eating 1200 calories a day.

    You will not be eating too much protein on just 1200 calories a day.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
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    What if you added protein powder/ate protein for every meal? What are the side effects of consuming too much?

    Or...
    Are there any negative consequences from eating a very high protein diet?

    too much of anything is not good. Your body will have to convert the excess proteins to energy and discard the nitrogen. I'm no expert, but I think this puts an extra load on your kidneys and liver.

    I thought this too. Surely too much protein can't be good.

    Again, not an expert either, but I know that protein can come out in your urine if you eat a lot of it, that doesn't sound good to me?

    If I remember rightly, you are eating 1200 calories a day.

    You will not be eating too much protein on just 1200 calories a day.

    Do you think it's impossible to eat too much protein on only 1200 calories per day?
  • ladyraven68
    ladyraven68 Posts: 2,003 Member
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    What if you added protein powder/ate protein for every meal? What are the side effects of consuming too much?

    Or...
    Are there any negative consequences from eating a very high protein diet?

    too much of anything is not good. Your body will have to convert the excess proteins to energy and discard the nitrogen. I'm no expert, but I think this puts an extra load on your kidneys and liver.

    I thought this too. Surely too much protein can't be good.

    Again, not an expert either, but I know that protein can come out in your urine if you eat a lot of it, that doesn't sound good to me?

    If I remember rightly, you are eating 1200 calories a day.

    You will not be eating too much protein on just 1200 calories a day.

    Do you think it's impossible to eat too much protein on only 1200 calories per day?

    If they consume 100% protein, no, But it would pretty difficult for someone to naturally consume just protein, and no fats or carbs.

    In a balanced diet - yes.
    Even if they had 1 third of calories in Protein, fats and carbs, that would only be 100g of protein.
  • peachfigs
    peachfigs Posts: 831 Member
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    too much protein can hurt the kidney...HOWEVER, too much is relative... and unless you already have some underlying condition, getting the amount that would be considered too much is damn near impossible for most to do...

    Why would it be hard? If you eat so much protein that you don't get enough other nutirents (macro or micro), it's too much. If you eat so much protein that you become overweight, it's too much. If you eat so much protein that you suffer GI distress, it's too much. If you eat so much protein that you damage your organs, it's too much.

    Nice fear mongering based on speculation. The answer is in the post right after yours. It is very difficult to consume the amount of protein that would cause any health problems. Try dealing in data (which based on our last discussion on this subject, you don't have) instead of speculation.

    Oh silly me for not consulting Wikipedia before I posted. :huh:

    Did you ever hear the expression "Empty barrels make the most niose"?

    They were just trying to help and it was much appreciated.
  • sozisfitnow
    sozisfitnow Posts: 209 Member
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    too much protein can hurt the kidney...HOWEVER, too much is relative... and unless you already have some underlying condition, getting the amount that would be considered too much is damn near impossible for most to do...

    Why would it be hard? If you eat so much protein that you don't get enough other nutirents (macro or micro), it's too much. If you eat so much protein that you become overweight, it's too much. If you eat so much protein that you suffer GI distress, it's too much. If you eat so much protein that you damage your organs, it's too much.

    Nice fear mongering based on speculation. The answer is in the post right after yours. It is very difficult to consume the amount of protein that would cause any health problems. Try dealing in data (which based on our last discussion on this subject, you don't have) instead of speculation.

    Oh silly me for not consulting Wikipedia before I posted. :huh:

    Its been proved medically that the atkins diet is bad for health, high protein :flowerforyou:

    I don't believe it has.

    So what if you dont!
  • SideSteel
    SideSteel Posts: 11,068 Member
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    Yes there are risks to eating too much protein:
    1. The body will take excess protein that it does not need and store it as fat.
    2. Too much protein has been proven to cause cancer, especially animal based protein. (Source: "The China Study" by T. Colin Campbell)
    3. Too much protein may damage the kidneys.
    Source: http://www.livestrong.com/article/434329-the-dangers-of-too-much-protein/

    The World Health Organization recommends a daily requirement of 0.8 mg of protein per kg of body weight. For those who are overweight, their ideal weight may be used. This requirement is a target rather than an upper or lower limit.

    There are two very good resources to compare different diets, including high protein diets such as Paleo, Dukan, and Medifast.
    1. "The Diet Selector" by Judith Rodriguez.
    2. U.S. News and World Reports:
    http://health.usnews.com/best-diet/best-overall-diets

    Please explain how the body stores excess protein in a caloric deficit?

    Also, are you serious using The China Study, one of the most ripped apart and debunked studies ever, as a source of info?? lol

    Between that and Livestrong and other books and article, you may want to consider getting your info from more credible sources.

    The exact metabolic processes of converting protein into stored fat is complex, but my understanding is that your body first has to discard the excess nitrogen in your urine and then stores the carbon just like any other carbo or fat.

    In real world scenarios where we're not talking about a diet consisting of 100% protein, excess protein intake will increase protein oxidation and blunt the oxidation of fat carbs and you get fat indirectly.
  • peachfigs
    peachfigs Posts: 831 Member
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    Should have added in my original post... what about if one was to get a high amount of protein from protein shakes? I don't eat much meat, so if I was to up my protein intake, this would be how I'd do it. I just want to make sure I'm not going to damage my liver/kidney.
  • SideSteel
    SideSteel Posts: 11,068 Member
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    Should have added in my original post... what about if one was to get a high amount of protein from protein shakes? I don't eat much meat, so if I was to up my protein intake, this would be how I'd do it. I just want to make sure I'm not going to damage my liver/kidney.

    Can you quantify this and state how many grams of protein you are going to consume?
  • peachfigs
    peachfigs Posts: 831 Member
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    Should have added in my original post... what about if one was to get a high amount of protein from protein shakes? I don't eat much meat, so if I was to up my protein intake, this would be how I'd do it. I just want to make sure I'm not going to damage my liver/kidney.

    Can you quantify this and state how many grams of protein you are going to consume?

    150-200g? I think, anyway. I've never done it before.
  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
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    Should have added in my original post... what about if one was to get a high amount of protein from protein shakes? I don't eat much meat, so if I was to up my protein intake, this would be how I'd do it. I just want to make sure I'm not going to damage my liver/kidney.

    Can you quantify this and state how many grams of protein you are going to consume?

    150-200g? I think, anyway. I've never done it before.

    That's quite a bit but not dangerously so. Why so much? What rationale or formula are you using to determine you protein and overall macronutrient mix?
  • SideSteel
    SideSteel Posts: 11,068 Member
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    Should have added in my original post... what about if one was to get a high amount of protein from protein shakes? I don't eat much meat, so if I was to up my protein intake, this would be how I'd do it. I just want to make sure I'm not going to damage my liver/kidney.

    Can you quantify this and state how many grams of protein you are going to consume?

    150-200g? I think, anyway. I've never done it before.

    I wouldn't expect that to be harmful provided you don't have any preexisting conditions however that's very, very likely to be unnecessary.

    I'm able to maintain LBM in a caloric deficit on about 165-175g protein and I'm 5'11" 195 and I am willing to wager that I have significantly more muscle mass than you do.
  • peachfigs
    peachfigs Posts: 831 Member
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    Should have added in my original post... what about if one was to get a high amount of protein from protein shakes? I don't eat much meat, so if I was to up my protein intake, this would be how I'd do it. I just want to make sure I'm not going to damage my liver/kidney.

    Can you quantify this and state how many grams of protein you are going to consume?

    150-200g? I think, anyway. I've never done it before.

    That's quite a bit but not dangerously so. Why so much? What rationale or formula are you using to determine you protein and overall macronutrient mix?

    Mainly because my diet is mostly all carbs and I'm tired of it, and I don't get to eat much meat anyway. It was just a rough idea... Would you recommend less?
  • ladyraven68
    ladyraven68 Posts: 2,003 Member
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    Should have added in my original post... what about if one was to get a high amount of protein from protein shakes? I don't eat much meat, so if I was to up my protein intake, this would be how I'd do it. I just want to make sure I'm not going to damage my liver/kidney.

    Can you quantify this and state how many grams of protein you are going to consume?

    150-200g? I think, anyway. I've never done it before.

    That's quite a bit but not dangerously so. Why so much? What rationale or formula are you using to determine you protein and overall macronutrient mix?

    Mainly because my diet is mostly all carbs and I'm tired of it, and I don't get to eat much meat anyway. It was just a rough idea... Would you recommend less?

    You appear to have plucked a figure from the air.have a look at the Macro setting part of this, which should help.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819055-setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets

    200g of protein is 800 calories, and that doesn't leave much room for other foods in your 1200 calories.
  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
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    Should have added in my original post... what about if one was to get a high amount of protein from protein shakes? I don't eat much meat, so if I was to up my protein intake, this would be how I'd do it. I just want to make sure I'm not going to damage my liver/kidney.

    Can you quantify this and state how many grams of protein you are going to consume?

    150-200g? I think, anyway. I've never done it before.

    That's quite a bit but not dangerously so. Why so much? What rationale or formula are you using to determine you protein and overall macronutrient mix?

    Mainly because my diet is mostly all carbs and I'm tired of it, and I don't get to eat much meat anyway. It was just a rough idea... Would you recommend less?

    I agree with SideSteel's post above. Probably more than you need. I am 5'9" and 200 and I intake 162 grams per day as a target to maintian LBM. There is some great info for setting your macro targets here:
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819055-setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets

    A general rule of thumb for an actively exercising person is minimum of 1 gram per lb of lean body mass for protein.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
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    Its been proved medically that the atkins diet is bad for health, high protein :flowerforyou:
    I don't believe it has.
    So what if you dont!

    Fair enough. Can you site the medical proof of which you speak? The HSPH has this to say about high protein diets (which is not the same "too much" protein.)

    http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/protein-full-story/
    The notion that you could lose weight by cutting out carbohydrates and eating plenty of protein was once tut-tutted by the medical establishment, partly because such diets were based on little more than interesting ideas and speculation. In the past few years, head-to-head trials that pitted high-protein, low-carbohydrate diets against low-fat, high-carbohydrate diets have provided some evidence that a low-carbohydrate diet may help people lose weight more quickly than a low-fat diet, although so far, that evidence is short term.

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