Protein question

I'm sure there is such a thing as too much protein, but you'd have to eat an awful lot of it. I actually increased my protein goals from what MFP suggests. I try to eat 1 gram for every pound of my body weight every day, but I don't always get that much. I am happy to have about 15 grams per meal, and I eat about five times per day. That's much improved from the days when I made no attempt to eat protein at all! I feel much more satisfied when I eat protein, like I actually ate something. My body seems to register better that there's food in my stomach.

If you are doing weight training, you definitely need protein for building muscle. If you are not weight training, you need it to help keep you from losing muscle as you lose weight.

I was searching the same question yesterday and this is what I found.

The typical American diet, as we said earlier, is already providing plenty of protein. There is no value in adding even more protein to that amount, since protein cannot be stored in the body and the excess is eliminated in urine and feces.

When people start consuming too much protein (over 2.0 g/kg/d), the extra protein can become a stressful stimulus for the kidney. This is even more of a concern as we get older and our organs are less efficient and effective.

Very high levels of dietary protein have also been correlated with increased urinary calcium excretion. The loss of calcium through urine could potentially be harmful for bone turnover, with the added risk of osteoporosis. Finally, protein requires vitamin B6 in order to be metabolized and ultimately utilized in the body. Very high levels of dietary protein increase the requirement for this B vitamin.

Hope this helps.