What is the right amount of protein?

sijomial wrote: »

What is the right amount of protein?
Under what circumstances for your example 180lb man? Losing, gaining or maintaining their weight? Strenuous exercise or not? Active or inactive lifestyle? Lean or fat?
Context makes a difference to dosage. A fat sedentary man at maintenance calories is going to have very different needs to a same weight already lean man training hard in a cut for example.

You might like to read this - http://jissn.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1550-2783-11-20


What is the absorption rate per meal ive heard the max is around 30g
Don't confuse (assumed) absorption rates with the amount your body can use from a meal - "excess" is stored until required.
Worth a read.... https://examine.com/nutrition/how-much-protein-can-i-eat-in-one-sitting/

Pretty much. It really depends on what you are trying to achieve, your current lean state, your training, and what energy state you are in.

Here is more good research on protein as well: http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/apnm-2015-0549

And a ton of discussion: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10334013/protein-intake-for-highly-trained-natural-weight-lifters-during-caloric-deficit/p1


For the absorption, Dr. Layne Norton has a good video on it.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTF9YR6BU9k

GottaBurnEmAll wrote: »

Here's a separate question... how much is too much? I find protein to be the most filling macro (combined with fiber/starch), so I tend to go high with it for that reason.

I routinely have a CBC done twice a year by my rheumy and everything's fine, so I'm assuming no harm, no foul.

I've gone upward of 2.5g/lbs. LBM before, for extended periods, with no adverse effects. YMMV, but it's not uncommon for me to run north of 300g in a day, if I don't specifically look to avoid it. vOv

GottaBurnEmAll wrote: »

Here's a separate question... how much is too much? I find protein to be the most filling macro (combined with fiber/starch), so I tend to go high with it for that reason.

I routinely have a CBC done twice a year by my rheumy and everything's fine, so I'm assuming no harm, no foul.

ymmv, but when i was getting those regular blood draws, it was fairly narrow and directed only towards making sure i wasn't developing the side effects associated with my particular meds. when my hemoglobin took a sudden spectacular dive on one check, my rheumatologist didn't even notice since my overall health isn't her zone of concern. my gp was the one who picked up on it and called me - and only because she happened to still be on a 'send copy to' list that i'd never bothered to change.

GottaBurnEmAll wrote: »

My rheumy looked at everything. She noticed my low blood sodium on my last run of tests and mentioned bringing it up with my family doctor (I get that on and off from one of my migraine meds and my doctor already knows), so I'm not too worried about her not mentioning a lab value out of range.

\o/

The two most popular equations I've read on sports related forums are either 1.2-1.5g per pound of lean body mass, or 1g per pound of body weight. For a non athlete I'd imagine this would be a lot lower.

As for harm from high protein diets: If you have a pre-existing condition (usually related to kidneys) you can absolutely screw yourself over from too much protein. So protein levels are unique. You need to, through time, find the level of protein that suits you, keeps you full, and supports your body. Unless you're a competitive athlete it doesn't matter too much as long as you're eating a well rounded diet.

Gallowmere1984 wrote: »

Packerjohn wrote: »

Harvard Med, USDA and other respected sources suggest 10-35% of daily calories from protein.

Which is stupid as hell without context, as are all percentages in relation to macro ratios.

All it means is that we can be healthy at a wide variety of protein intakes.

I recently followed a nutrition course in edx from the university of Wageningen and they said this:

The recommended daily allowance (RDA) for dietary protein in most countries is 0.8 gram per kg of bodyweight per day. That amounts to 56 grams for a 70 kg adult. Isolated protein deficiency is extremely rare in adults but may be observed in infants and children in developing countries. Most people eat substantially more protein than the RDA, ranging from 10-25% of the total energy intake. Protein intakes above 20% of total energy intake can only be achieved by very high consumption of meats, eggs and/or dairy products.

There is a lot of discussion about whether athletes and especially strength athletes, including bodybuilders, would benefit from a higher protein intake. The panel responsible for formulating the dietary recommendation in the US has taken the position that healthy adults undertaking resistance or endurance exercise do not require additional dietary protein. In contrast, the American Dietetic Association, Dietitians of Canada, and the American College of Sports Medicine recommend protein intakes for endurance and strength trained athletes from 1.2 to 1.7 gram per kg of bodyweight per day. These organizations have also stated that: "These recommended protein intakes can generally be met through diet alone, without the use of protein or amino acid supplements."

trigden1991 wrote: »

jennypapaje wrote: »

I recently followed a nutrition course in edx from the university of Wageningen and they said this:

The recommended daily allowance (RDA) for dietary protein in most countries is 0.8 gram per kg of bodyweight per day. That amounts to 56 grams for a 70 kg adult. Isolated protein deficiency is extremely rare in adults but may be observed in infants and children in developing countries. Most people eat substantially more protein than the RDA, ranging from 10-25% of the total energy intake. Protein intakes above 20% of total energy intake can only be achieved by very high consumption of meats, eggs and/or dairy products.

There is a lot of discussion about whether athletes and especially strength athletes, including bodybuilders, would benefit from a higher protein intake. The panel responsible for formulating the dietary recommendation in the US has taken the position that healthy adults undertaking resistance or endurance exercise do not require additional dietary protein. In contrast, the American Dietetic Association, Dietitians of Canada, and the American College of Sports Medicine recommend protein intakes for endurance and strength trained athletes from 1.2 to 1.7 gram per kg of bodyweight per day. These organizations have also stated that: "These recommended protein intakes can generally be met through diet alone, without the use of protein or amino acid supplements."

Protein shakes are food products and amino acids are not normally accounted for in daily protein intake.

Also the figure of 1.2-1.7g/kg is well below the universally accepted 0.8-1.2g/lbs of Lean body mass.

That is because it's for weight maintenance, which protein levels are much lower. Higher levels of protein are really only needed during weight loss to help maintain muscle.