How much protein do we need?
Fun fact – the word protein comes from the Swedish chemist Jöns Jakob Berzelius (1669-1848) and originates from the Greek word proteios, which essentially means the main thing. Many people believe that protein is the mail part of our diet, and think more about getting enough protein when training and trying to build muscles. Its important that we get enough protein – why you read here: https://elifestyle-se.myshopify.com/blogs/nyheter/protein-what-is-it-and-which-functions-does-it-have-in-our-bodies
But how much protein do we really need and is it possible to eat too much?
Recommendations are always based on the presumptions of good protein quality and sufficient energy intake. If the energy intake is lower that what is needed, the protein will firstly be used as an energy source and growth, maintenance and repair will come second.
The recommended protein intake for adults and children 2 years or older is that is should be between 10-20 E%, which means between 10 and 20% of the total energy intake per day. This equals approximately 0,7-0,8 grams of protein per kilo bodyweight, with other words, an average intake of 45-60 gram per day for an adult. The general recommendations are 46g per day for women and 56g per day for men. From 65 years and up the recommended percentage should be raised since there is a higher need and because of less physical activity the total energy intake is lower, the percentage should be around 15-20 E%. 15 E% should be considered a minimum and the daily intake should be around 1,2-1,5 grams per kilo bodyweight.
However, according to many personal trainers and professional bodybuilders, the intake of protein should be higher. They can recommend the intake to be about 2 grams per kilo bodyweight, which equals about 128-171 gram per day for an adult. To want to be on an a surplus when it comes to protein intake, when building muscles, is very common and understandable, you don’t want to be in a deficit. However, a surplus of protein will be stored as fat in our bodies and be used as energy, and a big surplus is not not beneficial and will result in a weight gain not related to muscles.
High-protein diets have become more common and are still very popular. The question is if too much protein can cause more damage than good, and the answer is YES. Just like with everything here in life, we can get too much even of the good things. Researcher and scientists had not agreed on how much protein that should be recommended as the maximum intake, before its considered harmful. For a normal individual, not an elite athlete or a professional bodybuilder, 2 grams per kilo should be considered a maximum, since our bodies does not need more. Studies also show that if you eat more than 2 grams per kilo bodyweight every day for a longer period of time, it will affect your health.
Many clients want to build muscles and are focused solely on intake of protein, but neglects the two other macro nutrients – carbs and fat, to not even mention the micro nutrients, such as vitamins and minerals. Balance is important for our health and also the foundation of the results that we get from our training.