Why You Should Take Your Protein Intake Seriously | THE IMPORTANCE OF PROTEIN FOR OUR HEALTH
Did you know that every single cell in our body relies on protein?
Protein is not just for building muscle — it plays a role in our hormones, immune health, fat loss, blood regulation, and much more — literally every cell in our body needs it. Despite this, one out of every three adults are still consuming less protein than their bodies need.
Today, we’ll dive deeper into the benefits of protein, the risks of low intake, and recommendations for protein depending on your needs and goals.
WHAT PROTEIN DOES FOR OUR BODY
MUSCLE GROWTH
We’ll start with the easiest and most obvious! When we lift weights, go for runs, hike, or perform any sort of physical activities — our body does not get stronger at this point, it gets weakened.
This creates micro-tears in our muscles, and protein is responsible for repairing them. This is the process which then stimulates the muscle growth.
If your body doesn’t receive an optimal amount of protein for your needs, you’ll experience slower recovery from training, injuries and aches, and muscle loss.
Most people only truly consider protein for muscle growth, but whether you exercise heavily or not, protein should be a priority. It is needed daily for consistent maintenance and health needs, outside of muscle growth and repair from the gym. Muscle growth is just one of the many ways that protein serves us.
ORGANS (SKIN, HEART, BRAIN, ETC)
Outside of repairing muscle, protein is also crucial for maintaining and repairing every other tissue in our body; like our skin, heart, brain, lungs, liver, all of it.
Protein is crucial for maintaining organ health because of the daily “wear and tear” on our bodies. For example, protein repairs cuts, burns, and injuries to your skin. For your heart, protein helps with maintaining healthy contractions and blood circulation.
While this wear and tear may be minor from day-to-day, it is crucial to provide the ability to recover from it, so this need doesn’t impact your wellness over time. This demand for protein will increase when you’re recovering from surgery or injuries.
For health & longevity, sustaining your protein needs over time is crucial.
BONE HEALTH
Our bones are constantly remodeling and working to repair damage from daily “wear & tear” or injuries. Low protein intake weakens bone density, increasing the risk of fractures. Meanwhile, a healthy protein intake will support your joint and bone health to keep them strong and dense.
Osteoporosis becomes a risk in individuals 50+ and one of the important ways to maintain bone density at this age is to ensure you’re eating enough protein each day!
IMMUNE FUNCTION
Protein helps to maintain and keep our body's immune system strong. Our body breaks down amino acids (from the protein we consume), and uses them to create antibodies and immune cells. Our immune system relies on these amino acids in order for antibodies and immune cells to completely form.
Maintaining a healthy protein intake is crucial for fighting viruses and infections.
HORMONES
Many hormones require amino acids in order to completely form. Again, when we eat protein, our body breaks this down into amino acids. If your protein intake is low, this will also impact the hormones that rely on these amino acids to form. This can negatively affect mood regulation, stress levels, sleep, and blood sugar control.
Here are just a few examples of some of the hormones that rely on our protein intake:
Insulin (Regulation of blood sugar levels and energy storage)
Growth hormone (Regulation of growth and tissue repair)
Dopamine (Regulation of motivation and reward-systems)
Serotonin (Regulation of mood and relaxation)
Melatonin (Regulation of sleep and recovery)
FAT LOSS & SATIATION
Higher protein is known to be a helpful tool for fat loss for two reasons:
Protein is highly satiating, meaning that it keeps you feeling satisfied for longer.
It takes more energy to digest protein than any other macronutrient. Its thermic effect of food (TEF) is much higher than the other macros. This ultimately creates a higher total daily energy expenditure — or TDEE — or a higher calorie burn within your day.
This can help to naturally reduce overall caloric intake, while also more easily increasing the calorie burn within a day. Slightly increasing protein intake can be a smart strategy for an easier fat loss journey for many!
BLOOD REGULATION
Proteins in our bloodstream are in charge of maintaining the amount of water that remains — and comes back into —our blood. Proper blood fluid levels help transport nutrients to where they’re needed.
A lack of protein in the blood can then create dysregulation in other areas or functions of our body. Over time, if this habit of low protein intake remains, it leads to edema. Some signs of edema are when a person experiences swelling of their feet, hands, legs, and face — from fluid pooling into these areas. Working towards increasing the amount of protein in their diet consistently is necessary to get these proteins back into the blood.
ENERGY
While our body doesn’t generally use protein for energy (it saves that for carbs and fats), in cases where it’s needed; our body will convert amino acids into ATP (energy) for immediate use. Ideally though, you’ll be eating a balanced diet, with a healthy amount of carbs and fats, for optimal energy and health.
There are also cases where you may consume “too much” protein and energy within a day, and in this case, the remaining energy will be turned into energy for later (body fat).
However, protein is rarely stored as fat unless consumed in extreme excess.
HOW MUCH PROTEIN You NEED
Your protein needs depend on multiple varying factors including; age, gender, genetics, activity levels, current health status, and your specific goals.
You can gauge your protein intake in two main ways:
Directly tracking your protein
Eye-balling your main protein portions on your plate
The RDA recommends that the public aims for anywhere between 10 to 35% of your diet is protein. This is a pretty wide range and doesn’t give much insight into specifics for your own needs.
In order to get more specific with your needs, first decide whether you’d like track macros or eat intuitively. Then, use the chart to get more specific with what to aim for.
Recommendations for Macro-Tracking
If you don’t mind tracking your protein intake, then this is one of the best ways that you can truly ensure you’re meeting your protein needs.
This option is great for individuals who are at a stage where they want to take their health and fitness goals more seriously.
Use this chart as a reference as to where to start:
Recommendations for Intuitive Eating
Tracking macros isn’t for everyone — it can sometimes feel tedious and stressful. If you’re overwhelmed with tracking, eye-balling your protein intake on your plate is another option!
Use this chart as a reference as to where to start:
When you prepare your meals, you want to aim for protein to take up roughly this amount of space on your plate. For example, if you have the goal of building muscle, you will aim for 20-30% of protein on your plate at each meal. This method isn’t perfect, but it is incredibly helpful and can still get you within perfectly healthy ranges, with less stress!
REMINDER
Keep in mind, perfection doesn’t exist with any of this — and for so many reasons. To name a few; our body doesn’t always digest 100% all of the nutrients that we consume, macro calculators are only guesses, and even food labels aren’t usually 100% accurate. The good thing is that our bodies don’t require perfection. Choose the methods that truly work best for you.
COMMON MYTHS SURROUNDING PROTEIN INTAKE
There are also a few myths floating around about protein that keep some individuals fearful of adding more protein, even if their bodies need it. Let’s address the two main fears and myths.
MYTH #1: PROTEIN ABSORPTION LIMITATIONS
One common myth is that the body is only able to digest 30 grams of protein per meal.
This myth comes from research around muscle protein synthesis (how much protein goes into repairing muscle). This research shows that our body can take anywhere from 20-40 grams of protein for muscle protein synthesis per meal.
This doesn’t mean that our body is limited to digesting ~30 grams of protein per meal; it means that this is all that tends to be necessary for muscle repair. Your body also uses protein for all the other essential functions we’ve covered. This is why it’s crucial to understand all of the other roles that protein has in the body.
MYTH #2: KIDNEY DAMAGE
There is also conversation that “too much” protein can cause kidney damage. The kidney’s role is to filter waste from protein. For someone with kidney disease, this actually can be a concern — but this is due to poor functioning and disease of the liver. Individuals who are not struggling with kidney function shouldn’t be concerned with their kidney’s ability to do their job, even with higher protein intake.
FINAL NOTES
Maintaining a healthy protein intake each day is crucial for health and longevity. While nutrition can feel overwhelming, remember—perfection isn’t the goal. Your body is able to regulate relatively well as long as you stay within healthy ranges from day-to-day.
If you’re looking for more personalized guidance and coaching around your protein intake and nutrition habits, apply for 1-on-1 coaching here!
