How Much Protein?

The answer to this question depends on you — your lean body mass, your level of physical activity and other factors, including what makes you feel best. There is a wide range of healthy and safe protein intake that can provide many benefits. In addition to what has already been stated about finding your protein needs, for those who still need help understanding this important issue I’ll discuss protein needs in grams using the USDA’s recommendations to further put this subject into perspective.

The problem with this level of protein is that it’s the bare minimum for an inactive person. And, it’s based on body weight and not lean muscle mass. This amount is 0.8 grams of dietary protein per kilogram (2.2 pounds) of body weight. Based on this, a person weighing about 70 kilograms or 150 pounds should consume 60 grams of protein per day. This can be obtained with two eggs at breakfast, a salad with fish at lunch and a small steak at dinner.

But for most active, healthy people, this amount is insufficient.

Recent studies show that protein requirements should be twice that of the USDA suggestion. Based on these studies performed over the past several years, and my clinical experience, I prefer to recommend a range of normal that includes the minimum amount of 0.8 grams to about 1.6 grams per kilogram of body weight. For most athletes, and those with very physical jobs, the amount of protein may still need to be increased above this level. Those involved in jogging/running, biking, swimming and other aerobic-type exercise, usually need more protein because the normal continual process of building muscle may actually be greater than that of weight-lifters.

For most active, healthy people, a normal protein intake over 1.0 grams per kilogram of body weight, usually closer to the 1.6 number, is best. Following are some examples of food servings that provide these amounts of protein:

• For a 175-pound person, the daily protein intake may be 128 grams. The protein foods that would provide this include three eggs and cheese at breakfast, a salad with a hefty serving of turkey at lunch and salmon for dinner.

•For a 145-pound person, the requirement may be about 106 grams: two eggs for breakfast, a chef’s salad for lunch and a sirloin steak for dinner.

•And for the person weighing 125 pounds, who would minimally require about 90 grams of protein: two eggs at breakfast, tuna salad for lunch and lamb for dinner.

If you’re 200 pounds or more, or appreciably under 125 pounds, just estimate the protein requirements based on the above numbers.

For example, at 200 pounds, that’s 25 percent heavier, so 25 percent more than 128 grams of protein is 160 grams.

Clearly, eating more protein than the body can utilize can be unhealthy. But if you require more than 100 grams a day, that’s not excessive, it’s what your body needs. Eating the amount of protein your body requires is not a high-protein diet, it’s getting your proper requirements!

Sometimes, when unhealthy people consume normal amounts of protein they won’t feel good because something else is wrong. For example, as protein intake increases, so does your need for water, which helps eliminate the normal by-products of protein through the kidneys. That’s part of the old argument that protein is a stress on the kidneys; it most certainly is if you are dehydrated.

Or, if you’re under significant stress and your stomach does not make sufficient amounts of natural hydrochloric acid — the first chemical stage of protein digestion — protein digestion can be a problem that could give you symptoms of intestinal distress. Addressing the cause of the problem — the stress and stomach, not the protein — is the best remedy. Or, another potential protein problem may occur if you combine a steak with some bread or a potato — this is a significant stress for the stomach, and indigestion often follows.