I’m not sure how it happened, but eating enough protein now tops the large list of things that I’m probably not doing properly for my health.
Nutrition is an evolving science - there will always be emerging discoveries - but the protein ‘experts’ on social media are doing my head in. The latest scan of my Instagram feed saw at least six nutritionists (probably not registered), influencers and fitness gurus telling me I was likely not getting enough protein, which could cause everything from wasted muscles, a sluggish metabolism and hair loss. You need at least 150g a day, they warned. You should aim for at least 200g a day if you’re menopausal, one shouted. A quick check of my protein intake revealed that according to them, it’s lucky I’m even alive considering how malnourished I am. A rough count of my food from the day before showed I clocked in at around 60g.
However, the NZ Nutrition Foundation tells me the recommended daily intake for protein in females aged from 19-70 years is 46g.
So what gives?
So how much protein do we need?
I presented my protein perplexity to Amy Allport, a registered nutritionist from Mission Nutrition.
Just how much protein do we need to eat, and why? Are we doomed to wade through mountains of cottage cheese and protein powder to achieve optimal health, or is there a middle ground?
Protein needs can change
Exactly how much protein you need is going to depend on the age, stage and needs of a person and no one measurement is going to cater to everyone, Amy says.
“There is a lot of research to support the fact that the current recommended daily intakes are on the low side. There is a significant part of the population that would benefit from having above the RDI.”
According to the NZ Nutrition Foundation, that includes people over 70, pregnant and breastfeeding women and those who are sick or recovering from illness.
Athletes too, definitely require more protein for repair, recovery and maintenance, Amy says.
“We’re encouraging people to become more active and do resistance training at least twice a week. Have we got RDIs for protein that really support that?”
The counting game
Amy prefers using a gram-per-body weight measurement for people to work out how much protein they need but if all that maths on the daily is enough to do your head in, there is an easier way.
“In the real world - where we tend to work in nutrition, rather than in the scientific world - I tend to round up and say whatever your body weight is in kilograms, it’s about that in grams of protein per day. That makes it a bit easier for people.”
However, some people don’t want the pressure of measuring, weighing and counting protein, full stop. Angsting over every gram is not helpful or necessary in most cases but it does pay to have good knowledge about protein, Amy says.
“People typically understand that protein is in meat, fish, eggs, dairy - all that kind of stuff - but also there’s plant-based protein like beans, lentils, quinoa, tofu and soybeans.”
An even easier way to try and get enough protein into your diet is to follow the “healthy plate” guidelines, she says.
“The current, more easy-to-understand guideline is to have about a quarter of your plate, or a palm-size of protein per meal. That’s a little bit easier to implement for a lot of people.”
That ratio doesn’t have to apply to every snack, Amy says.
“It’s more looking at the overall diet being around 25 per cent protein.”
If you think you aren’t hitting your protein requirements, or snacking on carbs, Amy suggests adding protein snacks like yoghurt or boiled eggs.
How much is too much?
Not a lot of people would have to or want to go higher than 2g of protein per kilo of body weight, says Amy. “It can be quite difficult to consume that amount of protein.”
So how much is too much?
There’s currently no reason to think a high-protein diet is bad for your body. Research on people eating high amounts of protein for a year didn’t find anything to support it being damaging to kidney health or organ health, unless you have kidney or liver problems.
But eating large amounts of protein could have a detrimental effect in a different way.
“The biggest thing with having too much protein is that you’re not getting a complete nutrient intake,” Amy says. “While protein is really important, we also do want to prioritise other essential nutrients. By overly-prioritising protein, the biggest risk is down-regulating some of the much more protective essential nutrients that we need, such as vitamins, minerals, fibrous food and healthy fats.”
Women in midlife
So what about protein and the menopause? Everyone is shouting at midlife women that we need more protein to preserve muscle we lose as our hormones decline.
Amy says while there’s no current definitive guideline around increasing protein intake around menopause or midlife, increasing it is not a bad idea.
“A lot of shifts can occur where you’re at an increased risk of losing muscle when you lose that protective estrogen effect.”
Amy says while protein is not an elixir for any of these risks, it does contribute to overall health. “It helps with satiety, which can help appetite management and therefore help maintain a healthy body weight which in turn helps manage cardiovascular risk.
“It’s not a bad idea to increase it but it’s not something that’s recommended.”
Paulette Crowley is a health journalist and health coach at Good Health Coach. Reach her on 027 231 5970 or email info@goodhealthcoach.co.nz.
Amy Allport is a registered NZ Nutritionist at Mission Nutrition.
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