What is Protein: Types, How much, Benefits

What is Protein?

Protein is a macronutrient that is essential to building muscle mass. It is commonly found in animal products, though is also present in other sources, such as nuts and legumes. 

There are three macronutrients: protein, fats and carbohydrates. Macronutrients provide calories, or energy. The body requires large amounts of macronutrients to sustain life, hence the term “macro,” according to the University of Illinois McKinley Health Center. Each gram of protein contains 4 calories. Protein makes up about 15 percent of a person’s body weight.

Chemically, protein is composed of amino acids, which are organic compounds made of carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen or sulfur. Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins, and proteins are the building blocks of muscle mass, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH). 

How Much Protein?

Protein is essential to good health. The very origin of the word from the Greek protos, meaning “first” reflects protein’s top-shelf status in human nutrition. You need it to put meat on your bones and to make hair, blood, connective tissue, antibodies, enzymes, and more. It’s common for athletes and bodybuilders to wolf down extra protein to bulk up. But the message the rest of us often get is that our daily protein intake is too high.

The Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for protein is a modest 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight. The RDA is the amount of a nutrient you need to meet your basic nutritional requirements. In a sense, it’s the minimum amount you need to keep from getting sick — not the specific amount you are supposed to eat every day.

Protein: Is more better

For a relatively active adult, a daily protein intake to meet the RDA would supply as little as 10% of his or her total daily calories. In comparison, the average American consumes around 16% of his or her daily calories in the form of protein, from both plant and animal sources.

The Protein Summit reports in AJCN argue that 16% is anything but excessive. In fact, the reports suggest that Americans may eat too little protein, not too much. The potential benefits of higher daily protein intake, these researchers argue, include preserving muscle strength despite aging and maintaining a lean, fat-burning physique. Some studies described in the summit reports suggest that protein is more effective if you space it out over the day’s meals and snacks, rather than loading up at dinner like many Americans do.

Based on the totality of the research presented at the summit, Rodriguez estimates that taking in up to twice the RDA of protein “is a safe and good range to aim for.” This equates roughly to 15% to 25% of total daily calories, although it could be above or below this range depending on your age, sex, and activity level.

However, over the last several years, the public health message has shifted away from desired percentages of protein, fats and carbohydrates. For example, the current Dietary Guidelines for Americans emphasize the importance of eating healthier protein rich foods rather than concentrating on specific amounts of daily protein.

The Role of Protein in Weight Loss and Weight Maintenance

One of the reasons protein is so popular and the cornerstone of many buzzed-about diets is because of its potential link to weight loss.

Over the past two decades, countless studies, including one published in April 2015 in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, have shown that protein may help people lose weight or maintain weight loss because:

Consuming more protein has a positive impact on resting metabolism.

High-protein foods increase feelings of fullness. As a result, people eating a sufficient amount of protein may take in fewer calories over the course of the day and lose weight if they end up at a calorie deficit.

To be specific, researchers have found diets that contain between 1.2 and 1.6 g of protein per kg of weight each day and about 25 to 30 g of protein per meal have been shown to help with body weight management.

What should you do?

Research on how much protein is the optimal amount to eat for good health is ongoing, and is far from settled. The value of high-protein diets for weight loss or cardiovascular health, for example, remains controversial.

Before you start ramping up your daily protein intake, there are a few important things to consider. For one, don’t read “get more protein” as “eat more meat.” Beef, poultry, and pork (as well as milk, cheese, and eggs) can certainly provide high-quality protein, but so can many plant foods including whole grains, beans and other legumes, nuts, and vegetables. The table below provides some healthier sources of protein.

It’s also important to consider the protein “package” the fats, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients that invariably come along with protein. Aim for protein sources low in saturated fat and processed carbohydrates and rich in many nutrients.

One more thing: If you increase protein, dietary arithmetic demands that you eat less of other things to keep your daily calorie intake steady. The switches you make can affect your nutrition, for better or for worse. For example, eating more protein instead of low-quality refined carbohydrates, like white bread and sweets, is a healthy choice though how healthy the choice is also depends on the total protein package.

“If you are not eating much fish and you want to increase that yes, that might improve the overall nutrient profile that would subsequently improve your health,” says registered dietitian Kathy McManus, director of the Department of Nutrition at Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women’s Hospital. “But I think the data are pretty strong against significantly increasing red meat, and certainly processed meat, to get protein.”

If weight loss is your main concern, trying a higher-protein diet is reasonable, but don’t expect it to be a panacea. “Patients come to me all the time asking if more protein will help them in weight loss,” McManus says. “I tell them the verdict is still out. Some studies support it, some studies don’t.”

Types of Protein:

There are many types of Protein some of them listed below as-

• Whey Protein
• Egg Protein
• Hemp Protein
• Pea Protein
• Casein Protein
• Brown Rice Protein
• Mixed Plant Protein

Foods That Offer Good Sources of Protein

You can easily up your intake of protein by changing what’s on your plate. The percentages listed here are based on the daily value (DV) of 50 g of protein per day (that’s an estimate of how much an average adult needs):

• 1 cup nonfat Greek yogurt (46 percent DV)
• 3 oz tilapia (33 percent DV)
• ½ cup chickpeas (32 percent DV)
• 3 oz chicken breast (32 percent DV)
• ½ cup cooked black beans (15.24 percent DV)
• 2 tablespoons peanut butter (14 percent DV)
• 1 egg (12 percent DV)
• ¼ cup almonds (12 percent DV)
• ½ cup unflavored oatmeal (10 percent DV) 
• ½ cup quinoa (8.14 percent DV)

When you’re choosing your protein source, be sure to pay attention to the food’s fat content. Skinless poultry and fish, for instance, are better choices than red meat because they don’t have high levels of saturated fat, which can be dangerous in excess because it can increase the LDL, or "bad" cholesterol in your blood.

If you are vegetarian and want toknow what you should eat then you must click here

Top Sources of Protein beyond Whole Foods

Even though protein is found in many whole foods, there are hundreds of manufactured protein-packed items. Protein powders, protein energy bars, and even protein-boosted breads, pancake mixes, and chips are available to you.

These products may be appropriate for certain people who are supposed to take in more protein than the usual recommendation. Athletes, for instance, may benefit from ingesting protein within an hour of working out. A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition showed that a large single dose of 25 g of protein after exercise can increase muscle protein synthesis. That could explain why protein shakes are so often associated with body builders and gym rats.

Elderly people who have trouble eating and drinking enough protein during the day, sometimes as a result of a decreased appetite, can also benefit from high-protein products and shakes, according to an article published in the magazine Aging Well. Protein is important for this group because the body’s protein stores naturally decline as people age. In fact, people lose 3 to 8 percent of their lean muscle mass each decade after age 30, per a review published in the journal Current Opinion in Clinical Nutrition & Metabolic Care. Without enough protein, these older adults may experience general weakness (including an increased risk of falling), fatigue, decreased mobility, and weakened immune systems.

Here’s the fix: Taking in 25 to 30 g of high-quality protein per meal can help stimulate protein synthesis for these older adults. Protein supplements can be especially helpful in hospitals and can reduce the risk of developing pressure ulcers.

Word to the wise: Study the nutrition label before digging into protein shakes and other supplements. Just because a product is high in protein doesn’t necessarily make it healthy all around. Look for protein supplements that are no more than 200 calories, have fewer than 2 g of saturated fat, and no more than 5 g of sugar.

Also, because supplements aren’t regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), there’s no oversight checking to make sure the products live up to the claims on their packaging, so take these with a grain of salt and be sure to talk to your healthcare team before adding them to your diet.

Experts say it’s a good idea to lean on whole foods rather than processed foods to source your protein, as whole foods offer nutritional benefits that the man-made options don’t provide.

Side Effects of eating too much Protein:

Constipation

In the same study, 44% of participants reported constipation. High-protein diets that restrict carbohydrates are typically low in fiber.

Increasing your water and fiber intake can help prevent constipation. Tracking your bowel movements may be helpful.

Diarrhea

Eating too much dairy or processed food, coupled with a lack of fiber, can cause diarrhea. This is especially true if you’re lactose-intolerant or consume protein sources such as fried meat, fish, and poultry. Eat heart-healthy proteins instead.

To avoid diarrhea, drink plenty of water, avoid caffeinated beverages, limit fried foods and excess fat consumption, and increase your fiber intake.

Dehydration

Your body flushes out excess nitrogen with fluids and water. This can leave you dehydrated even though you may not feel more thirsty than usual.

A small 2002 study involving athletes found that as protein intake increased, hydration levels decreased. However, a 2006 study concluded that consuming more protein had a minimal impact on hydration.

This risk or effect can be minimized by increasing your water intake, especially if you’re an active person. Regardless of protein consumption, it’s always important to drink plenty of water throughout the day.

Kidney damage

While no major studies Trusted Source link high protein intake to kidney damage in healthy individuals, excess protein can cause damage in people with preexisting kidney disease.

This is because of the excess nitrogen found in the amino acids that make up proteins. Damaged kidneys have to work harder to get rid of the extra nitrogen and waste products of protein metabolism.

Separately a 2012 study looked at the effects of low-carbohydrate, high-protein versus low-fat diets on the kidneys.

The study found that in healthy obese adults, a low-carbohydrate, high-protein weight-loss diet over two years was not associated with noticeably harmful effects on renal filtration, albuminuria, or fluid and electrolyte balance compared with a low-fat diet.

Increased cancer risk

Studies Trusted Source have shown that certain high-protein diets that are particularly high in red meat-based protein are linked to an increased risk of various health issues, including cancer. Eating more red and/or processed meat is associated Trusted Source with colorectal, breast Trusted Source, and prostate cancer.

Conversely, eating protein from other sources has been associated Trusted Source with a decreased risk of cancer. Scientists believe this could be due, in part, to hormones, carcinogenic compounds, and fats found in meat.

Heart disease

Eating lots of red meat and full-fat dairy foods as part of a high-protein diet may lead to heart disease. This could be related to higher intakes of saturated fat and cholesterol.

According to a 2010 study, eating large amounts of red meat and high-fat dairy was shown to increase the risk of coronary heart disease in women. Eating poultry, fish, and nuts lowered the risk.

A 2018 study also showed that long-term consumption of red meat can increase trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO), a gut-generated chemical that is linked to heart disease. Findings also showed that reducing or eliminating dietary red meat reversed the effects.