If you have been on any health improvement journey for e.g. to lose weight, increase weight, or increase muscle mass, we are sure you have been informed that protein is essential to achieve any goal.
Why is this? Why is protein important and how can eating a higher protein diet be beneficial?
We hope this blog will help you to understand all of these questions.
Let’s start by understanding what protein is and its role in the human body. Protein is a macronutrient containing nitrogen that is made up of amino acids. Nitrogen is crucial for all plants and animals to survive, and amino acids are considered to be the building blocks of proteins and proteins are referred to as one of the building blocks of life.
Protein is of utmost importance to every individual as it is involved in every biological process in the human body for e.g. to name a few:
Tissue repair and production – every day the body is in a constant cycle of protein synthesis (creation of new protein) and degradation (breakdown of existing protein), not just for physical activity but for homeostasis.
Hormone production – Ghrelin, Leptin, and Insulin
Enzyme production – for digestion and metabolism
Immune function – helps regulate the body’s defences (antibodies) to help fight bacterial and viral infections
Energy production – can be used to produce energy as a backup source
This is what makes protein an essential nutrient to ensure correct bodily functions and overall health.
Most health organisations recommend a minimum protein recommended daily intake (RDI) of 0.8g – 1.0g per kg of body weight per day to establish nitrogen balance; however, this recommendation can increase depending on physical activity levels, disease states, trauma, and stress levels. According to the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) individuals should be consuming 10-35% of daily calories from protein, the equivalent to approximately 0.8g – 2.0g/kg/day.
What are the benefits of consuming protein above the RDI aka a higher protein diet? There have been multiple studies that have looked at different health and performance benefits of consuming higher protein diets that may be metabolically beneficial, specifically for overweight and obese individuals striving to lose weight, also for physically active individuals such as athletes.
These studies have also revealed that higher protein diets may preserve lean body mass during weight loss, promote weight management, enhance blood glucose regulation, and increase calcium absorption, which may result in long-term improvements in bone health.
Research has also found the ideal protein intake for active individuals is between 1.6g - 2.2g/kg/day.
Overall health benefits to consuming a higher protein diet to name a few are:
Boost metabolism
Preserve lean muscle mass
Increase calcium absorption
Enhance blood glucose regulation
Maximise performance
Control appetite
Increase strength
Promote weight management
Protein is the one macronutrient we find as Nutritionists and Coaches that is usually being under consumed. As you can see from this blog, protein is the most important.
Comments