Do we really need that much protein?

Protein, protein, protein. As a dietitian, a diabetes educator, gymgoer and vegan, barely a day goes by without me hearing about protein. We see social media posts about how to get more protein and all the health benefits that we will get when we do.

But why?!

Protein as we all know is important to grow muscle and maintain our immune system. Research has also shown that higher protein foods may help us feel fuller for longer.

Its an easy message to push, lots of people want to have stronger muscles, less body fat and to feel full after meals. Its easy to post a few infographics on an Instagram page, the likes, saves and shares come flooding in. Utilise a TikTok trend, list things like "eat lots of protein", "dont be afraid to gain weight" and "do hip thrusts" and you're away.

I am not saying that is wrong per se. but many people are eating enough protein already, eating more does not always mean more benefits.

In terms of numbers, the follow may be useful:

0.75g of dietary protein per kilogram of bodyweight, increasing to 2g/kg if you are doing multiple heavy resistance training sessions per week

Minimum intake of 45g for women and 56g for men

That's it

If you are achieving this goal, don't worry about always getting more.

Its probably more important to focus on overall dietary quality, think glycaemic index, micronutrient absorption, hydration and salt intake, but ill leave those for another post.