Summary of this revealing podcast!
We are consuming more protein than we need. What we don’t realise is that none of the excess protein consumed can be stored anywhere in our body, unlike excess carbohydrates which are converted into a small store of glycogen which is hardly ever depleted in the modern day life, and fat which the body is capable of storing infinite amounts of!
Protein builds structure in our body like in our hair, nails and mostly in muscles, organs, skin and skeleton.
According to the Dietary Reference Intake report for macronutrients, a sedentary adult should consume 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight, or 0.36 grams per pound. That means that the average sedentary man should eat about 56 grams of protein per day, and the average woman should eat about 46 grams.
But according to the podcast above, this 0.8g per kg covers about 97% of the population and if you are active at working out, only a few more grams is required!
We often consume double the recommended amount through regular food without extra effort, so protein supplements are unnecessary
Whole food that contains sufficient protein is far more nutritious than protein supplements.
What’s more, as more than required amounts of protein are consumed daily and cannot be stored by the body, the excess protein becomes converted into fat and carbohydrates!
The key is consuming sufficient calories daily and eating in variety. Plants largely contain all the amino acids but in lesser amounts than meat but if a variety of plants are consumed this would make up for it. By consuming more plants, the body also gains fibre, phytonutrients, antioxidants etc, whereas with meat you also consume a large amount of saturated fat along with hormones.
In a recent study, it was proven that vegan athletes performed equally as omnivores.
And therefore, protein supplementation is a marketing scam!
Do these:
- Eat more beans, tofu, tempeh, natto
- Eat a good variety of vegetables
- Don’t measure your protein intake instead feed your microbiome!