- Protein is essential for building and repairing muscle.
- Most Americans consume close to twice the recommended minimal amount of protein.
Protein is essential for building and maintaining your body's tissues, including your muscles, blood vessels, tendons, and skin. So it's no wonder that many people are worried they may not get enough of it.
Luckily, according to Dr. Stefan Pasiakos, director of the National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements, most Americans don't need to reach for the protein powder.
Most people in the US "consume close to about twice what's recommended as the minimal amount," Pasiakos said.
That being said, if you are in the military, are an athlete, or frequently work out, you may need to consume more than the average person.
During extreme exercise, added protein can help repair muscles
Pasiakos spent nearly a decade leading an interdisciplinary research program at the United States Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine to examine protein requirements for soldiers.
He found that for service people, "if they're training heavily in the field, there's a greater requirement for protein in those conditions," Pasiakos said.
The same holds true for athletes, Pasiakos said.
Working out causes microtears in your muscles, which, once repaired, make them bigger and stronger. During extreme workouts, muscles undergo even greater muscle breakdown — but eating adequate protein can help maintain and repair this extra muscle damage.
The recommended dietary allowance for service members, like regular American adults, is 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight. This amount represents the minimum amount of protein necessary "to meet indispensable amino acid requirements, establish nitrogen balance, and prevent muscle mass loss" for most of the US population, according to a 2019 study led by Pasiakos.
For a 150-pound adult, that's about 54 grams of protein per day.
But the recommended daily intake goes up if you're more active, Pasiakos said.
Active individuals should consume more like 1.6 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight. — or roughly 105 grams of protein per day for a 150-pound adult.
Protein needs vary based on diet and lifestyle factors
But protein needs vary, based on diet and lifestyle factors — like whether or not someone is a vegetarian, how much exercise they get, or if they want to lose weight.
And contrary to popular belief, eating more protein isn't always better.
While some protein can help with muscle gains and recovery, especially for highly active people, consuming more than 2 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight isn't advised.
Heavy protein consumption can cause dehydration, and lead to calcium loss. Plus, eating too many calories — even in the form of protein — can lead to weight gain.
If you're interested in finding out how much protein is right for you, one option is checking out a protein calculator.