How much protein per day? How many of our protein needs really require!
How much protein to take per day? This is often a very recurring question, especially for those who are trying to follow a balanced diet. Protein is important in any dietary regimen. Understanding how many your body needs is essential to stay fit and feel good. And if you need to include more of it in your diet, there is a video for you below to discover the foods that are richest in it!
The protein requirement
When we say "protein requirement", we mean the constant need of the human body to supply itself with protein from the outside. The necessary protein intake is also qualitative. If you follow a diet without animal proteins, therefore a vegan diet, the protein requirement will be greater than for those who consume red and white meat and derived from the animal world. The protein requirement of an individual, regardless of ethnic group, gender and lifestyle, is one gram per kg of weight. However, it must be taken into account that children, pregnant women, athletes, convalescents, the sick and those who carry out very strenuous work need a greater protein requirement. Pregnant or breastfeeding women have a higher protein requirement and so do the more physically dynamic people. Both can increase the amount of food consumed each day, as they require both more calories and a higher protein intake. Obviously a bodybuilder has more muscles than someone who leads a sedentary lifestyle; therefore, the need for a body builder is certainly higher. more muscle = more protein and vice versa. To quantify the body's need for protein, the body weight can be divided by two. Physical training causes the body to require more protein, if you do not train the protein content must be reduced, otherwise a strong production of urea would result in kidney fatigue.
See also
How are proteins taken?
Too much protein, as doctors recommend, is not good for you, but we can't get too little of it either, as it is essential for muscle development. On the other hand, those who do regular sporting activities must adjust their protein requirements. To develop muscles, the DGE establishes 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight; however, this is an indicative value for those who do not practice sports. Those who train regularly must adjust their protein intake accordingly. To supplement the protein needs of those who train hard there are protein products, such as protein cornflakes with muesli, protein bars and post-workout protein shakes. Up to one hour after training, the proteins taken have a strong effect on muscle development. To build and maintain the body's tissues, proteins are essential. Amino acids can be taken with food or produced by the body itself, but only 11 out of 20. If we follow a vegetarian diet, all the essential amino acids, that is, those taken with food, can be supplied to us by cereals, vegetables and legumes. It is not necessary to take them in combination. What matters is that our diet contains different grains, vegetables and legumes to meet our protein needs. On average, Westerners consume almost double the protein requirement required by the body. And it is also above all proteins of animal origin, also rich in fats and often in saturated fats. Not everyone realizes how much excess protein they consume each day compared to their real needs.
A source of physical well-being are whole grains, which represent the basis of the Mediterranean diet. The benefits that our body derives from the consumption of whole grains compared to refined ones are many.
The damage of a diet with a high protein content
In diets to lose weight, a high protein diet has often been recommended, in which a lot more protein is consumed daily than a normal protein requirement. And so also in diets for those who do sports, to improve their athletic performance. Really scientific studies, on the other hand, favor a diet rich in carbohydrates, moderate in terms of proteins and low in fat. Consuming whole grains, fruits and vegetables is recommended by excellent nutritionists, not only not to gain weight, but also to prevent serious diseases such as cancer and cardiovascular diseases. In addition, this type of diet also contributes to improving the performance of those who play sports. On the contrary, if the diet involves an exaggerated intake of proteins, it can be very harmful to health. Too many proteins can also promote the development of osteoporosis, especially if they are of animal origin. A plant-based diet, on the other hand, offers the right amounts of calcium together with proteins, which, in addition to providing the body with proteins, are also able to provide adequate amounts of calcium and replace the frequent intake of meat. Indeed. beans, broccoli like all green leafy vegetables, fresh fruit or fruit juices hinder the development of osteoporosis. Obviously, fats are the worst enemies as regards the risk of cancer, especially colon and breast cancer, and so are animal proteins, red and white meat and even fish, especially when grilled or fried. On the contrary, whole grains, fruits and vegetables not only reduce the risk of malignant tumors, but are able to provide the body with healthier proteins. Furthermore, in high-protein diets, too much nitrogen is released into the blood and therefore the kidneys are subjected to a greater effort to expel it in the urine, often facing real kidney diseases. Among the various diseases that can develop in diets too high in fat, especially if saturated, are cardiovascular ones.Excessive consumption of meat, eggs, milk and dairy products, which are very rich in cholesterol and fats, risks blocking the arteries, while vegetable proteins are preferable, as they do not contain cholesterol and only minimal amounts of fatty acids. Following a high-protein diet, there was a noticeable weight loss, actually caused not by the increased consumption of proteins, but by the fewer calories introduced into the body.
See also: Vegetable protein: the list of all the most high-protein vegetables
Learn more about protein.
In fact, these are diets, which as soon as they are interrupted make you regain weight immediately.Instead, the best way to keep the weight achieved is to change your lifestyle habits, walking every day for at least 2 kilometers, exercising and consuming little fat. , many cereals, legumes and vegetables. So too many proteins are really bad, but an adequate amount helps to maintain the integrity of muscles and organic tissues in general. Therefore, they serve our body absolutely, and can be easily taken without harm even through a vegetarian diet. Try to get cereals, cooked and fresh vegetables and vegetable juices at least every day. And also legumes, tofu, soy milk, rice milk and nuts, possibly following the tables with the precise quantities that your dietician will indicate. Other foods to include in your diet for a correct intake of proteins are meat substitutes. Although proteins, as we have said, are essential for a healthy diet, in younger children up to three years of age, they must not exceed 12% of the daily energy intake, otherwise they could cause kidney problems or obesity. The body's demand for protein is highest from 1 to 17 years. In the over 65s it is very important that they are taken in an adequate percentage, especially as regards the functionality of bones and muscles. If the body does not receive it in sufficient quantities, it uses those contained in the muscles that lose mass (sarcopenia). Proteins are essential for building and maintaining muscles, and are also components of internal organs, skin, enzymes, hormones and immune antibodies.
Animals and plants: complete and incomplete proteins.
Proteins are made up of long chains of amino acids. Vegetable ones, which also include nuts, seeds, algae as well as cereals and vegetables, compared to animal ones (called complete), are defined as incomplete, as they do not contain amino acids in the right proportions and do not completely cover the daily requirement. They can, though. be combined, such as in pasta and beans, where the proteins of beans, combining with cereals, complement each other, improving their protein quality and perfectly satisfying the protein needs. Primary foods for proteins are: meat, eggs, fish, legumes, milk and its derivatives. Less rich, but equally fundamental, are pasta, cereals, barley, spelled, oats, dried fruit, chestnuts and even some fruits and vegetables. It is very important not to associate these main sources of protein in the same lunch: therefore, do not associate meat, eggs, legumes (especially chickpeas and lentils), fish, milk and derivatives. The consumption of meat and cheese must always be kept within the norm. Prefer lean meats and cheeses such as parmesan and ricotta, reduce the sausages, fontina, taleggio and buffalo mozzarella. It also helps the distribution of proteins to take them daily not only in the two main meals, but also at breakfast, associated with carbohydrates, also to compensate for the glycemic value. Often if you eat less proteins than necessary, you tend to replace them with carbohydrates and the excess of sugars in addition to the risk of diabetes, transforms them into fats, promoting obesity.
Up to 3 years the recommended energy intake must not be exceeded (maximum 12%). From 3 to 17 years, 12-18% daily calories are adjusted. The requirement for adolescents rises to 2 grams / kg. In the age of development, the protein requirement rises to about 2 grams per kilogram of body weight. From the age of 20 to 60, you should be consuming 0.83 grams of protein per kilo of weight.
Therefore, 15/20% of the total requirement from twenty to sixty years for sedentary people and for those who do not practice sports, on average 55 grams for men and 45 for women. People over 65 or wasted due to long illnesses should take 1.2 to 1.5 grams of protein per kg of body weight and practice light physical activity with a vitamin intake of around 75 grams for men and 70 for women. We can say in conclusion that 100 grams taken from primary sources of protein is an adequate number for healthy adults. Physical exercise, even if moderate, stimulates protein biosynthesis, also called protein synthesis, thanks to which new proteins to be used are generated by biological cells.
Enjoy your meal and watch out for the salami and cheese sandwiches!
