The very name of the protein, also known as protein, has a meaning: it comes from the Greek word “protos” and means “first” or “elemental”. And indeed, protein is an elementary component of a healthy diet and belongs to the most important nutrients next to carbohydrates and fats. The body needs individual protein components – amino acids – to build muscle, organs, connective tissue, bones and cells, and to maintain the proper functioning of the immune system. How much protein do I need?
Protein happens!
Our body needs it to build muscles, organs, connective tissue, bones and cells. And for a healthy immune system. But protein can do more. How much protein a day does your body need to build muscle and stay slim? As always, it all comes down to the right proportions! Too much protein can do more harm than good. Which proteins you supply to your body is also crucial.
Protein – from products of animal or vegetable origin
Fish, meat, eggs and dairy products provide animal protein, but often contain a lot of fat. Soybeans and legumes, as well as seeds, potatoes and cereals are vegetable, rather low-fat sources of protein.
At most half of the daily demand for protein should be covered with animal products by choosing lean variants of these products. Excess animal protein is stored in the body in connective tissue and blood vessels, and also affects metabolism and kidneys. Let’s do a small review of protein-rich products:
- 1 egg – 7 g protein
- 100 g turkey – 21 g protein
- 100 g salmon – 20 g protein
- 100 g lentils – 27 g protein
- 100 g tofu – 8 g protein
- 100 g cottage cheese – 13 g protein
Measuring method
Protein is very rarely presented as an integer that is independent of any variables. The reason is very simple – 200 g of protein may be the right amount for a man weighing 80 kg, but an exaggeration for a woman weighing 50 kg. Therefore, the demand for protein depends usually on weight, e.g. 2 grams per kilogram of body weight.
This is a much better system, suitable for most people, but still not perfect. It does not take into account the amount of body fat a person has. The need of someone who weighs 80 kilograms and has 8% body fat will be different from the demand of someone who weighs
80 kilograms with 20% body fat. This is because dry weight is much more metabolically active than adipose tissue. Muscle tissue is the place where the protein can interact and the anabolic processes that interest us occur here.
Demand of inactive people
dietary protein intake should be 0.8 g / kg body weight. That is the recommended daily allowance (according to RDA), this is the number quoted in many textbooks and is therefore also used by nutritionists. “Covering demand” is, however, different from “optimal intake”, which allows you to maintain better health and figure. Many studies show that this optimal range for an inactive person is 1.2-1.5 g / kg body weight.
The demand of active people
The most popular belief that has been used is 2 or 2.2 g / kg body weight. This supply has been confirmed by many scientific studies and should be suitable for most people.
