Protein: How Much Is Enough?, By: Jayson Hunter, RD, CSCS
Many athletes believe that consuming large amounts of protein will improve their performance. This is true to a certain extent but many still consume way too much protein, which can result in a decrease in performance because other nutrients are then sacrificed. Protein is made up of 21 different amino acids. Once the amino acids are absorbed they are involved in the make up of blood plasma, visceral tissue, and muscle. Amino acids also activate vitamins that are involved in metabolic and physiologic activities. Protein also is responsible for almost 2000 enzymes that help speed up chemical reactions and regulate the breakdown of carbohydrates, fat and proteins that are used for energy.
As you can see protein is a very important nutrient in the body. The only thing is that the body can only use so much at one time and the extra gets stored as carbohydrates or fat. Research is showing that protein requirements of athletes may be determined by their type and amount of physical activity. The current recommended daily allowance for protein is 0.8g/kg of body weight for a normal individual. Many researchers believe that exercise requires a higher protein requirement. They believe that an athletes protein requirements should be in the range of 1.2g/kg - 2.0g/kg depending on their activity. No research has shown that protein intake of greater than 2.0g/kg is more beneficial than the current recommendations for athletes. Total calories are also important for proper utilization of protein. When your body receives enough calories to fuel your activities this allows the protein to solely be utilized for repairing muscle and not used as energy.
An athlete should not eat excess amounts of protein because it may be harmful to their health. An excess intake of protein requires extra water to breakdown the protein, which leads to dehydration and it leads to an increase in urinary calcium loss. Excess protein may also lead to kidney malfunction but there is limited research in this area.
Most athletes consume plenty of protein so there shouldn’t be an urgency to increase your protein intake. An accurate way to determine your protein intake is to keep a 24hr food journal and calculate the amount of protein eaten for the day. Then determine your protein needs by multiplying your body weight in kilograms by 1.2-2.0 grams of protein and see if your daily intake falls into this range. If you are eating more protein than you need then you can decrease the amount because you are not increasing your performance and may be possibly harming your body in the long run.
