Can You Eat Too Much Protein?

Protein: the macronutrient everyone’s obsessed with, but could you be overdoing it? If you bought into the buzz and are on a high-protein diet or are concerned about the “dangers” you’ve heard about, you'll want to tune in!
 We know protein the key to better blood sugar balance, weight loss and healthy aging, but will too much damage your kidneys, give you gout, or overload your body? Aimee pulls from research and clinical experience to give you the real meal deal in this episode of Blasphemous Nutrition!

Here’s what’s in store:

• The Kidneys & Protein Myth Busted: Why decades of research prove healthy kidneys handle high protein diets just fine.
• Muscle Matters: How protein helps build and maintain muscle at any age—whether you’re 25 or 75—and why this is critical for long-term health.
• The Gout Conundrum: Not all proteins are created equal—what you need to know about purines in protein as well as other foods that can exacerbate gout.
• Protein vs. Other Nutrients: When too much protein might crowd out essential nutrients, and how to tell if you may be getting too much.
• The Numbers You Need: Precise protein recommendations for sedentary adults, active individuals, and aging populations, based upon updated research and methodologies that are yet to be adopted by most nation's recommendations.

Find Research Citations and Transcript at Blasphemous Nutrition on Substack

Schedule a Complimentary 15 Min with Aimee

Photography by: Dai Ross Photography

Podcast Cover Art: Lilly Kate Creative

Find Research Citations and Transcript at Blasphemous Nutrition on Substack

Work with Aimee

Photography by: Dai Ross Photography

Podcast Cover Art: Lilly Kate Creative

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Transcript

0:00

Hey Rebels, welcome to Blasphemous Nutrition. Consider this podcast your pantry full of clarity, perspective, and the nuance needed to counter the superficial health advice so freely given on the internet. I'm Amy, the unapologetically candid host of Blasphemous Nutrition and a double degreed nutritionist with 20 years experience. I'm here to share a more nuanced take. On living and eating well to sustain and recover your health. If you've found most health advice to be so generic as to be meaningless, We're so extreme that it's unrealistic, and you don't mind the occasional f bomb. You've come to the right place. From dissecting the latest nutrition trends to breaking down published research and sharing my own clinical experiences, I'm on a mission to foster clarity amidst all the confusion, and empower you to have the help you need to live a life you love. Now let's get started. Welcome back to Blasphemous Nutrition. I'm your host, Aimee, talking with you today about protein and helping you determine what's at stake if your protein intake is high and what is way overblown. Protein is probably the most talked about macronutrient in the past couple of years and I, for one, think it is. About damn time. It is celebrated as a cornerstone of muscle building and metabolic health, but it's also been targeted as a cause of kidney damage and gout. Old myths about protein have resurfaced into the spotlight, and some of the concerns that are out there do have merit, but others are rumors that have long ago been proven false. So, what is the real story? Can you overdo it with protein? In this podcast episode, I'm going to dive into the effects of high protein intake on body composition, debunk some myths about kidney health, and clear up some confusion about gout, while exploring how to make sure you get the right amount of this potent macronutrient for your needs. Protein is the building block of muscle, and its importance in this role, as well as in our overall immune health, becomes even more pronounced as we get older. For women who are over 40 and men over 50, maintaining muscle mass is absolutely crucial for staying resilient. Active and strong well into our senior years, and I don't know anybody who doesn't want that for themselves. And protein is what provides the amino acids that are needed to repair and grow and maintain our muscle mass. Especially after exercising, after an injury, when we're in that recovery phase. And just to maintain the existing muscle we have. As we get older and our body is less efficient at doing it on its own, having a higher protein diet sends a strong signal to the body that Hey, we got enough to keep muscle mass, so let's put some protein in there and keep those muscles. Now, when combined with strength training, increasing your protein intake will boost muscle protein synthesis, which is the, you know, scientific name that we call for the process by which our muscles repair and grow. Higher protein diets with exercise also counteract muscle loss. Sarcopenia, which is that age related muscle loss that occurs with hormonal changes. That said, there is emerging evidence showing that sarcopenia happens at any age, and in the United States. Kids, like, 15, 25 years old, right, like, this demographic has significantly less muscle mass than previous generations because we have become so sedentary and we're eating so many processed foods that they literally have no muscle. Low muscle mass for their age, and this puts them at increased risk for diabetes, heart disease, blood sugar issues, obesity, so sarcopenia has always been talked about as something that we associate with age, and interestingly enough, Type 2 diabetes also used to be an age related disease that now our kids get to have, too, because we're like jacking things up so bad. So, all that to say, sarcopenia can happen at any age. Eat your protein, move your body, and you will have appropriate muscle mass for health. Additionally, including adequate amounts of protein will help your body recover when you exercise, reducing post exercise muscle soreness. shortening the duration of time that it takes for you to get back on your feet and have your energy and stamina back to push harder again, and thus will enhance your overall adaptation and performance by providing your body with what it needs to adapt, and shortening the amount of time that it takes to adapt. Research, as well as my own clinical experience, has shown that even in overweight, sedentary individuals, so people who are overweight or obese, who don't exercise at all experience an increase in muscle mass simply by increasing their protein intake. Now this didn't happen with every single patient I saw, but when I was working in a clinic, we would track their muscle every three or four months to ensure that as they were losing weight. They were not losing muscle mass as well. But what I often saw was that even though many of these individuals were not yet engaged in an exercise program, simply increasing their protein caused an increase in muscle mass while they were losing body fat and So, I take this information and interpret it to mean that baseline levels of protein intake for these individuals was not adequate. Because the body isn't going to put on muscle. It's not going to use that protein to put on additional muscle, which is calorically expensive, right? Muscle burns a lot of calories compared to other tissues in the body. And it's extra work to build and maintain. structures, right? So your body is not incentivized to do that unless it needs to do it. And if people are not exercising, but they're still putting on more muscle mass, that tells me their baseline was way too low. Now, I had said that these individuals, some of them, would increase their muscle mass while they were decreasing body fat. And that is one of the coolest things about protein, is that it supports favorable body composition, encouraging fat loss without sacrificing muscle. So here's how that works. When you consume protein, you increase your satiety levels, so you're hungry less often and your cravings tend to go down. This reduces the temptation to overeat and, allows many people to completely avoid snacking between meals because they're just too hungry. not hungry. Protein also facilitates blood sugar stability. When consumed with carbohydrates, it reduces the severity of the spike and crash in glucose levels and leads to a more gentle glucose curve. So protein is really helpful for stabilizing blood sugar levels, and this can also lead to reduced cravings and also eliminate stress. energy crashes that happen from that spike and fall when you have a lot of carbohydrate, but not adequate protein in a meal. And this can lead to more consistent activity levels throughout the day, as well as avoiding foods that sabotage your progress when you're coming from this Primal reactive place of a blood sugar crash and needing to bring up those glucose levels right away Like at that point if you're crashing your physiology is taking over and it's really challenging if not Impossible for many individuals to logic themselves out of that situation Protein also has the greatest thermic effect of any of the macronutrients and what that means is it creates a stronger metabolic response in the act of digesting it. So gram per gram, the digestion of protein burns 20 25 percent more calories than either fats or carbohydrates. So when you include a higher protein diet, it's like giving yourself a slightly metabolic edge when it comes to the calorie burning that happens in the normal process of digestion. Why wouldn't you want to take advantage of that? Studies also often show that higher protein diets can lead to better weight management and improved body composition, especially if you're pairing it with physical activity. So there is a piece of research published in the Journal of International Society of Sports Nutrition, and it took a look at two different higher protein diets. over the course of six weeks. And this study concluded that either 1. 6 grams per kilogram, which is twice the current RDA, or even 3. 2 grams per kilogram, alongside exercise, significantly improved body composition. So they increased muscle mass, reduced body fat in a study population of already resistance trained men. So these were some guys, probably college age, because it's really easy to find college age exercisers at universities where most of these studies take place. But in this demographic, increasing the protein led to better body composition results, Without any adverse effect on liver and kidney function, and for those of you who don't easily translate 1.6 grams per kilogram, or 3.2 grams per kilogram into what that would mean for you, it effectively translates to 110 to 215 grams of protein a day for a 150 pound or 68 kilogram. Active male. Now, I want to circle back around that point on kidney function. You've probably heard the claim that eating too much protein can cause kidney damage. And this idea came from research that was done on individuals who already have kidney disease, who already have pretty progressive damage to their kidneys. And limiting protein intake is often recommended in this demographic to reduce the strain on their already struggling organs. But It has no relevance nor applicability to anybody who has healthy kidneys. And decades of research has shown that high protein diets, including those diets that go up to 3. 2 grams per kilogram per day, does not impair kidney function in healthy people. Your kidneys are designed and well suited to dealing with the metabolic byproducts of protein digestion, such as urea, without any problems. And multiple studies, I can't say this enough, multiple studies, including long term human trials, have found no evidence that high protein diets damage kidneys. If you do not already have damaged kidneys. A scientific review and meta analysis in the Journal of Nutrition found that changes in kidney function don't differ between individuals who are eating low protein diets versus individuals who are eating moderate protein diets or high protein diets. So, a systematic review and meta analysis is really important. When researchers take a look at the bulk of research that's already out there, right? So they take a look at the bulk of the research, that is quality research, and then with the meta analysis, they are analyzing the data from that research and seeing what big picture looks like. What is, and this is the closest that we can really get to scientific consensus, Is through our systematic reviews and meta analyses, and these are probably the highest quality research, particularly when we're looking at observational studies where we're not doing like randomized controlled trials or direct intervention, something where the nature of the research itself is trying to answer a question that ultimately can't be proven by the nature of that research, right? So things like, the association between protein consumption and kidney disease or vegetable consumption and all cause mortality. These are questions where observational studies can give us signals and suggest something But in the absence of a randomized, controlled, long term trial with lots and lots of humans, which isn't often realistic in many of these situations, our systematic reviews and meta analyses are basically as good as the research gets. So, takeaway here with the whole protein kidney disease thing. If you have advanced kidney disease, managing your protein intake is absolutely essential. No questions asked, because you do not want to put strain on kidneys that are already compromised. However, for the vast majority of us, protein poses absolutely no risk to kidney health, regardless of how much we're consuming. Now for some individuals if they get labs done shortly after they increase their protein intake sometimes Those kidney markers are off a little bit There's an increase in the filtration rate from the kidneys and that can show up in labs and this is a common natural and Harmless response for nearly everybody who witnesses it it's typically very temporary, and so when you get follow up labs after your body has adjusted to a higher protein diet, those kidney markers will normalize. It is not indicative of kidney damage. It's just evidence that your kidneys are responding to the change in stimulus, right? They're like, oh, hey, we got a filter more because we got more protein. That's cool. We can handle it because we're healthy. But the markers that are tested may get bumped up in that process. Oftentimes, out of an abundance of caution, when those kidney markers are slightly elevated, a physician may recommend that you pull back on your protein, you reduce your protein intake. And I totally understand where that's coming from. Most of the time I would say it is not necessary. But that is not necessarily your situation, so you want to have a more nuanced conversation with your physician about that if that shows up for you on labs. Now gout is another area where protein comes into the conversation. Gout is a form of arthritis that is caused by high uric acid levels and that is another concern that is often linked to protein. But here's the thing, not all proteins are problematic. The real issue with the uric acid crystals In gout is purines, and purines are compounds that are found in some proteins, but not all protein. proteins that are high in purines include red meat, turkey, organ meats, and certain seafood. The Journal of Arthritis Care and Research indicates that dietary purines are a risk factor in gout that we can definitely modify. We have some control over that. We can reduce the purine intake in the diet, but it does not necessitate lowering your total protein intake. What you really want to do instead of restricting your protein is just choose low purine meats like dairy, chicken, duck, oysters, and many of the plant based proteins. These offer effective alternatives without compromising your nutrition needs. And I will say, for as many times as I have had individuals with gout sit across from me and say that they are concerned about their protein intake because of the purines, I never hear them talk about. The other things which significantly impact gout severity, and that is sugar, high fructose corn syrup, and alcohol. Well, sometimes they do mention alcohol, I will say that. But these are other compounds, other foods that are often consumed by the population that can exacerbate gout symptoms as much as or more than purines do. So, I have seen some patients improve their gout by eliminating the alcohol, the sugars, refined carbohydrates. first and maybe reducing the frequency of high purine foods if they're one of those. Uh, heavy red meat consumers, but they don't usually need to be very strict about purines if other exacerbators are addressed first. So while managing purines is really important if you have gout, a low protein diet's not the solution. You just want to be more discerning with your protein sources if gout is an issue for you. In fact, if you go too aggressive with a low Protein diet in an attempt to eliminate purines from your foods, you may end up with compromised immune health and muscle loss due to inadequate protein. And that is something that could impact your health even more negatively, especially if you're also struggling with obesity and elevated blood sugar, which is really common in populations that struggle with gout. if you've been listening to this podcast for any length of time, you know I'm a fan of protein. Protein is totally a powerhouse nutrient. However, it is possible to consume it in excess and consuming excess protein isn't going to damage your kidneys. It's not going to give you gout, but What it is most likely to do is push other essential nutrients off of your plate, and this is where protein excess can become problematic. It's not about the protein itself being bad for you. It's more a case of too much of a good thing. If your diet is so high in protein that it's crowding out vegetables and fruit and, Other quality nutritious plant foods, this will leave you with inadequate fiber, low antioxidant intake, and several key vitamins and minerals that your body needs to stay healthy. Most often what I see in individuals who consume A lot of protein at the expense of other foods is low vitamin C, low potassium, low magnesium in the diet. Those are really common in a very high protein diet. But also, you will find that if you focus too much on the protein at the expense of plant foods, your overall antioxidant status will be low. And antioxidants are amazing. They're like Harry Potter spells that can bring you back from the dead and reverse the consequences of other spells put on you. The spells of the processed food industry, if you will. But antioxidants are amazing. They are, super duper protective for our cells, and they reduce inflammation and oxidative stress in the body. And I can't emphasize enough how important that is, having a diet rich in antioxidants acts as significant protection against aging and the accumulation of wear and tear on the body that happens just by being alive. And of course, these days, in the modern world, it doesn't help that we're under a lot of stress, which increases the nutrient need of our body, and that That can create additional oxidative stress, as well as living in environments that are a lot more polluted with multiple different chemicals that did not exist two and three hundred years ago. High antioxidant diets are super important. as protection against that. And if you're eating too much protein, you're going to be missing out on them. Regardless of whether or not you're hitting some of those upper limits that I talked about in some of the studies I mentioned, like 3. 2 grams per kilogram a day, if you're getting like 200, 250 grams of protein a day, because somehow you are able to do that. Um, regardless of whether or not you're hitting those levels, your body can send signals that it's getting more protein than is optimal The two things that I see most often are digestive disruptions as well as chronic dehydration. The metabolizing of protein requires more water than other macronutrients, and if you're consuming a lot of protein and not staying hydrated, you may find that you get muscle cramps, headaches, fatigue, and your urine is super concentrated. That may be a sign that, well, it's certainly a sign you're not consuming enough water and possibly electrolytes. The primary electrolytes being potassium and magnesium, which are found in vegetables, which may be getting crowded off of your plate if you're consuming too much protein. But it may be a sign that you kind of need to adjust your plate a little bit more to get a better balance. The most common thing that I do see though is disruption in digestion, some bloating, constipation, this is a sign that your body is getting more protein than it needs, and is really struggling to adjust to that. It's also something that can happen when protein crowds out fiber rich foods on your plate, right? So really take a look at your plate and make sure that the variety is there. You not only want a variety of different proteins to make sure that you're getting all of those different minerals that are found in a wide variety of proteins, but you also want to make sure that you're getting other foods from other species like plants in there as well to help balance that out. When we look at protein requirements, the U. S. RDA for protein is 0. 8 grams per kilogram of body weight per day. And this represents the minimum intake to prevent malnutrition. It is not the recommended intake for optimal health. The current, I want to say this again, the current recommendations for protein by the United States government and most governments is the minimum necessary intake to prevent malnutrition. Has nothing to do with optimal health. And this figure, this amount that we came to was derived from older nitrogen balance studies that have a tendency to actually underestimate our protein needs due to the body's ability to adapt to low protein diets. So let me explain. Protein contains nitrogen. But carbohydrates and fats do not. So when we're looking at the question of how much protein someone needs, we use, we used to use more often than now, nitrogen balance studies to assess adequate protein. So in a nitrogen balance study, you measure protein requirements by comparing nitrogen intake. from protein foods to nitrogen excretion by the body in urine and feces. And so the goal here is to determine whether we're in positive nitrogen balance, negative nitrogen balance, or in equilibrium. If you are in positive nitrogen balance, then More of that protein, more of that nitrogen is retained than excreted. And this happens in like in human growth and development when you're in a growing phase, during pregnancy, during muscle building, if you're exercising. That would put you in positive nitrogen balance. Of course, assuming you're consuming adequate protein. Negative nitrogen balance is when more nitrogen is being excreted than retained by the body. And this is suggestive of muscle or tissue breakdown. This is pretty common during illness or injury or if you are protein malnourished and simply not consuming enough protein. Equilibrium is what these nitrogen balance studies we're aiming to find in order to make protein recommendation. And this is where the nitrogen intake matches nitrogen excretion, suggesting that the body is maintaining its current protein levels. It's not losing muscle mass. It's not building. It's at maintenance. So this method has some limitations because in order for it to be adequately studied, it necessitates that study participants. Consume. protein stable diets for multiple weeks on end. And this allows the body to adapt to that low protein phase of the study by reducing non essential functions like maintaining adequate immune status or protein turnover, and so rather than measuring optimal protein needs for health and for performance, nitrogen balance studies end up measuring barely minimum protein needs to prevent wasting away. And that's not really what we're looking for at this stage in the game. When the body's in a deficit, it is going to utilize the small amount of protein that it gets for essential needs today over long-term needs tomorrow. So in the case of what we initially saw with those nitrogen balance studies is that as the body began to adapt to a lower protein diet, readings showed that, oh, hey, we've achieved balance, but the body was actually adjusting to the low intake by downregulating or turning down the need to use the protein that it was getting for things like immune health. Later on to preserve the muscle mass of the heart and other utilized muscles today, and that makes sense, right? That's just Smart, strategic work at hand by the body. Gotta love it. More modern methods of protein assessment, such as the indicator amino acid oxidation technique, suggest that higher protein intakes are actually much more appropriate for our recommendations. Research using IAAO estimates that 1. 2 grams per kilogram of body weight per day is is a much better way to support our muscle health, our immune function, and our overall vitality in both younger and older adults. And this is 50 percent more. than current recommendations. So if current guidelines are that you consume somewhere between 45 and 55 grams of protein a day, if it's 0. 8 grams per kilogram of body weight per day, let's just say 50 to make it easier, more appropriate current recommendations would suggest a 50 percent increase or 75 grams of protein per day. per day. And that's a really significant difference when it comes to what that looks like on your plate. 50 percent more protein than what you may be currently eating. Okay, if you're getting, if you're actually getting the RDA. So adjusting your protein intake to this level can really help. really significantly enhance your long term health, even if you do nothing else, whether or not you're physically active. But based on these findings, as well as more current research, it has been suggested that That if you are a sedentary adult, you aim to get 1 to 1. 2 grams per kilogram of body weight in protein each day. If you are a 150 pound individual, and that is 68 kilograms for my European friends, We're looking at somewhere between 68 to 85 grams of protein a day if you are an inactive adult. If you're physically active, you want to consume 1. 2 to 2 grams per kilogram of body weight per day. Depending on your exercise intensity, if you're doing more intense, more frequent exercise, you're going to be in the higher end of that range than if you're doing something more leisurely or low impact like yoga twice a week, right? You then would be like on the lower end of that. And there we're looking, you know, again for that same 68 kilogram, 150 pound adult, between 80 and 135 grams of protein a day. Now, if you are. If you are an active individual or an athlete or you're looking to increase your muscle mass, consuming up to 2. 2 grams per kilogram of body weight per day, which effectively translates to one gram per pound of body weight, is beneficial. And if you are overweight or obese, but you are really active don't take that to be one gram per pound of your current body weight, but rather one gram per pound of your optimal body weight or what you think is your target body weight. So this could be You know, again, looking at that 68 kilogram individual, 150 pound athlete, this could be effectively 150 grams of protein a day, which is often more than double what I see my females for sure, and even some of my males consuming when they come in and start to work with me. Now for older adults. We're looking at 1.2 to two grams per kilogram of body weight per day to push back to prevent sarcopenia. That age related muscle loss that happens when our hormone levels drop. And it's also important to maintain mobility as you age. As we lose muscle mass, we lose mobility, we lose strength. And one of the main reasons that elders, at least in. Many of the industrialized developed countries like Australia, the United States, the UK, many of the reasons for them going into facilitated elder care is because they can no longer safely get in and out of the shower, Or in and out of bed, they can't get up off the floor if they fall anymore. And maybe their health is relatively stable, and were they strong enough, they could continue to live independently, but they've gotten so weak that they can no longer do so. And so simply maintaining adequate protein status can go a really long way to helping our elder populations stay independent for many, many more years. And what this looks like again, for let's say a 68 kilogram adult would be 80 to 130 grams of protein a day. that's a pretty tall ask for many individuals, particularly when they get in their. 70s and older because their appetite is lower, their digestion often is not as strong, and for this demographic liquid protein in the form of protein shakes or using protein powder and mixing it with yogurt can go a really, really long way in helping them get the amount of protein that they need, or When their appetite is low and maybe their digestive strength is not quite as high as it used to be. When it comes to consuming protein, your body's cravings as well as overall energy levels are a good indicator on whether or not you're getting the right amount for you. So adjust your intake based on your activity levels, your goals, and your needs. and how you feel. If you're curious about what your ideal protein intake is or you need some guidance, kind of dialing it in and feeling really confident moving forward, I would strongly encourage you to reach out to a nutrition professional could be someone like me for a personalized consultation to really determine what's going to be best for you moving forward. I do have a link in the show notes. If you want to ask some questions about protein, you're more than welcome to schedule a complimentary 15 minute consult with me. That'll be included in the show notes below. And if there's anything that you learned today that you found especially useful, share it with your friends. Thanks If you were thinking of somebody while you were listening to this episode, that is a perfect reason to reach out to them, say hi, say you were thinking of them, because everyone loves to hear that, and then send this episode along to them as well. If you have not yet rated or reviewed Blasphemous Nutrition, I would absolutely love your honest feedback. rating and review of this little podcast means so much to me, and it also helps other people like you find what they're looking for to listen to next. I will be back next week, my Blasphemous buddies. As always, thank you for listening. I appreciate your time, and I can't wait to talk to you again. Any and all information shared here is for educational and entertainment purposes only and is not to be misconstrued as offering medical advice. Listening to this podcast does not constitute a provider client relationship. Note, I'm not a doctor, nor a nurse, and it is imperative that you utilize your brain and your medical team to make the best decisions for your own health. The use of information on this podcast or materials linked to this podcast are at the user's own risk. No information nor resources provided are intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Be a smart human and do not disregard or postpone obtaining medical advice for any medical condition you may have. Seek the assistance of your health care team for any such conditions and always do so before making any changes to your medical, nutrition, or health plan. If you have found some Nuggets of Wisdom, make sure to subscribe, rate, and share Blasphemous Nutrition with those you care about. As you navigate the labyrinth of health advice out there, remember, health is a journey, not a dietary dictatorship. Stay skeptical, stay daring, and challenge the norms that no longer serve you. If you've got burning questions or want to share your own flavor of rebellion, slide into my DMs. Your stories fuel me, and I love hearing them. Thanks again for tuning in to Blasphemous Nutrition. Until next time, this is Amy signing off, reminding you that truth is nuanced, and any dish can be made better with a little bit of sass.