Hoping some of you guys that are more serious than I am & or train others will chime in. I’ve read everything from 1/2, 1, 1.6 & even 2 grams per pound of body weight. I’m sure most of us have heard too much protein can hurt your liver & possibly cause other health issues. Do you vary your intake based on your goals, I would assume the answer is yes
So I’m just curious what you all shoot for? What do you want your clients to aim for? I usually try to get around 1.5 gram range.
The main reason I’m asking is I had to go to a liver doctor. My primary care didn’t like some of my blood test results. After more testing I was sent to a specialist. They basically don’t want me to eat any carbs. I’m not saying I agree with this, just pass g along their suggestions.
POSSIBLE HARMFUL EFFECTS OF High Protein Diet?
The benefits of HPD are well known, but there have been concerns that it may be harmful to the bones and kidneys. It has long been hypothesized that HPD increases the resorption of bones, which act as buffers, by increasing the acid load in the body,
13 and some researchers argued that HPD increases risk for bone fracture and osteoporosis by accelerating bone resorption and urinary calcium excretion.
14 However, a meta-analysis of 74 RCTs observed that subjects in the HPD group (16%–45% of total daily energy intake as protein) were not significantly different from low-protein-diet subjects (5%–23% of total daily energy intake as protein) with regard to bone mineral density of the lumbar spine and hips.
6 Furthermore, low protein intake is generally considered a nutritional deficiency. In particular, it has been described as a factor affecting osteoporosis development in older adults.
15 Hannan et al.
16 reported that protein intake was negatively correlated with bone loss in their Framingham Osteoporosis Study, which prospectively examined 615 older adults over four years. There have also been concerns that HPD may deteriorate renal function by increasing the glomerular filtration rate (GFR) and inducing renal hypertrophy. However, Friedman et al.
17 found no declining renal function in terms of various indicators such as GFR and albuminuria when studying the safety of HPD in 307 obese adults with normal renal function over two years (24 months). Nevertheless, they reported increased calcium level in urine with neither reduction in bone mineral density nor urolithiasis, calling for further studies. Knight et al.
18 also reported no association of high protein intake with change in GFR in their prospective Nurses’ Health Study, which involved 1,624 females. They noted that GFR decreased by 1.69 mL/min per 1.73 m2 in participants with mild renal insufficiency (GFR 55–80 mL/min/ 1.73 m2) when protein intake was increased by 10 g. Overall, HPD does not lead to reduced bone mineral density. On the contrary, high protein intake can help prevent bone loss in older adults who are prone to nutritional deficiency. While HPD also does not affect renal function in healthy people, it can adversely affect renal function in people with kidney disease. There is not a clear definition of the upper limit of beneficial protein intake, but Millward
19 reported in their study on energy-restricted HPD that up to 1.66 g/kg BW/ day does not pose a health hazard. Martens et al.
20 and Bray et al.
21 studied HPD with neutral or positive energy balance, and they reported that consuming an amount of protein that accounts for 25%–30% of the total daily energy intake for 10–12 weeks did not induce any adverse effects. However, more long-term clinical trials are required to identify a safe upper limit of HPD.
Several clinical trials have found that consuming more protein than the recommended dietary allowance not only reduces body weight (BW), but also enhances body composition by decreasing fat mass while preserving fat-free mass (FFM) in both ...
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Conclusion
In resistance-trained young men who do not significantly alter their training regimen, consuming a high protein diet (2.6 to 3.3 g/kg/day) over a 4-month period has no effect on blood lipids or markers of renal and hepatic function. Nor were there any changes in performance or body composition. This is the first crossover trial using resistance-trained subjects in which the elevation of protein intake to over four times the recommended dietary allowance has shown no harmful effects.
Having said all of this, Even at my age I still take in about 1g/lb/bw. I am not competing and have not for years and just try to keep in good shape.
Here is a page with some solid advice on protein intake
This post examines protein requirements for resistance trained athletes and examines the kinds, quantities and timing for protein.
www.athleticlab.com
