When it comes to how much protein to eat on a daily basis, the answer could or should be: how old and how active are you? Protein is essential but more than required is not necessarily better for one's health and longevity. Recently in online circles this subject, 'manly' meat and protein - ofttimes versus plant based diets, has been the cause of argument and vitriol.
Note that meat, poultry, fish, beans, legumes are all sources of protein - amino acids. Animal products are generally considered to be 'high quality' sources of protein but there are plenty of successful (and well muscled) vegetarian and vegan athletes.
As ever, please talk to your doctor or medical practitioner most familiar with your medical history before implementing any changes in diet, exercise or lifestyle, especially if you are under treatment. Relevant studies are cited at bottom of page.
The daily protein amounts for omnivores*, in grams of protein per kilo of bodyweight, are generally acknowledged as follows:
0.8g per kilo bodyweight; to maintain health. This is the Recommended Daily Amount, as set by many countries' health authorities including Singapore, UK, USA. this is sufficient for adults aged 18 to 50 years who have sedentary behaviour.
1.2g per kilo bodyweight; for those over 50 years. As you get older you need to eat a little more protein to achieve the same effect as for younger people. Note that in developed societies many adults already achieve this amount through their normal daily eating practices.
1.6g per kilo bodyweight; for those training to increase strength or grow muscle - hypertrophy. Eating this amount of protein will require meal planning, it starts to get difficult to eat this amount of protein as well as increasingly expensive. Research indicates that more than this amount of protein provides increasingly little additional benefit. (See: Morton et al 2018 and Tagawa et al 2022)
1.8g per kilo bodyweight; for endurance runners, say, marathon or ultra. This is also the upper limit of protein required even for those who train heavy. A common analogy is like squeezing water from a towel.
>1.8g per kilo bodyweight (or 1g per lb) for bodybuilders or strength athletes, likely on performance enhancers, wanting to maximise gains and having a training protocol to match.
*100% plant based eaters will require approx. 20% more protein per day.
The definition of bodyweight can vary. Some use fat free mass, that is, your bodyweight minus the weight of fat. This requires an estimation of how much fat one carries. Others use a calculation based on ideal bodyweight, that is, the weight that they would like to achieve. If trying to build muscle, you have to be in a caloric surplus, eating sufficient calories to support growth is essential. And enjoy your food over three (or perhaps 4) meals per day.
Protein Debate
Recently there has been some online debate about protein intake levels, mainly around the current daily intake of 0.8g per kg being 'only sufficient to maintain health, not to promote health' or words to that effect. For adults who do quite fit into the above categories, does 0.8g provide sufficient protein for optimising health? In broad terms...
For adults (18-50) with a sedentary lifestyle who do not exercise and (importantly) do not do weight bearing exercise that stimulates muscle growth, then Yes, 0.8g is likely sufficient. Importantly, and worth to mention for this section of the population, eating protein does not create muscle, for that you have to do strength training.
For adults (18-50) who engage in light to moderate exercise (not covered in the existing categories) 1.0 or even 1.2g would most likely cover your needs. Note that is an increase of 20 to 50% over the current daily recommendation.
As we are specifically talking about protein (not meat, poultry, fish or legumes) you need to be aware of the amount of protein in the food that you eat. In animal products (meat or fish) this is usually around 25g per 100g, a little more or less dependent on the actual animal. For example, a standard chicken thigh (about the size of a pack of playing cards, not including bone) has about 25g of protein.
Plant products (beans, legumes, pseudo grains, whole grains) have less protein: it is less accessible, less digestible and comes in a different balance than protein in animal foods. More of these plant foods need to be consumed to make up for this, certainly if you are 100% plant based and trying to put on muscular weight. Fortunately, when consuming sufficient calories (from a variety of sources) to support your activity levels should be sufficient. Plant foods also have an advantage of being low in saturated fats and rich in health promoting fibre and polyphenols. These are essential for health.
Applying nutritional science to daily living can be complicated, humans are complex especially when it come to the plate and eating practices. If you are really counting protein, follow the recommendations and see how you feel, what works for you, what happens to your weight. Then adjust.
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For more information on the amount of protein in common foods and their relative cost read here.
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Related Resources and Studies
Singapore protein recommendations from Health Hub SG.
Andrea J Glenn, Fenglei Wang, Anne-Julie Tessier, JoAnn E Manson, Eric B Rimm, Kenneth J Mukamal, Qi Sun, Walter C Willett, Kathryn M Rexrode, David JA Jenkins, Frank B Hu, Dietary plant-to-animal protein ratio and risk of cardiovascular disease in 3 prospective cohorts, The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Volume 120, Issue 6, 2024, Pages 1373-1386, ISSN 0002-9165, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajcnut.2024.09.006.
Ardisson Korat AV, Shea MK, Jacques PF, Sebastiani P, Wang M, Eliassen AH, Willett WC, Sun Q. Dietary protein intake in midlife in relation to healthy aging - results from the prospective Nurses' Health Study cohort. Am J Clin Nutr. 2024 Feb;119(2):271-282. doi: 10.1016/j.ajcnut.2023.11.010. Epub 2024 Jan 17. PMID: 38309825; PMCID: PMC10884611.
Williamson E, Fung HJW, Adams C, West DWD, Moore DR. Protein Requirements Are Increased in Endurance-Trained Athletes but Similar between Females and Males during Postexercise Recovery. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2023 Oct 1;55(10):1866-1875. doi: 10.1249/MSS.0000000000003219. Epub 2023 May 19. PMID: 37710376.
Monteyne AJ, Coelho MOC, Murton AJ, Abdelrahman DR, Blackwell JR, Koscien CP, Knapp KM, Fulford J, Finnigan TJA, Dirks ML, Stephens FB, Wall BT. Vegan and Omnivorous High Protein Diets Support Comparable Daily Myofibrillar Protein Synthesis Rates and Skeletal Muscle Hypertrophy in Young Adults. J Nutr. 2023 Jun;153(6):1680-1695. doi: 10.1016/j.tjnut.2023.02.023. Epub 2023 Feb 22. PMID: 36822394; PMCID: PMC10308267.
Tagawa R, Watanabe D, Ito K, Otsuyama T, Nakayama K, Sanbongi C, Miyachi M. Synergistic Effect of Increased Total Protein Intake and Strength Training on Muscle Strength: A Dose-Response Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials. Sports Med Open. 2022 Sep 4;8(1):110. doi: 10.1186/s40798-022-00508-w. PMID: 36057893; PMCID: PMC9441410.
Hevia-Larraín V, Gualano B, Longobardi I, Gil S, Fernandes AL, Costa LAR, Pereira RMR, Artioli GG, Phillips SM, Roschel H. High-Protein Plant-Based Diet Versus a Protein-Matched Omnivorous Diet to Support Resistance Training Adaptations: A Comparison Between Habitual Vegans and Omnivores. Sports Med. 2021 Jun;51(6):1317-1330. doi: 10.1007/s40279-021-01434-9. Epub 2021 Feb 18. PMID: 33599941.
Brandhorst S, Longo VD. Protein Quantity and Source, Fasting-Mimicking Diets, and Longevity. Adv Nutr. 2019 Nov 1;10(Suppl_4):S340-S350. doi: 10.1093/advances/nmz079. PMID: 31728501; PMCID: PMC6855936.
Berrazaga I, Micard V, Gueugneau M, Walrand S. The Role of the Anabolic Properties of Plant- versus Animal-Based Protein Sources in Supporting Muscle Mass Maintenance: A Critical Review. Nutrients. 2019 Aug 7;11(8):1825. doi: 10.3390/nu11081825. PMID: 31394788; PMCID: PMC6723444.
Morton RW, Murphy KT, McKellar SR, Schoenfeld BJ, Henselmans M, Helms E, Aragon AA, Devries MC, Banfield L, Krieger JW, Phillips SM. A systematic review, meta-analysis and meta-regression of the effect of protein supplementation on resistance training-induced gains in muscle mass and strength in healthy adults. Br J Sports Med. 2018 Mar;52(6):376-384. doi: 10.1136/bjsports-2017-097608. Epub 2017 Jul 11. Erratum in: Br J Sports Med. 2020 Oct;54(19):e7. doi: 10.1136/bjsports-2017-097608corr1. PMID: 28698222; PMCID: PMC5867436.
Schoenfeld BJ, Aragon AA. How much protein can the body use in a single meal for muscle-building? Implications for daily protein distribution. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2018 Feb 27;15:10. doi: 10.1186/s12970-018-0215-1. PMID: 29497353; PMCID: PMC5828430.
Roberts J, Zinchenko A, Suckling C, Smith L, Johnstone J, Henselmans M. The short-term effect of high versus moderate protein intake on recovery after strength training in resistance-trained individuals. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2017 Nov 21;14:44. doi: 10.1186/s12970-017-0201-z. PMID: 29200983; PMCID: PMC5697135.
Kato H, Suzuki K, Bannai M, Moore DR. Protein Requirements Are Elevated in Endurance Athletes after Exercise as Determined by the Indicator Amino Acid Oxidation Method. PLoS One. 2016 Jun 20;11(6):e0157406. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0157406. PMID: 27322029; PMCID: PMC4913918.
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