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Can You Get Too Much Protein?

Protein has achieved a venerated status in the dietary world for everything from building muscle to preventing weight gain. But can you get too much of a good thing?

Protein powders that come in chocolate, strawberry, and cookies and cream flavors are doled out by the scoopful and mixed into smoothies, making it possible to effortlessly consume protein in amounts that far exceed dietary recommendations. A canned protein drink can contain almost as much protein as an eight-ounce steak, and snack bars or a small bag of protein chips can pack more of the macronutrient than a three-egg omelet.

But while some nutritionists have encouraged the protein craze, a number of experts…

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 What Is a Complete Protein—and Does Your Body Actually Know the Difference?

When you first hear the term “complete protein,” you may just think it’s one of those marketing buzzwords used to make products sound, well, healthier (see also: “all-natural”). But it’s actually a legit nutrition term—even if the meaning isn’t immediately clear.

 What is a protein? A biologist explains

A protein is a basic structure that is found in all of life. It’s a molecule. And the key thing about a protein is it’s made up of smaller components, called amino acids. I like to think of them as a string of different colored beads. Each bead would represent an amino acid, which are smaller molecules containing carbon, oxygen, hydrogen and sometimes sulfur atoms. So a protein essentially is a string that’s made up of these little individual amino acids. There are 22 different amino acids that you can combine in any kind of different way.

Articles of Interest

How Much Protein Do You Need in a Day?

The trendy macro is everywhere—and so is misinformation about it. We set out to clear up the confusion.

Pea protein is everywhere, is it healthy?

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Protein mania: the rich world’s new diet obsession

Are you getting enough protein? The question provides its own answer: if you are worrying about the amount of protein in your diet, then you are almost certainly eating more than enough.

The More Protein, the Better?

It’s a common refrain on social media. We fact-checked this and five other big protein claims circulating online.

The truth about protein: how to get enough – at every age

We need protein to build muscle, produce hormones, regulate mood and appetite, and strengthen bones. But how much, and what kind, should you eat every day?

Animal Protein May Be Better Than Plant Protein For Building Muscle

The reason why animal proteins are generally considered “higher quality” when it comes to building muscle is down to the type of amino acids they contain.

Essential Guide to Protein

Protein powder and bars are trendy supplements for bodybuilders to bulk up. But, is it really necessary for us regular folks to consume these products in order to lose weight and build muscle? Before supplementing your diet with protein, determine if you are already getting enough from the foods you eat.

How Much Protein Do We Need?

It seems that many people who are not elite athletes are now hyper-focused on protein consumption. How much protein does the average adult need to consume daily?

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The Best Protein You Can Eat, According To Nutritionists

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The Race to Find Meatless Protein Products

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We Don’t Need as Much Protein as We Think We Do

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Why Meat And Protein Are Not The Same

So what do we do? The answer actually hasn’t changed very much over the years, despite the apparent uptick of conflicting evidence: Eat adequate but not excessive amounts of protein, certainly from plants, and possibly from fish, eggs, and poultry. And if you’re going to indulge in red meat (and there is evidence that some people perhaps should), just about everyone advises to do it sparingly.

Wildly effective marketing has led Americans to eat way more protein than they actually need

Walk down any aisle in any grocery store and you won’t miss it: protein is everywhere. Packaging for everything from snacks to cereal boast that they’ve been stuffed with the muscle-building nutrient. There are seven grams in each serving of “Cheerios protein,” 10 in a Kind nut bar, and 15 in a small bag of something called a “protein chip.”

‘Anti-ageing’ protein shown to slow cell growth is key in longevity – new research

However, scientists now realise that it may actually be the quantity of specific nutrients – such as amino acids (the building blocks of proteins) – that are linked to longevity, rather than the amount of calories consumed.

Resources

Protein Structure

Proteins are constructed of amino acids...

The Protein Society

The Protein Society (TPS) is a not-for-profit scholarly society. Since 1985, TPS has served as the intellectual home of investigators across all disciplines - and from around the world - involved in the study of protein structure, function, and design.