Protein is an essential building block of life and we surely need to get enough of it, yet we shouldn’t take more than the recommended amount.
According to Women’sHealth, most women take in twice as much protein as they need; with the recommended daily protein intake estimated to be around 45g according to the UK RDA. A high protein diet, snack or brunch most likely to blame, but most of all, we get our protein consumption timing very wrong
Douglas Paddon-Jones, Ph.D., a professor of nutrition at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston says “we are not pythons; we can’t eat an entire chicken and use its protein for the rest of the week.”
We risk the tendency of accumulating more fat, as the body can typically only process 20-30grams of protein every three hours.
A study was carried out by Douglas Paddon-Jones at the university, to verify this claim, in the study comparing the muscle-boosting merits of two beef meals, one containing about 30grams of protein and the other containing 90grams.
Results at the end of the study proved that people didn’t gain any additional benefit from consuming more protein, except extra calories. Blood samples and muscle biopsies showed no apparent increase in muscle growth.
The bulk of the problem is attributed to high protein intake, especially at supper, as Douglas Paddon-Jones reckons that “Dinner tends to be a protein festival”. We are guilty of almost ignoring protein at breakfast, opting to either feed on carbs like bagels or cereal. Ideally, you should spread protein consumption equally throughout the day, consuming about 25grams in each meal and about 8grams in every snack.
However, you should critically tailor your protein consumption to your physical needs, as weightlifters would normally consume more eggs, and a taller woman would need more than her smaller counterpart. Age, body structure, and physical activity are some good parameters to base your decision on.