What Happens When You Eat Too Much Protein?

If you follow a low carb diet, you may be eating more protein and that is good! However, many people worry they may be eating too much protein. You have to remember too much of anything is not good for you. Moderation is the key.

Eating too much protein, meaning more than your body needs, is not helpful at all. Eating too many bad fats and causing high cholesterol, or too much sugar and causing blood sugar problems is not good either. Again, healthy foods in moderation is what your body needs.

According to statistics, most individuals in the US take in 3-5 times more protein than they need. An ideal protein intake is about 0.5 grams (500 mg) of protein per pound of lean body mass.

This calculates to about 40-70 grams of protein per day. (Bodybuilders eat far more than this amount. This is average figures used.)

While high protein, low carb diets are extremely popular, eating excessive amounts of protein can be damaging to your health, just as eating too many carbs is too!

The Dangers Of Eating Too Much Protein

If you eat more protein than your body really can use can cause problems with your overall health and fitness in several ways.

Too much protein can lead to these health issues:

Increased blood sugar levels
Weight gain
Too much body fat
Stress on your kidneys, which must get rid of excess protein
Loss of minerals from your bones
Dehydration
Cancer cell stimulation.

Now it is important to eat protein and healthy fats to survive! Your body cannot live without protein.

While some amino acids can be made by the body, several essential amino acids cannot be made by the body tissues but must be taken in through food sources.

Your amino acids are what make the protein that helps grow muscle, bony tissue, enzymes, and several hormones your body needs to survive.

Your body processes protein less efficiently as you age so that eating enough high quality protein becomes more important. You also need more protein during pregnancy so the fetus can use that protein in order to grow. If you are not pregnant or aged, you can stick to eating 40-70 grams of protein daily as suggested.

There is an upper limit as to how much protein your body has the ability to make use of. We eat, on average, much more protein than our bodies need as well as too many carbohydrate-containing foods and not enough foods high in healthy fat.

How Your Body Uses Protein

When you eat protein, your body takes what it needs and converts all of the rest of it into sugar and then into fat. When your blood sugar levels are increased from eating too much protein, you put yourself at risk of getting infections by yeast (called Candidiasis) and pathogenic bacteria.

The growth of cancer cells is stimulated by the excesses of sugar and fat in your body.

Eating too much protein causes stress on the kidneys.

The kidneys are responsible for removing the nitrogenous waste products in the bloodstream and when there is too much protein, both the excess protein and water is lost through the kidneys, resulting in dehydration. This was proven in a research study that involved athletes who engaged in endurance sports.

Eat Less, Live Longer

There have been recent research studies that relate to calorie restriction and longevity. It is a well-know fact that being overweight can lead to premature death. In particular, restriction of protein intake leads to a longer life, particularly restriction of the amino acid known as methionine. This is found in high levels in meats.

Other research indicates that the balance of amino acids might be the most important factor in gaining a long life.

Calculating The Amount Of Protein You Need

You need to know exactly how much protein you need to consume in order to be healthy. It can be calculated as taking in 500 mg of protein per pound of lean body mass or about 40-60 grams of protein daily. If you are excessively exercising or are pregnant, you need to take in about 25% more than that.

You also need to remember that a serving of protein is about the size of one deck of cards. Then you need to estimate the amount of protein you need.

Your lean body mass is your percent body fat subtracted from a hundred.
Make that into a percentage and multiply that by your total weight in pounds.
Multiply that number into 0.5 grams per pound to get your protein requirement for the day.

What Foods To Eat

To get the protein you need, but not too much, choose protein found in eggs, dairy products, meat, fish, legumes, seeds and nuts. Forty grams of protein isn’t really very much: about two hamburger patties. You do not need to be a vegetarian to avoid eating too much protein. Read food labels and look up the amount of protein in the foods you are eating.

If you are eating too much, just adjust your diet so you are eating the right amount of protein.

The easiest way to tell if you are eating too much of anything is simple. Look at your weight and your diet. Are you gaining weight or feeling unwell? If so, are you eating too many carbs or too much protein? Adjust your diet accordingly.