Protein: Are You Getting Enough?

And maybe even more importantly, are your kids and your aging parents getting enough? Let’s dive in…

If you’ve been here a while and know me, you know I’m not a fan of fads, diets, or fad diets. I believe such black and white thinking about the foods we eat have created a black hole of confusion when it comes to our health.

Protein is no different.

There have been high protein diets, low protein diets, vegan, vegetarian, carnivore…I could go on.

They are all dogmatic on some level.

What I’m more interested in is what our bodies need in order to thrive, balance blood sugar, help us detox, and have amazing energy.

The importance of protein is largely undisputed, however it IS under-appreciated.

It is largely accepted that protein is essential for muscle growth, but did you know that eating the right amount of protein will also improve cravings, satiety, and blood sugar?

The right amount of protein will also increase androgen receptor expression, improve lipid profiles (aka cholesterol), improve your immune system function, increase mitochondrial function, and improve insulin sensitivity. The right amount of protein will also support and reduce symptoms as women head into menopause.

So while the health community has been arguing over carbs and fats, protein has been quietly waiting for its moment in the spotlight.

Well, no time like the present!

After learning about how crucial protein is for everything mentioned above, I decided to experiment with increasing my protein intake to see what would happen.

First up, breakfast. I had to increase my protein intake from about 15g to 50g to get my required amount of protein.

This was no small order.

I began adding in collagen powder (10g/scoop) to coffee. I also began drinking a bone broth + mushroom powder mix from Pure Encapsulations that is 15g/scoop.

Ok, so I’m at 25g.

Next up, what to actually eat!?

One egg is 6g protein. So on the mornings I make eggs, I make 3 of them instead of 2. 18g—check! I’ll add some avocado which adds 2-4g of protein. Total so far ~45g for the day. Some days I’ll add some sausage or bacon which amps up my protein intake even more!

If I don’t feel like eggs, I’ll make yogurt and granola. The whole fat yogurt I use has 9g/cup. I’ll add granola that adds ~5-7g of protein, just depending on which one I use. I’ll add a scoop of peanut butter, which will bring me to my goal for breakfast.

I will tell you, I noticed a difference on day 1 of eating more protein just at breakfast!

I noticed I did not get cravings in the afternoon. Or after dinner.

That in and of itself is a miracle.

When I do get hungry between meals, I’m reaching for protein snacks such as meat sticks, carrots and hummus, or hardboiled eggs.

For me, focusing on my total daily protein allows the other macronutrients to fall into place. It feels easy. Unlike any “diet” I’ve tried before.

My clients who try this are generally impressed with how immediately their cravings dissipate.

Which makes them happy and makes me happy. We have to worry less about “overpowering” sugar cravings when the protein intake is where it should be.

When I crave sugar now, it’s generally because I didn’t get enough protein at my first meal of the day.

“Muscle is the organ of longevity.”

Alright, so now let’s talk about you, your kiddos, and your aging parents.

You. If you are at a healthy weight, you want aim for ~1g/lb of body weight. So if you weight 130 lbs, you want to aim for 130 lbs of protein. If you work out, you may even want to up that to 1.5g/lb of body weight. If you weight more than you want to or less, you want go gauge your ideal protein intake based on ideal body weight.

Kids. Kids are constantly growing and have increased protein needs than we do as adults. I find it’s easiest to focus on breakfast, dinner, and snacks. I love adding collagen powder to smoothies, pancakes, protein balls, etc. I’ve noticed a big shift in my kids just from making sure they have more protein in the morning—usually in the form of sausage and/or bacon.

Aging adults. This may include you or your parents. Muscle is one of the most important indicators of longevity. As we age we rapidly begin to lose muscle and bone mass (especially women) and it becomes much more challenging to gain muscle-although not impossible.

It’s very important to be as proactive as possible as far as making sure you spend your 30s and 40s putting on muscle, but once you are past that age, keeping the muscle you’ve built becomes crucial. As I mentioned above, muscle and protein is crucial for longevity, but here’s how:

• Muscle decreases age-related cognitive impairment disease

• Muscle helps you maintain the activities that make your life fulfilling

• Protein and muscle prevent high blood pressure and high cholesterol

• Muscle helps you keep your day to day independent function and helps with balance. If you are 65+, you have a 50% chance of never walking again after a fall. This is real and preventable.

• Muscle regulates your hormones and your metabolism

Targets for intake are at LEAST 1g/lb of body weight. It can be harder to eat this much protein as an older adult, which is why I love collagen powder. It blends in effortlessly and without taste to almost anything. I use Nordic Naturals Collagen Powder which is one of the cleanest collagens I’ve found.

Slightly off topic, but collagen supplementation is key for protecting ligaments as glyphosate removes and replaces glycine from the collagen matrix. One of the current working theories in sports nutrition is that this why we are seeing SO many ligament injuries in kids and young athletes, especially non-contact

ligamentous injuries.

Vegan vs. Animal

This is the age-old question that also seems to becoming even more volatile in recent months.

I have zero issue with plant-based, whole food sources of protein such as beans and legumes. Honestly, everything contains some level of protein including fruits and vegetables, because protein is what holds together all foods. But you’d have to eat a heck of a lot of it to hit your daily needs to thrive.

I do take issue with vilifying animal products as well as pushing fake meat or veganism.

Animal based proteins have been shown to be the MOST bioavailable source of protein for the human body. In fact, there are 5 nutrients that are only found in meat: taurine, creatine, 4-hydroxyproline, carnosine, and anserine.

These five nutrients are highly abundant in beef, and have important physiological roles in anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory reactions, as well as neurological, muscular, retinal, immunological and cardiovascular function. Of particular note, taurine, carnosine, anserine, and creatine are absent from plants, and hydroxyproline is negligible in many plant-source foods. Consumption of 30 g dry beef can fully meet daily physiological needs of the healthy 70-kg adult human for taurine and carnosine, and can also provide large amounts of creatine, anserine and 4-hydroxyproline to improve human nutrition and health, including metabolic, retinal, immunological, muscular, cartilage, neurological, and cardiovascular health.

Dietary taurine, creatine, carnosine, anserine and 4-hydroxyproline are beneficial for preventing and treating obesity, cardiovascular dysfunction, and ageing-related disorders, as well as inhibiting tumorigenesis, improving skin and bone health, ameliorating neurological abnormalities, and promoting well being in infants, children and adults. Furthermore, these nutrients may promote the immunological defense of humans against infections by bacteria, fungi, parasites, and viruses (including coronavirus) through enhancing the metabolism and functions of monocytes, macrophages, and other cells of the immune system. Red meat (including beef) is a functional food for optimizing human growth, development and health. PMID: 32072297

That’s a really long quote, but I couldn’t bear to shorten it. It’s just SO GOOD.

On final point on this. Based on genetics and heritage, there are many groups of people who do not break down and/or absorb protein or other micronutrients from plants. Clearly Rich Roll breaks down and utilizes vegan protein just fine. Many others don’t and suffer greatly on a vegan diet. Only you know your body. Do you.

In summary, you likely need more protein. Need more ideas? Head over to IG @larsonfamilyhealth, I have lots of great info there! Need more help? Let’s set up an appointment. I love nothing more than helping you and your family thrive.

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