SS 137 – How Much Protein Do You Need?

In today’s episode, Grant and Heavey discuss how much protein the body needs. Is having too much protein bad? What if you eat too little of it? Listen in as they dish out a couple of studies around protein intake. They also talk about State and Liberty Athletic Fit Dress Shirts where they will give their honest, unbiased review.  Be sure to use code strengthandscotch at checkout to get 10% off your order.
 

 
[01:40] All Hail State and Liberty!

Grant and Heavey usually talk about the products they like here on the show but this is the first time a company reached out to them. Good thing the hosts are pretty impressed with the products State and Liberty is putting out.

Heavey says the product is actually addressing the problem he has. He used to wear button ups and it was always difficult for him to find one that fit him, being taller than average and having monkey arms he had to drag alongside him when he walks. So if he finds a shirt that fits his arms well, it is usually billowy through his belly so it’s not very flattering. And if he buys one that actually fits to the middle, he had to roll up the sleeves because it wouldn’t fit him otherwise.

Now they find that the State and Liberty shirt fits really very well. The reason for that is they use a Nylon/Poly/Spandex blend of fabric so it stretches while it hugs your body to give you a really nice fit.
 

 
[04:21] Who Are They Catering To?

State and Liberty is trying to cater to athletes looking for a tailored-fit which is design to fit your body. This is typically someone who has somewhat broader shoulders, bigger biceps and chest, but smaller waist compared to a person with flat chest. This is the shirt that is able to find that middle ground because it fits both your torso and arms well.
 

 
[05:16] The Not-So Downsides

Grant explains that the shirt is not a loose, baggy shirt you can lounge around in but it’s a shirt made to look tight and fitting. Heavey adds that using the sizing guide, he was on the top end of what they defined as a medium and upon wearing it, the shirt was a little too tight on him. It wasn’t uncomfortable but a large size would have been a better fit for him. Grant, on the other hand, thinks this would have been the shirt he had been dreaming of back when he was sexy, like a year or two ago. Now, although it perfectly fits his arms and chest well, he has put on a little extra weight around the tummy. Nevertheless, Grant thinks this shirt fits exactly how he has always wanted his shirts to fit.
 

 
[08:20] The Strength and Scotch Stamp of Approval

The other cool thing about State and Liberty is they don’t just do dress shirts, but also, polo shirts. Their products are currently designed for men. Heavey’s wife, Nicole, actually wished they had products for women too.

Grant suggests the slogan should be, “You work hard to look good with your clothes off so look as good with your clothes on.” A lot of athletes put a lot of work in their body so they should have clothes that reflect that.

Design-wise, they have shirts in checkered patterns and solid colors. Price-wise, it’s reasonable for a product with exceptionally high quality. (Drum roll please) Ultimately, Grant and Heavey are giving this product their Strength and Scotch stamp of approval.
 

 
[10:05] One Gram of Protein

They’ve talked about a lot here on the show about the quality of protein and have thrown out the rule of thumb from time to time that you should consume one gram of protein per pound of body weight. This means that if you are a 200-pound guy, that would be 200 grams of protein per day. This is the most common recommendation you’ll hear in the active community.
 

 
[11:08] Can Too Much Protein Damage the Kidneys?

Grant recalls reading an article a couple of years ago saying you’re going to get kidney stones from taking in too much protein. Heavey explains that it’s pretty common misinformation to say that high protein diet can damage your kidneys. There are mainstream organizations like the Word Health Organization (WHO) saying that there’s no substance behind the claim that high protein diet can damage your kidneys. The one area you have to be careful of is if you have a preexisting kidney issue then you need to talk to your doctor.
 

 
[12:23] High Protein and Bone Health

Another thing that people spread about a possible downside to high protein is that it can affect your bone health. Some research shows calcium excretion increases on a higher protein diet. Based on this, people may jump into conclusion that if you’re excreting more calcium, you’re de-mineralizing your bones causing them to become more frail so high-protein diet must negatively affect your bone health.

However, Heavey clarifies this matter saying that a high-protein diet actually ends up leading to better absorption of circulating calcium. Since your body doesn’t need it as much, your body excretes them.

Separate research has looked at bone density on high protein diets which stayed fixed while calcium excretion has increased. This suggests that it’s not negatively affecting bone health but it’s very possible we’re just excreting it because of higher absorption.
 

 
[14:50] How Much Protein Should You Eat?

The RDA for protein is 0.8 grams per kilogram or less than 0.4 grams of protein per pound of body weight. The purpose of RDA is to meet the requirements of 97% of the population so it’s meant to be widely applicable for people to get their daily needs met.

Heavey mentions this other research based on nitrogen balance studies but there’s a whole host of studies that have come out challenging this recommendation showing that it actually is inadequate.

The other thing to keep in mind about RDA is they’re designed for mainstream population. If you’re somebody that likes to lift and work out often, it’s not a mainstream thing. It’s something that needs additional support.

Heavey describes the FDA as a slow-moving organization although they’ve come back on their restrictions on dietary cholesterol for example. But it takes time for the research to actually make it to the recommendations.
 

 
[16:50] Calories in Protein

There are 4 calories per gram of protein. This practically makes a significant portion of your caloric intake. If you’re weighing 200 pounds and eating 200 grams because you’re doing the 1 gram per day, then that’s a total of 800 calories.
 

 
[17:30] Recommendation for Sedentary People versus Athletes

Now the current research for the sedentary population shows that the actual RDA should probably be something closer to 1.2 grams per kilogram or about half a gram per pound. Heavey thinks the metric system is silly.

The American College of Sports Medicine and the International Society of Sports Nutrition have a different set of recommendations for physically active people where they should be consuming between 1.2 and 2.0 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day.

They say that the lower end of their recommendations are for endurance athletes while the higher end is meant to be for strength athletes. They further say these numbers are enough to promote the growth and maintenance of lean body mass. It’s not just maintaining your mass but also providing you the fuel substrate you need to grow muscles.
 

 
[19:06] Nitrogen Balance Method

A lot of these numbers are based on the nitrogen balance method where they look at how much protein you’re consuming and how much nitrogen you’re excreting via urine and trying to find the balance of that to assess where your body is getting just the right amount of protein.

Protein molecules contain nitrogen but carbohydrates and fats do not so they know that protein accounts for nitrogen excretion. So if you consume too much or more-than-you-need protein then you’ll just excrete it.

However, nitrogen balance studies have been shown to be not the most accurate. For instance, they use linear fits for nonlinear data. Also, the body adapts to the amount of protein you have so there’s an issue on the studies that the body will start down-regulating processes to adapt to the amount of protein you’re consuming. For example, your body is down-regulating building muscle tissue because it detects that it has inadequate amount of protein for it. So it looks like you’re balanced, when in fact, you’re not.
 

 
[21:31] Amino Acid Oxidation Technique

A newer technique is looks at amino acid oxidation and the first study that applied this technique to assess the daily protein needs of men that lift regularly (at least four times a week).

Basically, they looked at eight healthy young men with an average age of 22.5. One downside right off the bat is that the total number of people they’re doing a study on is not high. Each of these men had at least three years of resistance training experience. They were lifting four days per week and doing very little aerobic activity.
 

 
[22:47] The Study Protocol

These eights guys went through three-day test periods with at least a week between each of the test periods. They start with a two-day adaptation window where they would consume 1.5 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight on those first two days. Then they were randomly assigned to an intake of a range between 0.1 gram to 3.5 grams per kilogram of body weight.

They consumed this over eight hourly meals during the study to keep the constant stream of amino acids. They did this on a non-training day that was at least 48 hours after their last previous lifting session. The idea here is they wanted to separate the lifting and the impact that could have on protein uptake in the body.

Another one of the shortcomings of the study is that it doesn’t give you insight into your protein needs on training days. But the idea was to establish what are the protein needs on a non-training day for somebody that lifts.
 

 
[25:47] Results and Recommendation

The protein oxidation declined up to an average of 1.7 grams per kilogram but there was a huge variability. This means that the average protein intake that looked like it’s hitting their minimum requirement was 1.7 grams per kilogram. Now this was the average among the eight participants but the range was huge going from 1.2 at the low end to 2.2 at the high end. Grant points out that still the low end is still within the 1 gram per pound which is the rule of thumb we’ve heard. Plus, there has not been any research that shows there’s an issue for too much of it.

When they specifically looked at lean mass instead of body weight, the variability decreased so it seems that lean mass is a better predictor for the amount of protein that you should consume in a day. The range went down to 2.0-2.5 grams per kilogram of lean mass.

The final recommendation at the end of this study is that if you want to use this as the population to base the recommendations on (with the 1.2-2.2 range) and you want to make sure you’re getting the amount you need, then you need to consume 2.2 grams since you don’t basically know if you’re the 1.2 or the 2.2. This basically means we’re back to 1 gram per pound body weight as Grant mentions.
 

 
[28:05] Heavey and Grant’s Conclusion

Grant reiterates there’s nothing wrong with having too much protein and too little can down-regulate your body’s nitrogen excretion. So stick with the rule of thumb of 1 gram per pound body weight. Heavey adds that further studies are required for training days. Know that 2.2 might actually be a low end and on training days, it’s very likely your body will need more. And if you’re an athlete and you go with a little more, there’s no downside except for the satiating element of protein.
 

 
[29:10]  Beers, Coolers, and Tequila: Which is Healthier?

Grant and Heavey got this comment on Facebook from Gavin asking what is healthier, micro-brewed beer, Coors or Bud Light. And is tequila the healthiest alcohol for you?

Although Gavin thinks Bud Light sucks, Grant thinks it’s the best. Interestingly, “healthiest” goes all the way back to the foundation of the show which is about the five pillars of health:

1. Sleep (Quality sleep)
2. Stress (Stress reduction)
3. Exercise
4. Food and nutrition
5. Love, community, and connection

Basically, health comes down to these five things. The intention is where to focus on to support health in life. Heavey believes health means balance. Now, when you’re drinking, you’re not getting good calories out of your booze.
 

 
[33:13] Alcohol: Is It Good or Bad?

A number of studies show the benefits of alcohol so any sort of alcohol is very likely, in moderation, to be something that can be part of a healthy life. But at the same time, alcohol can be one of the most damaging substances humans take on a regular basis.

Grant’s take on what the healthiest beer is, is the one you enjoy the most. You shouldn’t replace water with beer but when it’s time to drink beer, you should enjoy it. Because that fifth pillar of community and doing it and having fun and the pillar of reducing stress, you want to live your life where you have balance. The part of our lives where we’re drinking is when we’re bonding with friends and de-stressing, and when we decide to prioritize that bit of mental health over that little bit of nutrition. Otherwise, if you put everything on one pillar, you topple over and you fall down. Heavey adds that the nutrition of that beer is going to make a difference in your life than you’re having too much beer. As far as hard alcohol goes, drink scotch!
 

 
Links:

https://stateandliberty.com/   

(Use “strengthandscotch” at checkout for a 10% discount)