What Happens To Your Body on High Protein Diet
Are you ready to instantly lose
weight, gain muscle, and live longer? Well, no matter what anyone says, there is no
miracle diet that can do these things for you. Staying healthy is a balance between eating
the right foods and being active. However, a high protein diet may be a good place to
start. There are a lot of positive things that eating protein can do for your body. But
too much protein can cause some nasty side effects. How much is too much? And does it matter
where your protein comes from? Let’s find out. Proteins are arguably the most
important molecules in your body. They make up your cells, allow your body to carry
out essential functions, and without protein, you’d die. There are over 80,000
different proteins in the human body, and each one has a function. In fact, proteins
make up around 20% of your entire body. So, it should come as no surprise that consuming
enough protein is vital to your survival. Proteins are made up of smaller molecules called
amino acids that are joined together and aligned in unique ways to create different shapes.
The crazy thing is out of the 21 amino acids used by the human body to make proteins; there
are 9 that can’t be synthesized by your cells. This means the only way to get them is by eating
foods that have these amino acids stored in them.
Which foods contain the amino acids and proteins
I need to stay alive, you may be wondering. Don’t worry; The Infographics Show
has got you covered. We will tell you exactly where to find the protein your body
so desperately craves later on in the video. Let’s start with the basics. When you eat
something, your body tears it apart, breaks it down, and then circulates the molecules and
nutrients contained within the food around your body so that your cells can get what they need.
For example, if you eat a slice of pork belly, the fats, proteins, and other molecules
that are contained within the piece of meat don’t go straight to your belly.
Instead, the meat
is broken down in the stomach and intestines, and the individual nutrients get circulated to every
part of your body via your circulatory system. Therefore, we eat to provide our bodies
with the molecules necessary to function and keep us alive. And proteins are one
of the most important molecules of all. So, how much protein should you actually be
eating? And what does it do to your body? Everyone’s body is different, which means that
everyone's daily intake of protein will need to be different to provide the optimum effect.
Researchers suggest that the average male should consume around 56 grams of protein per
day while females should have approximately 46 grams of protein each day. However, since
everyone is a different size and weight, there may be a better way to calculate
how much protein you should be eating.
You should be consuming around .365 grams of
protein a day for every pound you weigh. An easier way to think about this is for every 10 pounds of
body weight; you should eat 3.65 grams of protein. This means if you weigh 150 pounds, you should
eat around 55 grams of protein throughout your day. However, this is just a baseline. People who
are more active will need to consume more protein to maintain or build their muscle mass. But these
calculations are a good baseline to start with. Surprisingly, there is still a decent amount of
debate within the scientific and medical community on how much protein someone should
actually consume in a 24 hour period. Some experts put the number twice
as high as previously mentioned, but more research still needs to
be done to justify these numbers. Regardless of what the exact amount of
protein a person should consume is, there is an even more important question. What does
the protein you eat physically do to your body? Since proteins play a vital role in many life
functions and literally make up the cells in your body, a better question might be: what
don’t proteins do? There are definitely a number of noticeable effects that a high-protein diet
can have on your overall health and physiology.
Scientists have found that high-protein
diets end up reducing your appetite. A number of studies revealed that out of all the
nutrients you consume on a daily basis, protein is the one that makes you feel full the fastest.
The reason for this is that protein reduces the amount of a hormone called ghrelin in your
body. Ghrelin is one of the molecules that tells your brain that you’re hungry. Therefore, the less
ghrelin in your system, the less hungry you feel. Protein also boosts the levels of peptide
YY, which signals the body that it’s full. With the reduction of ghrelin and the increase of
peptide YY, the body feels nutritionally satisfied much sooner than you would with a low-protein
meal. This reduces the urge to overeat, which in turn can help you
lose weight and stay healthier. In a study conducted at the University
of Washington School of Medicine, people who increased the number of calories
they consumed from a protein source from 15% to 30% ate around 441 fewer calories per day than
someone on a lower-protein diet. The craziest part was that the people in the study were
allowed to eat as much as they wanted. The group that increased their protein intake
just felt fuller quicker, so they ate less. What this implies is that subbing out foods that
are higher in fats, sugars, and carbohydrates for meat or high protein veggies might make
you feel more satisfied with fewer calories.
Along with suppressing appetite, high protein
diets can help you lose weight in another way. High protein intake has been
shown to increase metabolism, at least for a short period of time. Even as you
eat, your body is using energy to break down the food and circulate the nutrients to your vital
organs and muscles. The energy expended and the increase in metabolic rate to aid in digestion
is called the thermic effect of food or TEF. The interesting thing is that protein has a much
higher thermic effect than most other types of molecules like carbohydrates or fats. Studies
have shown that by eating high protein foods, your thermic effect can increase by 5 to
15 percent more than consuming food with little or no protein. What this means
is that your body has to work harder to break down protein than other molecules. This
causes you to use more energy during digestion while simultaneously increasing your metabolism. All of these factors combined can cause your
body to burn 80 to 100 more calories a day just from eating. And this might be a
conservative number. One study showed that a group of people eating a high protein
diet burned on average 260 calories more per day than a group of people on a low protein diet.
This is the equivalent of the amount of energy expended from a moderate workout session.
Who
knew that eating could be such a good exercise? And speaking of working out, protein is
literally the building block for all your muscles. So, does eating more protein
correlate to increased muscle size? Not exactly. However, increasing the amount of
protein in your diet will impact your muscles in a number of different ways. Eating more
protein does not necessarily build more muscle, but it does help maintain muscle mass and
promote growth. If all you did was eat protein, your muscles would not magically become
bigger.
However, if you engaged in a weightlifting regiment on a regular basis
while also increasing protein intake, your muscles would likely get larger more
quickly than if you stuck to your typical diet. Someone who is active and trying
to bulk up their muscle mass should definitely increase the amount of
protein they put into their bodies. There is also another important factor to consider
when trying to build, or more importantly, maintain muscle mass. If for some reason you
need to stop lifting weights or reduce your time working out due to an injury or life just
getting in the way, you should still maintain a high protein diet. The rationale for this is that
if you go from being highly active to less active, you will begin to lose weight as your muscles
shrink. However, a high protein diet can slow the rate of and even prevent muscle loss
if the right types of food are consumed.
Perhaps the biggest selling point for
high-protein diets is that not only will they help you lose weight, but they
will help you keep the pounds off as well. Over the course of a year, high-protein diets
seem to be much more effective at helping people maintain weight loss. Now, it is important
to remember that just eating a lot of protein will not cause you to lose weight instantly.
However, there may be some huge benefits if you stay active, eat the right types of protein,
and keep track of your calories. For example, a study that tracked 130 people on high-protein
diets over the course of a year found that they lost 53% more body fat compared to a control
group of people on a regular-protein diet. In a clinical trial conducted by the Department
of Human Biology at Maastricht University in the Netherlands, researchers found that high-protein
diets reduced weight regain by around 50%. This is huge for people who want to lose weight
and keep the weight off. As many dieters know, losing the weight is only half the battle;
it’s keeping the weight off that can be hard. But it seems from a number of studies that
a high-protein diet and healthy lifestyle may be one of the best ways to do just that.
You probably have heard that one side
effect of a high protein diet is that it can be damaging to your bones.
But is there any truth to this? This myth probably originated from the idea
that protein can increase the acidity level of the body slightly, which in theory could cause
calcium to leach from your bones. To be fair, if your blood’s acidity was high enough,
it most certainly could cause the calcium on your bones to break down and weaken
your skeletal system. But if your blood ever ended up at that high level of acidity,
you’d be dead, so it really wouldn’t matter. What long-term studies have shown is that
both animal and plant protein can actually help people maintain bone mass as they
get older. According to some research, people who maintain a high protein diet over
extended periods of time also seem to be at a lower risk of osteoporosis and bone fractures.
It is important to point out that this does not mean you should immediately start consuming
massive quantities of beef to increase your bone health.
There are better sources of protein,
which we will break down for you in a bit. The same thing goes for this
next health benefit. It is all contingent on what type of protein you are eating. It may seem counterintuitive, but a high-protein
diet can actually lower your blood pressure. The exact mechanism for this is
not completely understood yet, but in one study, it was found that a
high-protein diet did not just lower blood pressure but also reduced LDL cholesterol and
triglycerides. This is important because these factors in high levels can be a recipe for
heart attacks, strokes, and kidney disease. Although a high-protein diet can
have harmful effects on the kidneys, you probably don’t need to worry too
much as long as you are in good health. Doctors recommend that people with kidney
diseases reduce the amount of protein they eat. This is because high amounts of protein
can exacerbate problems in kidneys that are already damaged.
However, the same
thing cannot be said about people with healthy kidneys. It is always
important to follow the advice of doctors and medical professionals
when they recommend lifestyle changes. However, no studies have connected high protein
consumption to causing damage to healthy kidneys. Protein may even be able to reverse
and repair the damage done to the body. Since it is the building block of
your cells, mussels, and organs, eating more protein actually provides your body
with the resources it needs to help repair itself. Several studies have even claimed that after you
suffer an injury, consuming more protein could help speed up the time it takes to recover. Some
researchers even claim that if you are on a high protein diet before you get injured, it may
cause your body to heal faster than someone who is not.
More analysis needs to be done, but
it is possible that in the future, doctors will recommend foods high in protein after an injury,
along with other already established treatments. So, we know that high protein diets have several
immediate and short-term benefits for the body. But what about as you get older? It may
sound crazy, but a high protein diet in the middle stages of life can have lasting
benefits even into your more mature years. It is no secret that as you age, your body
becomes weaker.
Your muscles start to shrink, and your bones become more frail. However,
studies have shown by eating more protein, these effects can be mitigated. It is important
that you also maintain some form of activity as well because if you don’t use your muscles,
they will begin to atrophy no matter how much protein you eat. But eating a high-protein
diet during your life and into your later years may help your body retain some of its strength
and keep you in better overall health. There are definitely a lot of positives to eating
a high protein diet, but is there a downside? Unfortunately, yes, so before
you go on a meat buying spree, make sure to watch the rest of this video. As we said before, there is no miracle diet that
can solve all of your weight and health problems. This is especially true of high-protein diets that
require you to cut out all other macronutrients from your meals.
You should steer clear of any
diet that tells you to remove all carbs or fats from your life. In these types of situations,
you could develop nutritional deficiencies such as low fiber, which can cause
headaches and constipation. Therefore, a high-protein diet does not mean you should
remove all other types of food from your life. As we said before, the type of protein you’re
eating matters. And there are definitely some foods that are better than others.
You should not be eating all red meat or full-fat dairy foods because they can
cause an increased risk of heart disease. This is because these types of food are often
full of saturated fats and high in cholesterol. So, this brings up the question: what
type of foods should you be eating in your high protein diet? You obviously want
to receive the benefits of consuming more protein but don't want to put yourself at
risk for high cholesterol or heart disease. Luckily, The Infographics
Show has got you covered.
The best meats to eat to get your
protein fix are a mixture of birds, fish, and one other animal that you won’t believe. Chicken is a relatively low-priced meat that is
healthy and can provide enough protein to meet your daily requirements. Chicken contains around
31 grams of protein in every 100 grams of meat. The best thing about chicken is
that about 90% of the calories in the meat come directly from protein.
We discussed earlier how important this is for speeding up your metabolism
and reducing daily caloric intake. However, an even healthier option for high protein
meat is fish. Yellowfin tuna contains around 30 grams of protein per 100 grams of meat. Other
fish possess slightly less protein per serving, but not by much. However, the benefit of
eating fish as part of a high protein diet is that they also contain omega-3 fatty acids and
vitamins such as D and B2.
Omega-3 has shown to be extremely good for your heart and reduce plaque
buildup around blood vessels. This means that fish is a two-for-one meal that provides both high
amounts of protein and essential vitamins as well. Another seafood that is high in protein
is shrimp. These crustaceans contain 23 grams of protein for every 100 grams of meat.
They also might provide a cheaper way to get your daily protein from seafood as shrimp tend
to cost less per pound than higher-end fishes. The most surprising animal that can
serve as a good source of protein isn’t a fish, bird, or mammal.
Instead, it is an insect.
Crickets are an excellent source of protein. They
contain around 60 grams of protein for every 100 grams of crickets consumed. Right now, crickets
tend not to be the main source of protein for any diet. However, as scientists and nutritionists
work to make crickets more mainstream, this is changing. The great thing about
these insects is that they are plentiful, reproduce rapidly, and have minimal impact on
the environment. When they are eaten whole, crickets don’t really have much of a taste other
than whatever seasoning is put on them. Some companies are even using crickets in their protein
bars and powder. Regardless of your feelings on bugs, crickets may be the most sustainable,
cost-effective source of protein we have.
Meat is not the only way to get your protein,
though. If you are a vegetarian or just looking for plant-based options, there are plenty of
high-protein plants that will allow you to meet your daily intake goals. These foods
also are healthier than eating most meats and can either be used as a substitute or
an extra source of protein during a meal. One of the richest plant proteins is seitan.
This durable food is made from the gluten of wheat and contains around 25 grams of
protein for every 100 grams of seitan. It also boasts the highest amount of protein per
gram out of any plant-based alternatives to meat. Tofu is also high in protein as well.
Tofu is actually made of coagulated soy milk that has been pressed together into a block. Although this doesn’t sound super appetizing,
Tofu has the ability to fit into almost any dish as it has very little taste of its own and its
texture can change based on how it’s cooked. The best part about tofu is that it not only
contains high amounts of protein but it is rich in iron and calcium as well.
In 100 grams
of tofu, there are around 20 grams of protein. Beans are also a great protein source for
anyone trying to stay away from meat. Most beans constrain around 15 grams of protein per cup. And
since beans can be cooked in a variety of ways, they can easily be added to pretty much
any meal to boost your protein intake. Medical professionals recommend that most of
your protein should come from plant sources. This is because they tend to be a healthier option
than meat due to the fact that plants contain many nutrients and vitamins your body needs. If
you only eat meat, you will definitely have a high-protein diet, but that will be about it.
There is no substitute for a well-balanced diet, so make sure to incorporate different protein
sources in your meals throughout the day.
This brings us to a very important
question. How much protein is too much? And what side effects can
consuming too much protein have? It is always possible to have too much of a
good thing in life, and protein is no different. When you consume too much protein the
risks outweigh the benefits. For example, although protein has been shown to have
no long-term effects on healthy kidneys, it can still cause other problems
in this part of the body. Eating too much protein can lead to kidney stones,
which are incredibly painful until removed. Depending on the size of the stones, a doctor
may need to use a laser to break them up into smaller pieces. There are two main ways
that the kidney stones can then be removed; both are painful enough that the patient
needs to be given anesthesia.
One method is known as a cystoscopy, where the doctor inserts a
cystoscope into the urethra to locate and remove the stones. You can imagine that having anything
stuck up your urethra would be unpleasant. Another method of removing kidney stones
is called percutaneous nephrolithotomy. This is when the doctor cuts a hole in your side
and kidney and inserts a tool called a nephroscope into it . This device then allows the doctor
to look around and remove any stones they find. As mentioned before, eating too much red meat can
also lead to high cholesterol and heart problems. Therefore, it is important not to restrict
your high protein diet to just one type of meat or protein source. There is still
disagreement amongst medical professionals as to how much protein is too much, but there
are definitely some guidelines to follow.
For the average person, it is recommended
you not eat more than 0.9 grams of protein for every pound you weigh. This means that
a 150-pound person should not consume more than 135 grams of protein in a day. And this
is the very upper limit. That being said, if you are someone who is extremely active
or an athlete, you can probably get away with eating slightly more protein as your
body will use it to repair and build muscle. It is when the body becomes oversaturated
with protein that problems start to arise.
There are some key steps you should take
before starting a high-protein diet, especially if you are going to try and
consume the upper limits for your body weight. The first is to discuss the decision
with your doctor. They will likely want to run some tests just to make sure your
kidneys are healthy and in working order. You will also need to do your research.
We have tried to provide you with some of the best food options to eat while on a high
protein diet, but there are many other choices. Depending on where you live and what type of
foods you like, there are likely other sources of protein that might be better for you. You can also
talk to a nutritionist who may be able to give you further guidance. It is important to remember
that although some meats have higher amounts of protein than other foods, fish, nuts, and beans
can all be healthy supplements to any meal. Regardless of what high-protein foods
you decide to eat, you should still include fruits and vegetables in your diet.
They may not have as much protein as meat, but they are rich in vitamins
and minerals your body needs.
You also should identify exactly why you are
starting your high protein diet. If your goal is to lose weight, you don’t need to consume as
much protein as someone who is working to bulk up and gain muscle. Or maybe you are just planning
for the future and want to have a healthier body in the long run. There are many benefits to eating
a high protein diet, but there can also be risks. This is why it never hurts to discuss your
dietary plan with medical professionals. Now watch “What Happens To Your Body
When You Don't Eat (Fast).” Or check out “What Happens To Your Body If You Never Move.”
