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As one of the three macronutrients, protein is essential for the functioning of every cell in the human body, and a high protein diet provides many metabolic and health benefits.
A high protein diet will help you achieve your fitness goals to:
- lose weight
- increase metabolism
- get a lean body
- increase strength
- increase muscle mass
A high protein diet will provide health benefits including:
- improve cognitive function
- support cardiovascular health
- maintain bone health
- Promote Weight Loss By Increasing Satiety & Reducing Cravings
Protein has been shown across multiple studies to increase satiety making you feel fuller and reducing both hunger and cravings of food. One of the reasons protein helps you feel full is because high protein diets reduce the hunger hormone ghrelin.
Of the three macronutrients, protein has the highest thermic effect, which is the process by which your body turns food into energy. In comparison to refined carbohydrates or fat, protein requires more energy expenditure from your body to digest and convert protein into energy. This is why protein has been shown to increase satiety, and because protein increases thermogenesis it increases energy expenditure. Compared to diets higher in carbohydrates or fat, people consuming a high protein diet experience more weight loss than people on a high carbohydrate diet.
Studies have also shown that participants who consume a high protein diet feel fuller over the course of the day, have reduced late-night cravings and do not experience obsessive thoughts about food. Researchers have concluded that consuming a high protein diet improves appetite control, satiety and promotes weight loss as a result of a reduced intake of food.
- Speeds up Metabolism By Increasing Muscle Mass
Independent of exercise, high protein diets increase energy expenditure due to the thermic effect of protein. When you add strength training into the mix, you will expend that much more energy because a high protein diet in combination with resistance training speeds up your metabolism.
Strength training involves breaking down muscle, when you tear muscle you need protein to repair the damage. Increasing dietary protein while strength training builds muscle. When you have more muscle on your frame, you burn more calories at rest since your metabolism is increased.
Over a 14-week strength training regimen, one study compared the difference between supplementing with protein or carbohydrate among healthy men. The men did resistance training for 3 days of the week with 3-4 sets of varied lower body exercises. One group supplemented with 25 g of a protein blend, and the other group supplemented with 25 g of carbohydrates. The group who consumed the protein blend experienced more increases in fat-free mass.
This is partially due to the fact that when you reduce carbohydrates you lose water weight, however what makes the bigger difference is that due to the lack of carbohydrates your body starts to burn more fat for fuel.
- Maintains Muscle During Weight Loss
One study showed that higher intake of protein (35%) maintained more lean body mass during weight loss compared to a lower intake of protein (15%). This is due to the fact that protein is the main building block of muscle, and when you strength train you build muscle while simultaneously increasing your metabolism which favours the retention of lean muscle mass while improving metabolic profile.
- Weight Management
There is a significant difference between the likelihood of overeating on a high carbohydrate diet compared to a high protein diet. It is very easy to overeat refined carbohydrates, whereas it is not as easy to overeat high quality sources of protein including chicken breasts. Since protein increases satiety and reduces caloric intake, a high protein diet should be a priority when trying to maintain weight loss. One study showed that participants who were trying to maintain their figure after weight loss increased their protein by 20% resulting in 50% lower body weight regain which only consisted of fat-free mass.
- Speeds up Recovery
Apart from the basic repair of muscles after strength training, protein is essential for recovery from injuries.
Protein deficiency is associated with a decrease in the speed of healing, as such, increasing protein intake to recover after an injury has been shown to speed up recovery.
Bone broth in particular, which is high in protein, is used among athletes to speed up healing and recovery.
- Improves Cognitive Function
Studies have demonstrated that memory consolidation and motor skill learning is dependent on protein synthesis, due to the fact that proteins are necessary in the production and development of neurotransmitters which play a role in cognitive function.
- Supports Cardiovascular Health
Elevated blood pressure increases risk of strokes, chronic kidney disease and cardiovascular diseases.
Some studies suggest that there is a positive influence of protein intake lowering blood pressure, particularly from plant protein. Other studies have shown that replacing carbohydrates with protein can lower blood pressure, improve lipid levels and reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.
- Maintain Bone Health
Studies on elderly subjects have shown that bone losses occur when protein intake is as low as 16-50 g/day.
Many studies have confirmed a significant association between higher protein intake and bone mass or density. Higher protein consumption positively affects bone health through calcium absorption, promoting secretion of insulin-like growth factor-1 and increasing lean body mass.
- Prevents Muscle Loss
As you age, you become more susceptible to injury because strength and balance tend to deteriorate. Increased protein consumption will help to maintain strength and muscle. A moderate increase in protein reduces muscle atrophy associated with age (sarcopenia).
The current Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) of protein is 0.8 grams per kilogram of body weight (regardless of age). However, studies suggest that the current RDA for protein for aging adults may be insufficient for muscle strength maintenance.
To prevent muscle loss, you should aim for more than 0.8g/kg. A team of researchers found that adults aged 70-79 years of age who consumed about 1.1 g/kg of body weight per day lost 40% less lean body mass over 3 years than adults who consumed 0.8 g/kg of body weight per day.
What Protein Should You Prioritize?
Dietary sources of high-quality protein are foods which contain all of the essential amino acids per serving. These foods include grass-fed beef, organic chicken, lamb, omega-3 rich fish such as salmon or sardines, eggs, bone broth, edamame beans, beans, lentils, nuts and dairy.
