Although high protein diets are all the rage, those who need protein the most aren't getting enough. Find out if you're at risk
Although high protein diets are all the rage, those who need protein the most aren't getting enough. Find out if you're at risk
This week, I want to share some surprising new findings on protein and healthy aging. Whether you’re young or old right now, this is stuff everyone needs to know in order to stay strong and healthy throughout life.
It seems like everyone is trying to eat more protein these days. Protein bars, protein shakes, protein powders…it’s everywhere you look.
Ironically, most of us were already getting more than enough protein to meet our biological requirements. According to the U.S. Institute of Medicine, you need to be getting at least 10% of your calories from protein. (That’s around 35 grams of protein for kids, 50 grams for adult women, and 62 grams for guys.) The vast majority of Americans are getting one and a half to two times that much.
So why the big protein push lately? It turns out that, although you can get along on a relatively small amount of protein, eating more than the minimum requirement offers several advantages and very few downsides. I talked about the benefits of eating more protein in episode #67. They include better appetite control, a slightly increased metabolism, and more lean muscle tissue (especially for those who do strength training).
But there’s one group of Americans that is not getting enough protein: older women. On average, protein intake among older women hovers right at the minimum-- and close to 1 in 10 are sinking below that minimum.
And now, researchers from Purdue University suggest that the amount of protein recommended for older adults is much too low. According to this new information, a majority of older women are probably deficient in terms of protein intake.
What’s wrong with the current protein guidelines? Well, older adults need fewer calories, and the current recommendations just scale protein intake down proportionately.
Although calorie needs decrease as we age—because of slower metabolisms and less active lifestyles—our protein needs actually increase. We need more protein to offset the age-related loss of muscle tissue. Losing muscle mass as we age is a big deal because when we lose muscle mass, we tend to lose bone mass as well, initiating a whole downward spiral of increased frailty and diminished function.
One of the best ways to stave off age-related muscle mass is to keep up that protein intake. Because our calorie needs decrease with age, that means we need to get a bigger and bigger percentage of our calories from protein.But that’s exactly the opposite of what happens for most seniors.
They often eat less of everything, because of reduced appetite or reduced enjoyment of food due to less acute sense of taste and smell. In addition, older people may avoid meat due to problems with their teeth. Or, they may cut down on the amount of meat in their diet because of fixed incomes. Or it may just be that they aren’t cooking as much and so are more likely to make a meal out of a can of soup. Or cheese and crackers. Or even cereal and milk. And although those foods contain some protein, it’s simply not adding up to enough.
Now, of course I realize that meat is not the only source of protein. There are all kinds of vegetable protein sources as well. However, for all their many advantages, you just have to eat a lot more legumes, grains, nuts, seeds, and vegetables to get the same amount of protein as you do from animal sources.
This may explain another recent study out of Japan which found that elderly men who ate the most animal protein showed the least physical and cognitive decline compared to those who ate the least. I know this confused a lot of folks because we’ve heard almost nothing but bad news about meat lately, in particular, how high intake of meat throughout life is linked to decreased lifespan.
But, as I mentioned earlier, animal protein is the most concentrated and bioavailable source of protein. It could be that older men who eat more animal protein—which, by the way, includes fish and eggs as well as chicken and beef--are just a whole lot more likely to meet their protein requirements than those who are relying on vegetable sources.
Here’s the take-home for today. Keeping protein intakes up as you age looks like a very good hedge against aging and disability. Aim for between 60 to 80g of protein per day and try to get at least half of that from animal sources. If you have reduced kidney function, you need to check in with your health care professional to be sure your kidneys are up for the job.
Just to make your life a little easier, I’ve put together a protein cheat sheet with the amount of protein in many common plant and animal foods. You’ll find a link to that, as well as links to the research I reviewed today in the show notes. Today’s show is episode #280.
Fulgoni VL 3rd. Current protein intake in America: analysis of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2003-2004. Am J Clin Nutr. 2008 May;87(5):1554S-1557S. Link to Abstract
Tang M, McCabe GP, at al. Assessment of protein requirement in octogenarian women with use of the indicator amino acid oxidation technique. Am J Clin Nutr. 2014 Apr;99(4):891-8. Link to Abstract
Imai E, Tsubota-Utsugi M, et al. Animal protein intake is associated with higher-level functional capacity in elderly adults: the ohasama study. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2014 Mar;62(3):426-34. Link to Abstract.