How Much Protein do You Need Every Day?
Proteins are an important part of our diet because all the necessary amino acids cannot be synthesized in the human body and a part must be got from protein foods. The difficulty is that our body does not know how to store protein, so it needs to be consumed constantly and in proper quantity. The daily rate of protein intake, as well as all norms in general, is very individual, but there are some rates that should be considered when calculating the amount of protein.
The minimum program regarding protein intake for an adult and healthy person is 40 g per day. Less rate is impossible! And we are talking about 40 g of protein in meat products or plant foods and not about 40 g of meat.
Among other things, amino acids are engaged in the distribution of vitamins throughout the body, so if there is no protein in the body, it does not make sense to apply the vitamins.
But the most average indicator of protein norm can be 90 g per day. The maximum – 110-120 g per day. Exceeding the daily rate of protein is also dangerous: an excess of protein results in poisoning.
A healthy person can take about 30-35 g of protein per day – this is 200 g of cottage cheese or a small chicken breast. There may be a difference between the amount of protein we eat and the amount of protein our body can digest. It depends on how the digestive tract functions, and on the quality of the protein itself.
The amount of protein intake per day, its calculation
- In order to understand how much protein we need per day, it is important to know our ideal body weight.
- There are many formulas and calculators, but one thing is very important: the ideal weight is the one that you had at the age of 20 to 25 years.
- For men, the daily intake of protein ranges from 1.5 to 2.5 grams per kg of body weight.
And now we calculate the rate of protein necessary per day:
- for a person who does not do sports and does not work physically, 1.2 g of protein per kg of weight is necessary;
- those who sometimes do physical work or sports once or twice a week need 1.6 g of protein per 1 kg of normal weight;
- people who play sports 3 or more times a week should take from 1.8 to 2 g of protein per kg of the same normal weight;
- those who follow a low-calorie diet should eat as much protein as the previous category.
How much protein women need per day?
Protein in the female body is also responsible for beauty because proteins influence both the condition of the hair, and the freshness of the skin, a slim figure, and childbearing function, and hormones.
On the other hand, the female body, like no other, is able to process excess protein, turning it into urea. And there are fat accumulations, as well. Therefore, the daily protein intake for women is approximately 80 g.
For women who are not engaged in physical activity and not interested in sports, you need about 1.7 g of proteins per 1 kg of their normal weight.
The amount of protein for pregnant women
During pregnancy, proteins become a building material not only for the woman’s body but also for the fetus, which is growing rapidly. During pregnancy, the daily intake of protein is about 2 g of protein per kg of body weight.