Let me start by stating that our bodies need protein, and that is a fact. We need them for our organ repair, hormone production, and most importantly, our gut, which is a one, very long protein wall. Yes, they are essential in our diets. But the numbers just do not add up. The 20 to 30 grams of protein daily, for whom?                                        Throwing an agenda taken out of thin air and propagating it as a new fashion stable seems to me, similarly to many ideas these days, to be taken, yet again, out of context. If the gym junky, pavement hugger, shark chaser, NFL kicker, sofa crusher, and contortionist started the group of 20-30 grams of protein daily munchers, we could easily see how far misleading this entire idea of dieting is. Why?

Here are 8 reasons why 20-30 grams of protein daily is yet another bias…

1. Which Protein?

Which proteins exactly? No proteins are equal.                                                     We have incomplete proteins, which are the plant proteins. We call them incomplete because they do not consist of, or rather break down into, amino acids. Most of those proteins are actually the protein-mimicking toxins that the plants release as a defense mechanism to survive from predators, like us.

Then we have complete proteins derived from animal products. They are called complete because they do produce longer chain peptides that are then converted into amino acids-short chain building blocks of protein.

The body will digest each group of proteins differently. Some proteins are well utilized in the body, and others are poorly. Some will break down into longer and shorter building blocks that the body uses for organ repair, while others will just be converted to sugar or body fat. We can say that proteins are 4 calories per gram, but that is not how the body uses them.    For example, whole eggs are 48 percent used to build new protein in the body, and only 52 percent is converted to calories. Whereas whey is only 18% utilized to build new protein and 82 percent converted to calories.                  Pea protein is converted into sugar in your body. So we can’t just say we had 30 grams of protein. It is not just a matter of how much protein we consume, but which type of protein.

2. Proteins are not your body’s main energy source

Does not matter how much you want to train your body to become protein sufficient and dependent is not going to work. Your body has its favorites, and like it or not, it is not protein; it will always be either carbohydrates/sugars or fats. Those are the primary energy sources for the body and brain to function.                                                                               Our muscles are made of 70 percent water and 30 percent glycogen, which is simply converted glucose. Protein is not an energy source for muscles. Because muscles are not their own fuel source, they need a fuel source. The body stores glycogen from carbs that attach to water.  The same goes for the brain. Brain according to medical sources, uses almost 80 percent of our body’s glucose. Try cutting all the sugar sources from your diet and see how well you will remember what you had for breakfast.

3. Proteins are difficult to break down.

Proteins are not as easy to break down as other macros, such as carbs and fats. A high-protein diet stimulates something called thermogenesis, where the body has to use more calories to break down the protein into peptides that are later broken down into amino acids. The high-protein diet may allow us to lose weight, but it is not fat that we are losing. It is glycogen- the muscle’s fuel.  If we use protein as the main dietary ingredient and cut the carb part of it, the body will not use this protein as an energy source; instead, it will start breaking down the muscles to get what it needs to function. A high-protein diet is known to slow down your metabolism, which means it will also affect your thyroid, whose function, in fact, is to control your metabolism.

4. Your body has an optimal storage system

It is pretty obvious that if we eat too much food, the body stores it. This not only applies to fats or carbohydrates but also to proteins. Yes, our bodies have their own savings accounts. The leftover proteins, carbs, and fats are utilized whenever the body needs them for recovery, repair, and refueling. This is why just as overloading yourself with fats and carbs can be harmful for the body, as mentioned before, the more protein we eat, the lower the metabolism and the slower the thyroid.

5. The intensity of the workout determines the intake of macronutrients

I have learned about this in my weight cut program that specializes in assisting high-performance athletes to reach the required weight goal and still be able to compete on the highest levels. The more intense the workout, the more energy source your body will crave. Yet again, it is not the protein but carbohydrates and fats that your body will need in order to refuel. This is why it is recommended to refill your glycogen storage first. Because amino acids, protein’s building blocks, help with carbohydrate oxidation and prevent the body from eating its own muscles, it is recommended to take them with carbohydrates after the workout in a possible ratio of 4:1.

With the lower level workout, such as jogging, yoga, where the body burns fewer carbs and proteins, the missing calories are usually fats.

6. The one-size-fits-all is like trying to fit a square peg in a round hole

As you already know, by now, the amount of protein and other macros depends on our exercise intensity. But not just that. The way each of us will absorb, digest, and use the ingredients depends on many different factors in our daily lives. Let’s start with our personal gene expressions, as we know by now, the genes are not static, and their expressions change daily with lifestyle choices and environmental factors.                             And then there is the lifestyle and the activity levels. If you sit for six hours straight, 5 days a week, and then go to restorative yoga class once a week or so, do not kid yourself, you are not an athlete. Even if you are trying to eat like one. Your body will thrive on different macronutrients than someone who goes to the gym daily, pumps the iron for an hour or two, and catches their power flow in the evening.                     Lastly, the macronutrient absorption will also depend on your body type. There are three different body types:                             

*ectomorph- lean body, hyper metabolism, low muscle definition.            * mezomorph- well-rounded muscle composition; more muscle-to-fat ratio.                            *endomorph- slower metabolism, heavier build, and less muscle definition.

7. Women are more fat-adapted

A woman’s body generally uses fat as a source of energy more than relying on carbohydrates, which is the opposite of men. We thrive better and sustain more energy on avocado than on a chicken breast or whey protein. We also replenish better and faster after workouts, utilizing fat as an energy source. Fats, unlike sugars, do not have an immediate effect on the body as they do not spike insulin levels. They are a slow but steady energy source, which is perfect for those who like to indulge in aerobic forms of activity such as long-distance running, Vinyasa flow, etc.

8. It is not as much about the protein as  it is about amino acids

We do not eat protein for the proteins. We need proteins as a main source of amino acids. Yes, those short-chain building blocks are what our body really needs to restore organ reserves, rejuvenate the tissues, and, most importantly, to build our gut wall. You already know that it takes more work, more caloric intake to digest and utilize proteins than other macronutrients. When the body digests proteins, it will still break them down into first short peptides, and then eventually into individual amino acids, which then will help produce hormones and build their own proteins to repair that very long, twisted gut wall or build neurotransmitters in the brain.                                                                                                   For example, we need Tyrosine, a non-essential, or conditionally essential, amino acid that our body can synthesize from other compounds and does not need to derive from food, which is one of two major components of the Thyroid. The other one is Tryptophan, which is produced in the gut and is a precursor to our happy neurotransmitter, serotonin.                   If your body does not operate at optimal levels, with increased chronic diseases and digestive issues caused mainly by the toxins in the foods, and the way the food is processed, we may have a difficult time obtaining the full benefits that come from even the healthiest amounts of protein. This is why it is recommended to interchange proteins with their little building agents, especially after a workout.

Hope those 8 pointers can give you a better understanding of why, sometimes it is better to listen to your gut, and do your own research than blindly follow the spread like a wildfire’s “social media’s nutritional words of wisdom.”