Issue link: https://cp.revolio.com/i/771993
Excessive protein can have a s mula ng effect on an important biochemical pathway called the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR). This pathway has an important and significant role in many cancers. When you reduce protein to just what your body needs, mTOR remains inhibited, which helps minimize your chances of cancer growth. Addi onally, when you consume too much protein, your body must remove more nitrogen waste products from your blood, which stresses your kidneys. Chronic dehydra on can result, as was found in a study involving endurance athletes. Lowering Your Protein Intake May Extend Your Lifespan New studies have brought some addi onal insights into the protein discussion, as it relates to your longevity. Many animal studies have established that calorie restric on leads to increased longevity, but the latest science suggests this phenomenon may actually result more from reduced protein intake—specifically, reduced intake of the amino acid methionine, which happens to be high in meats. Yet, other new research suggests it may be the balance of amino acids that is the key, especially with other amino acids like glycine that may actually help lower methionine levels. How can you use this informa on to your advantage? Well, you can implement approaches like protein cycling in which you replicate ancestral pa erns of going through feast and famine, which can help normalize your amino acid levels. That is one of the reasons why I am such a major fan of intermi ent fas ng. Bone broth may also be par cularly useful as it is especially high in glycine. How to Calculate Your Protein Requirements Now that you can appreciate some of the many advantages of reigning in your protein consump on, how do you know exactly how much protein you actually need? Fortunately, there is a simple rule, and all you need to know is your lean body mass. You likely need about one-half gram of protein per pound of lean body mass. For most people, this amounts to 40 to 70 grams of protein a day. Rarely does a person need more protein than this—the excep on would be those who are aggressively exercising (or compe ng) and pregnant women, who should have about 25 percent more. Forty to 70 grams a day is in the general range of the CDC's protein recommenda ons for adults (46 grams a day for women, and 56 grams a day for men). But the formula has the major advantage of taking into account your weight and body composi on, which is more relevant than age and gender. This comes down to a protein serving that is about the size of a deck of cards. To es mate your protein requirements, first determine your lean body mass. Subtract your percent body fat from 100. For example, if you have 20 percent body fat, then you have 80 percent lean body mass. Just mul ply that percentage (in this case, 0.8) by your current weight to get your lean body mass in pounds or kilos. So, in the above example, if you weighed 160 pounds, 0.8 mul plied by 160 equals 128 pounds of lean body mass. Using the "one-half gram of protein" rule, you would need about 64 grams of protein per day. Translating Ideal Protein Requirements Into Foods Substan al amounts of protein can be found in meat, fish, eggs, dairy products, legumes, nuts, and seeds. Some vegetables also contain generous amounts of protein—for example, broccoli. Forty grams of protein is not a large amount of food—it's the equivalent of just two small hamburger pa es, or one six-ounce chicken breast. To determine whether or not you're ge ng too much protein, simply calculate your body's requirement based on your lean body mass, as described above, and write down everything you eat for a few days. Page 62 | Abby's Magazine - www.AbbysMag.com