{"id":520269,"date":"2026-01-16T11:49:18","date_gmt":"2026-01-16T11:49:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/520269\/"},"modified":"2026-01-16T11:49:18","modified_gmt":"2026-01-16T11:49:18","slug":"how-much-protein-do-you-really-need-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/520269\/","title":{"rendered":"How Much Protein Do You Really Need?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Not necessarily. \u201cThe trouble with the new recommendation is that it gives people the impression that they\u2019re deficient in protein and need to focus on getting more of it,\u201d says Amy Keating, RD, a nutritionist at Consumer Reports. Most people\u2019s protein intake is already within the new recommended range. Men ages 19 to 50 average 96 grams per day, while women the same age get 70 grams, according to data gathered by the government\u2019s <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ars.usda.gov\/ARSUserFiles\/80400530\/pdf\/usual\/Usual_Intake_gender_WWEIA_2017_March%202020.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES)<\/a>. Older adults average slightly less (94 grams for men; 69 grams for women).\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>That said, some research supports a protein intake above the RDA, especially for individuals at risk of muscle loss\u2014such as older adults and those trying to lose weight\u2014or those who exercise frequently.\u00a0\u201cThe RDA reflects a minimum intake to maintain whole-body protein balance,\u201d says Stuart Phillips, PhD, a kinesiology professor and protein researcher at McMaster University in Ontario, Canada. \u201cThis [new] range reflects where the evidence has been pointing for years, particularly from studies on muscle protein synthesis, resistance training, aging, and energy restriction.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But simply upping your protein doesn\u2019t do the whole job. \u201cProtein does very little in isolation,\u201d says Phillips. \u201cIt does not \u2018supercharge\u2019 metabolism, suppress appetite long-term, or build muscle without a stimulus such as exercise. Protein does not \u2018automatically\u2019 improve function:\u00a0Context matters more than sheer quantity.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s also key to balance your protein intake with your calorie needs. \u201cToo many calories, even from protein, will lead to weight gain,\u201d Keating says.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Not necessarily. \u201cThe trouble with the new recommendation is that it gives people the impression that they\u2019re deficient&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":520270,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[37],"tags":[91767,210,133922,231681,231682,1182,154594,1929,33171,67,132,68],"class_list":["post-520269","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nutrition","tag-animal-protein","tag-health","tag-how-much-protein-do-you-need","tag-how-much-protein-per-day","tag-new-dietary-guidelines","tag-nutrition","tag-plant-protein","tag-protein","tag-saturated-fat","tag-united-states","tag-unitedstates","tag-us"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115904627592438795","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/520269","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=520269"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/520269\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/520270"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=520269"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=520269"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=520269"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}