How Much Protein Do You Really Need?
The new dietary guidelines put meat and dairy front and center. Here’s what experts recommend.
For many people, the main takeaway from the newly released Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGAs) is: “Eat more protein.” It’s true that the inverted pyramid graphic issued with the guidelines prominently features meat and dairy. But the full story is a bit more complicated than that—despite what some headlines, social media influencers, and even some government officials are saying.
What’s Different About the New Dietary Guidelines When It Comes to Protein?
The guidelines say to “prioritize protein foods at every meal,” with a directive to eat 1.2 to 1.6 grams of protein per kilogram—0.5 to 0.7 gram per pound—of body weight each day. That’s higher than the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for protein, which is 0.8 gram per kilogram of body weight. Under the new guidelines, someone weighing 150 pounds should get a minimum of 75 grams of protein a day vs. 54 grams a day based on the RDA.
So You Should Eat More Protein, Right?
Not necessarily. “The trouble with the new recommendation is that it gives people the impression that they’re deficient in protein and need to focus on getting more of it,” says Amy Keating, RD, a nutritionist at Consumer Reports. Most people’s 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’s National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). Older adults average slightly less (94 grams for men; 69 grams for women).
That said, some research supports a protein intake above the RDA, especially for individuals at risk of muscle loss—such as older adults and those trying to lose weight—or those who exercise frequently. “The RDA reflects a minimum intake to maintain whole-body protein balance,” says Stuart Phillips, PhD, a kinesiology professor and protein researcher at McMaster University in Ontario, Canada. “This [new] range reflects where the evidence has been pointing for years, particularly from studies on muscle protein synthesis, resistance training, aging, and energy restriction.”
But simply upping your protein doesn’t do the whole job. “Protein does very little in isolation,” says Phillips. “It does not ‘supercharge’ metabolism, suppress appetite long-term, or build muscle without a stimulus such as exercise. Protein does not ‘automatically’ improve function: Context matters more than sheer quantity.”
It’s also key to balance your protein intake with your calorie needs. “Too many calories, even from protein, will lead to weight gain,” Keating says.
Your Guide to Protein Powders and Shakes
See our special report on protein supplements and lead and our follow-up tests of protein powders with low levels of lead.
Steak, Cheese, and Chicken Are at the Top of the New Guidelines Pyramid. Should You Bump Up Your Animal Protein Intake?
No. Doing so can interfere with other sound nutrition recommendations, including some outlined in the DGAs. Meat can also be a pricey addition to your grocery haul.
The guidelines don’t explicitly say to eat more animal protein, though you can argue it’s implied in the prioritization of meat and dairy in the graphic and the order in which the DGAs list protein options: “Consume a variety of protein foods from animal sources, including eggs, poultry, seafood, and red meat, as well as a variety of plant-sourced protein foods, including beans, peas, lentils, legumes, nuts, seeds, and soy.”
Photo: Realfood.gov Photo: Realfood.gov
Variety is a key word here, and is in line with what previous guidelines have said. The majority of the protein that most Americans eat comes from animal protein. Getting too much protein from animal sources may put you above the daily saturated fat limit. Despite the claim “we’re ending the war on saturated fat” that has been repeated in press conferences, the new guidelines still recommend that no more than 10 percent of daily calories come from saturated fat, which has been linked to an increased risk of higher cholesterol levels and heart disease.
Although, unlike previous guidelines, the new DGAs don’t distinguish between high-fat and lean sources of meat, CR’s Keating says that when choosing animal proteins, most people would benefit from sticking to seafood, poultry, and lean cuts of beef and pork (such as beef round and beef and pork loin, sirloin, and tenderloin) most of the time.
It’s also important to minimize your intake of processed meats, such as deli meats, hot dogs, and bacon. A key tenet of the new DGAs echoes advice nutrition experts have been giving for years: “Limit highly processed foods.” And research suggests that regularly eating even small amounts of processed meat can raise the risk of some types of cancer.
As for dairy, the new DGAs emphasize that whole milk products are fine, while previous guidelines suggest low-fat dairy. Newer research suggests that the fat in dairy may not impact the risk of heart disease as much as previously thought. That said, full-fat dairy contains more calories than lower-fat options, and your total overall intake of saturated fat still matters, Keating says.
Where Else Can You Get Protein?
You can eat plenty of protein and stay within your saturated fat limit by including plant-based proteins—which also include fiber, a nutrient Americans actually don’t get enough of. These include beans, tofu, nuts, seeds, soy milk, and edamame. In fact, the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee as well as the American Heart Association recommend prioritizing plant proteins over animal proteins, citing studies that show a reduction in cardiovascular disease risk. That recommendation, as well as several others from the Committee, were not included in the final guidelines.
And not all of your protein needs to come from “protein” foods, like meat, beans, nuts, and tofu. “Many other foods have protein—and some have quite a bit,” Keating says. For example, quinoa has 8 grams per 1 cup cooked. There are 5 grams in a cup of cooked oats. A cup of chopped broccoli, a small baked potato with skin, and a slice of whole-wheat bread have close to 4 grams each. Even white spaghetti has about 7 grams of protein per 1 cup cooked. “It all counts toward your daily needs,” Keating says.
Do You Need Protein Powder or Fortified Foods Like Protein Bars?
No. Even if you could benefit from more protein in your diet, highly processed protein powders and fortified foods are not the best choices. The protein in protein powders is extracted in a lab from the original food source—such as peas, soybeans, or dairy (whey)—to concentrate it. They don’t have the same array of nutrients you’d get from a whole-food source of protein. “If you eat an egg, then you are getting choline, some B vitamins, and vitamin E,” says Fung. “You’ll get more bang for your buck.”
What’s more, protein powders often contain more than just protein. They can be high in added sugars or artificial sweeteners, or contain questionable additives like carrageenan, which has been linked with gastrointestinal inflammation. They can also contain troubling levels of lead. A recent CR investigation looked at 23 protein powders and shakes and found that more than two-thirds contained more lead than is considered safe to have in an entire day.
Is It Okay to Get Most of Your Protein at Dinner?
It’s not ideal, and the new guidelines emphasize getting protein at every meal. That’s because your body can only use so much protein at a time—up to 30 grams—according to research from the University of Texas Medical Branch. Yet around three-quarters of our total protein intake is consumed at lunch and dinner, according to the NHANES data. “I would like to see people switch some of their protein toward breakfast so that dinner is not a giant meal with protein at the end of the day,” says Fung. Another benefit of spreading your protein out: Protein boosts satiety; in other words, it helps you feel full after meals.
