How Much Protein Do You Really Need to Eat?

There seems to be no stopping the trend for protein. But just how much do you really need and what’s the healthiest way to get it? We investigate.

- Angela Dowden

For many years, protein didn’t get much of a look-in while we all worried about saturated fat and carbs. Now though, the nutrient is everywhere, with ‘protein pots’, protein smoothies,protein-enriched breakfast cereals and even female-friendly protein powders, all jostling for our attention. In the background, protein has always been a critical nutrient, vital for the repair and maintenance of muscles and tissues. But it’s the newer weight-control evidence on protein – in particular the fact it takes more calories to digest than other nutrients, and can also suppress hunger – that have propelled it into a different league. Much of the early protein and appetite research was pioneered at the University of Aberdeen’s Rowett Institute by researcher Dr Alex Johnstone, the expert behind the 2010 launch of Marks and Spencer’s Simply Fuller Longer range – now called Balanced For You.

WEIGHT CONTROL

‘Our studies supported the idea that protein fills you up more than carbohydrate or fat do,’ says Dr Johnstone. ‘We now realise those popular “lowcarb” diets, such as Atkins and South Beach, actually worked to satisfy hunger because they were high in protein.’ If you do a lot of exercise, it’s natural that you’ll need greater amounts of protein for muscles to grow and repair. According to sports nutritionist Anita Bean, author of Food for Fitness (Bloomsbury Sport, £16.99), the consensus is that athletes and regular exercisers should be having 1.3–1.8g protein per kilogram of body weight per day, rather than the 0.8g protein per kilogram body weight per day that basic recommendations are based on. Some evidence suggests that higher-protein diets could also benefit your blood pressure. In an observational study in the American Journal