Sooner or later, every person who is active in sports will ask themselves: “Am I actually eating enough protein?” We will tell you how much protein you really need per day and how you can easily meet your protein requirements.
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Protein requirements: How much protein do you need per day?
The German Society for Nutrition (DGE) recommends at least 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day for adults. This applies regardless of gender. A 50-kilo woman therefore has a protein requirement of around 40 grams per day. For people over the age of 65, the DGE even recommends 1 gram of protein per kilo of body weight. In addition, there is an increased protein requirement during a diet or fasting period in order to prevent the breakdown of muscle mass. The same applies to athletes who do regular strength training or intensive endurance training. You benefit from a protein intake of between 1 and a maximum of 2.5 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight.
You should not consume more than 2.5 grams of protein per kilo of body weight. On the one hand, such a high protein consumption has no other advantage , on the other hand, it even has the disadvantage that your body becomes acidic and the kidneys can be damaged . Such an oversupply cannot be achieved through a balanced diet – but in view of the popularity of food supplements and protein powders, it is not completely unreasonable.
dr Riedl: Athletes, older people, men and women need that much protein
Nutrition Doc Dr. Matthias Riedl ( @drmatthiasriedl) has on 4.5. answered your burning questions about nutrition and weight loss frustration on our Instagram account @vital_magazin . From minute 19:53, Dr. Riedl on how much protein you should eat each day, depending on how old you are and how much exercise you do. You can also easily check your protein intake with Dr. Track Riedl’s nutrition app ” myFoodDoctor “.
These foods cover your daily protein requirements
Protein supplements can help athletes in particular to meet their daily protein requirements. However, they are by no means a must and amateur athletes in particular can easily cover their protein requirements through diet . A protein intake of between 1 and 1.5 grams per kilogram of body weight should be easily achievable through natural foods. When it comes to protein, many people immediately think of meat, fish, eggs, cheese, quark, yoghurt or milk, and that is correct so far. However, an excess of animal products can be harmful in the long run, e.g. promote inflammation or cancer. If you eat a lot of meat and sausage products, you should therefore reduce the amount and cover at least part of your protein from plant sources.
Are vegetable protein sources inferior to animal ones?
In a direct comparison of individual foods, the proteins from animal products have a higher biological value than those from plant products. This means that, for example, the same amount of protein from a hen’s egg can be absorbed and processed by our body better than the same amount of protein from lentils. In the daily diet, however, foods are rarely found individually, but are combined with other foods at meals. With a combination of different vegetable protein sources, their biological value can be easily increased and raised to the same level as animal products.
In the body, the so-called amino acids, which make up larger proteins, are collected in amino acid pools throughout the day and used as needed to build muscle or to heal wounds. In order for your body to get all eight essential amino acids, you should consume different types of plant-based protein sources . As long as you eat legumes , nuts and seeds , and whole grains on a daily basis, meeting your protein needs from plant sources is not a problem. Therefore, without hesitation, reach for lupins, soy products, lentils, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, flaxseed, hemp seed, oatmeal, etc. to cover your protein needs.
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