Protein - Protein requirements and deficiency:

Question 1

Protein Requirements

Answer 1

Is high protein and/or meat necessary for sufficient growth?
* For infants, a time when there is the most growth, protein in breast milk is actually quite ‘low’ compared to other macronutrients and other animal milks. Breast milk is perfect infant nutrition.
* Calories supplied from protein in human breast milk is about 6%.
* Is this an indication of what we should be consuming as adults? Current protein requirements suggest between 10-30% of calories

Question 2

Milk Macro-nutrient Table

Answer 2

Milk type: Human:
Protein grams per litre: 9
Fat grams per litre: 38
Lactose grams per litre: 70

Milk type: Cow:
Protein grams per litre: 34
Fat grams per litre: 38
Lactose grams per litre: 48

Question 3

Determining protein requirements

Answer 3

• Determining protein requirements is difficult as there are no physiological deficiency symptoms other than those of severe deficiency (growth failure, tissue wasting).
• It is estimated that the risk of protein deficiency would start at values between 0.4-0.5 g/kg of body weight (e.g. 31.5g or below for a 70kg person).
• Did you know? A plant-based diet of 1800kcal including broccoli could potentially contain 120 grams of protein! Whole foods set a natural balance on protein intake as no wholefood is purely protein.

Question 4

Athletes:

Answer 4

• Theoretically athletes may be considered to have a higher requirement for protein due to increased catabolism of amino acids that occurs during exercise.
• The general recommendation for protein intake is 0.75g per kg. To meet the functional needs of athletes, increased protein is recommended in the following range: 1.0, 1.3, and 1.6 g protein per kg of body weight per for individuals with minimal, moderate, and intense physical activity, respectively.
• The increased need for protein in athletes will likely automatically be met as a proportion of the increased calorie requirements. Protein supplements are therefore unnecessary.

Question 5

Calculating Protein Intake

Answer 5

For an average client (non-athlete) you can:
* Look up the healthy weight for a person of your client’s height.
* Use the midpoint of the healthy weight range to base your calculations.
* Multiply kg by 0.75 to get your RNI - use appropriate values for children, pregnant and lactating women or athletes as required.
* For pregnancy: an additional 6g/day is recommended.
* Lactation: an extra 11 g/day 0-6 months and 8 g/day 6+ months.
* Multiply by 1 for vegans and egg/dairy-free vegetarians to accommodate for the lower protein bioavailability.

Question 6

Protein Deficiency

Answer 6

• In the developed world deficiency is more likely to affect:
• Children whose diets are rich in highly refined / processed foods, high in sugar and soft drinks and low in high quality wholefoods.
• Teenagers dieting, or consuming only highly refined / processed foods / junk food, soft drinks, sweets etc.
• Older people whose immobility, dentition (poor chewing), digestive health (lower stomach acid and pancreatic juice levels), living situation etc. reduces their intake / digestion / absorption.
• Anorexia nervosa sufferers.
• Recovering patients such as post-surgery or trauma (i.e. for repair).
• Homeless and disadvantaged people, including those living in substandard conditions in inner cities and rural areas.
• Those with drug and alcohol addictions.
• Those with chronic digestive conditions and chronic use of proton pump inhibitors (PPI). The lack of HCl impairs the digestion and subsequent absorption of proteins.
• Chronic or active infections; infections deplete body proteins.