Protein consumption remains one of the biggest concerns for those in the fitness space. In a recent YouTube video, health and nutrition expert Dr. Rhonda Patrick discussed the benefits of adding more protein to your diet.
With well over 500,000 YouTube subscribers, Dr. Rhonda Patrick has become a trusted resource for all subjects related to health, nutrition, and fitness. Her expertise has been on display in numerous capacities ranging from classrooms to laboratories and even popular podcasts like the Joe Rogan Experience.
Dr. Rhonda Patrick Discusses Why It’s So Important to Maximize Your Protein Intake
Whether it’s optimizing health, fitness, or building muscle, we all understand the importance protein has in our day-to-day lives. Dr. Rhonda Patrick believes most people today would benefit from more protein intake, arguing without it, amino acid supplies are pulled from muscles which she describes as the equivalent of ‘pulling from your retirement fund early.’
Without enough protein, Dr. Rhonda Patrick stresses that the body will undergo muscle atrophy, especially for individuals who boast a more active lifestyle.
Level Up Your Fitness: Join our 💪 strong community in Fitness Volt Newsletter. Get daily inspiration, expert-backed workouts, nutrition tips, the latest in strength sports, and the support you need to reach your goals. Subscribe for free!
“Protein is amino acids or something that we need to get from our diet every day. We, much like we store glucose as glycogen in our liver and our muscles, we store fat like triglycerides in adipose tissue, we don’t really store amino acids, although our muscle, our skeletal muscle is kind of a reservoir for them, and during periods of fasting or low protein intake we pull from our muscles to get amino acids because they’re essential to survive.”
“What does that mean? That means you are pulling important protein from your muscles, and that does cause muscle atrophy. So you want to avoid that.”
To avoid any muscle atrophy, Dr. Rhonda Patrick shared a study that suggests you should be taking in at least 1.2 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight and at least 1.6 grams per kilogram of body weight if you are physically active.
“Data from experts like Dr. Stuart Phillips and others, they started to look into how you measure protein losses and amino acid losses, and it turns out that those studies that were done decades ago were using tools that were basically underestimating the losses of amino acids.”
“So it turns out that, using new techniques that are more sensitive, in order to prevent your body from pulling from your skeletal muscle to get amino acids, the minimum amount of protein you need to take in is 1.2 grams per kilogram body weight which is higher than the 0.8 grams per kilogram body weight and that’s just the bare minimum, like the minimum amount that you need to prevent your body from pulling from muscle.”
“They also did some studies looking at what if you are physically active? You are causing damage to your muscle, you are using a lot of energy, I mean lots of things going on. that number goes up to 1.6 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight.”
Dr. Rhonda Patrick then breaks down the best way to incorporate protein into a diet which is through animal meat. She explains that vegetarians and vegans will have to supplement with protein powders and other foods.
“You have to think about okay where do I get my protein? Animal meat is probably the best sources because essential amino acids are very highly concentrated in poultry and meat and fish.
If you are a vegetarian or a vegan you just have to work very hard and supplement with protein powders and stuff to get that amino acids composition up.”
Unfortunately, when individuals do not consume enough protein, the body pulls amino acids from the skeletal system, which results in unwanted muscle atrophy.
“If you are really trying to hit that 1.2-1.6 grams per kilogram body weight, that’s very important. It is a lot of protein. It is actually a lot of protein especially for people who are physically active. You might be going well why is that so important? well, if you are constantly pulling amino acids from your muscle it’s like pulling from your retirement fund early” Dr. Rhonda Patrick explained.
“Our muscle mass peak is probably around 20 to 30 years old is when we peak muscle mass. After 30 as you get into 40 you start going down and then you know you get to 50 even more so it gets harder.”
Dr. Rhonda Patrick reveals that resistance training and eating the appropriate amounts of protein can help slow down the natural loss of muscle mass and strength by creating a ‘reservoir’ earlier in life.
“Resistance training is a way to stimulate skeletal muscle protein synthesis and increase muscle mass but also muscle strength. Both of those decline with age.”
“You want to try to build up that muscle mass reservoir earlier in life kinda like you do with your retirement fund because you are going to be pulling from it later in life even if you are working out because you just lose more muscle mass and strength as you age. It is just part of the aging process and so the more you can kinda counter that with resistance training and making sure you are getting enough protein then the better off you are going to be.”
Dr. Rhonda Patrick isn’t the only qualified mind to speak on the benefits of adequate protein intake. Bodybuilding legend and health expert Arnold Schwarzenegger has also tackled the subject, emphasizing that people need more protein than what is recommended:
“The “sweet spot” of daily protein intake for clinical health, body composition, and exercise performance requires you to eat 100 percent more protein per day than what’s suggested by the outdated RDA recommendation” Schwarzenegger shared.
As for fellow health and fitness expert Dr. Brad Schoenfeld, he emphasized the importance of athletes acquiring their protein as soon as possible following workouts.
“I do say, when I’m coaching bodybuilders, get your protein in as quickly as you can after a workout. You don’t have to stress and slam your shake after you finish your last set but this is where even small amounts of gains can be the difference between winning and losing a competition.”
Given the muscle-building and performance benefits of protein, Dr. Rhonda Patrick believes individuals would generally benefit from increasing their intake. As for those with higher fitness levels, it plays an even more significant role on muscle atrophy.
To watch the full video, click the link below:
You can also follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and
YouTube for even more content.
