Amanda Wilde (Host): How much protein should we eat in a day? What happens if we're getting too much or too little? We'll get the facts on protein from Jana Wieser, Registered Dietitian and Nutrition Therapy Director at Pullman Regional Hospital. Welcome, Jana. Thank you for sharing your expertise today on protein intake.

Jana Wieser, MS, RD, CD: Thank you so much for having me. I'm really happy to be here.

Host: Well, it's great to have an expert on this because it's in the media all the time, but it's still, I think, confusing to many of us. We know our bodies need protein to stay healthy, but many of us don't understand how we should think about protein consumption. What is protein and what does it do for the human body?

Jana Wieser, MS, RD, CD: Yes, and I can completely understand that confusion. There are a lot of voices coming at us in the media, and so I'm really happy to be here to share some facts about protein, and, how much you need, and everything like that. So protein is one of the three major macronutrients that we need to give us energy.

So you're thinking carbohydrates, fat, and proteins. And proteins are made up of amino acids that are linked together and you know, when we think about protein, we usually think about muscles and getting those gains and stuff, but protein really provides a lot of different things for our bodies.

They provide the amino acids to build enzymes that aid in digestion and blood clotting. They help build hormones that help us regulate metabolic processes. They make up muscle fibers, but they also help with our skin and bone and other connective tissues. And then they also help produce antibodies that fight against infection. So a really important thing to make sure we're getting enough of throughout the day.

Host: Well, how can someone figure out how much protein they should be eating each day?

Jana Wieser, MS, RD, CD: Yeah, so that is going to depend on a lot of factors like your age, your activity level, things like that, your health, but generally, the very baseline amount we consider about 0.8 grams per kilogram of your weight per day. And that's really for people that are not active, just sedentary to provide for all those metabolic processes. But for most adults, eating a gram to 1.2 grams per kilogram a day is gonna be a pretty good baseline for them.

If you're somebody that's more active or doing a lot of weight lifting or training for something, you may need even more than that, like 1.2 to 1.6, and then the research shows that after about 1.6 grams per kilogram, you're gonna see real diminishing returns.

Host: What are some rich sources of protein? I know when I was vegetarian, people constantly asked me where I was getting my protein and it really wasn't an issue, but that's kind of one of those common misconceptions, isn't it?

Jana Wieser, MS, RD, CD: So plant products are a great source of protein. You can get them from grains, legumes, nuts, seeds, things like that, lentils, and then obviously animal products like meat, poultry, fish, and dairy products. And by dairy products, I mean things like milk, yogurt, eggs, and cottage cheese. Things like sour cream or butter don't really contribute to protein.

Host: Is there a quality difference between animal and plant based sources of protein?

Jana Wieser, MS, RD, CD: So I think when you think about quality, I want to address the amino acid content. And that's where you'll hear words like high quality or low quality. But really it's, just that plant sources of protein don't have all of the essential amino acids. So it's really important to make sure you're getting a variety of plants in your diet if you're not using any animal sources of protein, but it's still a perfectly healthy and good way to get protein. And you can get all the protein you need from plants.

Host: So you want to get the right amount of protein in your body, but you always hear about risks of not getting enough protein or getting too much protein. So can we address both of those first, like the risks of not consuming enough protein?

Jana Wieser, MS, RD, CD: So I would say like most Americans probably do get enough protein. Probably the populations that are most at risk are teenage girls and the elderly, or those that are struggling with food insecurity. But, if you're not getting enough protein, obviously you're not going to be developing muscles.

You might have some muscle wasting. You could also have bone loss. You could have changes to your skin or nails or hair. If you had any sort of wound, you could have difficulty with wound healing. So just things like that. Your immune system could be depressed. So, it is very important to get enough.

And like I said, that baseline is the 0.8 grams per kilogram, but really 1 to 1.2 grams would be even better for most people.

Host: So you really have to make sure not to starve your body of protein and that can have all kinds of other effects. Can you consume too much protein? Are there any risks associated with over consuming protein?

Jana Wieser, MS, RD, CD: So for the normal healthy adults, there aren't a lot of risks in research right now that show too much protein can be harmful. If you have some other medical history, like high blood pressure or diabetes that would put you at risk for chronic kidney disease, or if you do have chronic kidney disease, eating too much protein could definitely cause your kidneys to decline more quickly.

It could also just for the general population, put you at risk for kidney stones. But the other thing that I would say is like, when you're eating it really depends on what you're eating, because you don't eat protein in a vacuum. You eat animal sources or plant sources, and those foods come with different qualities, like animal sources are going to be higher in fat, generally, and higher in saturated fat, and plant sources are going to be higher in fiber.

And so, if you're eating a lot of animal sources of protein, you are most likely going to be higher at risk for cardiovascular disease and cancer.

And I'm talking about eating animal sources on a daily basis.

Host: Yeah, I was just going to ask you about that, but you've answered that question. The protein rich foods we love might also come with high amounts of cholesterol or calories or saturated fats.

Jana Wieser, MS, RD, CD: Yes, so it's important to consider the source of your protein. We haven't seen these effects with plant proteins as much. They have a much more health protective and longevity promoting effect. I do want to say, I believe that all foods can fit. It's just the quantity and the pattern matters.

Host: Jana, you're very focused on nutrition as a part of treatment and healing in your work. Is there anything else you'd like to add about protein intake?

Jana Wieser, MS, RD, CD: Yeah, I think something that could be helpful, especially in our normal diet patterns for Americans is a lot of times we eat a lot of protein at night, but really trying to space that more throughout the day, like getting 20 or 30 grams in the morning, 20 grams at lunch and 20 grams at dinner, or like, even if it's less, having some snacks throughout the day, that can all contribute to your protein consumption and can really help your body absorb it better throughout the day.

It really can't absorb more than 20 to 40 grams at one time. So having a huge dinner meal with like, if you're a meat eater, a huge steak, you're really not going to be able to absorb as much as you're eating. And so just really trying to space it throughout the day, is a good way to make sure you're getting enough and you're absorbing that and utilizing it well.

Host: Balancing it throughout the day. The word balance seems to come back a lot when it comes to nutrition.

Jana Wieser, MS, RD, CD: I said at the beginning, I'm talking to normal healthy adults, but if you have any medical history, that's what dietitians are trained to do is to work with you and your medical history and your goals and help you have the best possible life and help you adjust your eating patterns to help you to thrive.

So, if you have questions about that or you're just, you're starting a training program and you want to run a marathon or start lifting and stuff like that, we would love to walk alongside you with that and help you.

Host: And this is a good introduction. Thank you, Jana, for this really easy and accessible guide to protein consumption.

Jana Wieser, MS, RD, CD: Well, thank you so much for having me. It was really fun.

Host: Jana Wieser is a Registered Dietitian and Nutrition Therapy Director at Pullman Regional Hospital. To learn more about nutrition therapy services at Pullman Regional, visit PullmanRegional.org/nutrition. You can also find providers and services at PullmanRegional.org. This has been the Health Podcast from Pullman Regional Hospital.