Protein & Low Carb Diets
What is protein?
The name protein comes from the Greek “prota”, meaning “of primary importance” and were first described and named by Jöns Jakob Berzelius in 1838. However, their central role in living organisms was not fully appreciated until 1926, when James B. Sumner showed that the enzyme urease was a protein. The first protein structures to be solved included insulin and myoglobin; the first was by Sir Frederick Sanger who won a 1958 Nobel Prize for it, and the second by Max Perutz and Sir John Cowdery Kendrew in 1958. Both proteins’ three-dimensional structures were amongst the first determined by x-ray diffraction analysis; the myoglobin structure won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for its discoverers. Laura Dolson writes about protein, “Protein is one of the basic building blocks of the human body, being about 16% of our total body weight. Muscle, hair, skin, and connective tissue are mainly made up of protein – however, protein plays a major role in all of the cells and most of the fluids in our bodies. In addition, many our bodies’ important chemicals - enzymes, hormones, neurotransmitters, and even our DNA - are at least partially made up of protein. Although our bodies are good at “recycling” protein, we use up protein constantly, so it is important to continually replace it.”
Why does my body need protein?
Rita Preece has this to say about protein, “Protein is an important part of muscle fibre, cell walls, skin, nails and hair. You are losing protein all the time as you shed dead skin cells, nails and hair and it has to be replaced. At times your body needs more protein, like when you’re growing, when you’re pregnant or breast-feeding, or when wounds are healing. Protein is a source of energy for your body and the amino acids are used to make things like adrenaline and antibodies to fight disease.”
“Our protein needs depend on our age, size, and activity level. The standard method used by nutritionists to estimate our minimum daily protein requirement is to multiply the body weight in kilograms by .8, or weight in pounds by .37. This is the number of grams of protein that should be the daily minimum. According to this method, a person weighing 150 lbs. should eat 55 grams of protein per day, a 200 lb. person should get 74 grams, and a 250 lb. person, 92 grams.” via Low Carb Diets
Our protein needs depend on our age, size, and activity level. Health authorities in the U.S.A., Canada and Australia recommend a daily intake of 0.75 - 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of bodyweight. If you weigh 80 kilograms, that’s 60 grams of protein a day. High protein (or low carbohydrate) diets will recommend more.
Is it dangerous to eat too much protein?
There are risks associated with following a high protein diet for a long time. Your kidneys have to collect and filter more toxic byproducts. This may affect the function of your kidneys, particularly if you have diabetes. It is possible for calcium to be lost from your body. If animal products are your main source of protein, you should avoid those that are high in saturated fats and cholesterol because they will increase the risk of a number of diseases including heart disease.
