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Are High Protein Diets Bad for You?

Dieters have been introduced to low-fat diets, low-carb diets, and now they are being encouraged to follow high-protein diets. Although for years dieters were warned about the "dangers" of protein, current dieting theory has established that not only are high-protein diets safe, but they are effective for losing fat at a fairly substantial rate.

  1. Understanding Protein

    • Protein is one of the three basic macronutrients, along with fats and carbohydrates. Protein is the building block that your body uses to create and repair cells and tissue. Recommended protein intake varies per individual, depending on his lifestyle. For example, a sedentary individual's body will have to perform less "rebuilding" than a professional athlete's or weightlifter's. Ergo, a sedentary individual's diet requires less protein on the whole.

    Defining High Protein

    • High protein can be generally defined as an amount greater than what the individual requires to carry out typical body repair functions. The American Dietetics Association recommends a baseline daily intake of at least 0.4 grams of protein per pound of body weight for sedentary individuals. For endurance athletes, the recommended amount falls between 0.55 and 0.65 grams per pound of body weight. For weight trainers, at least 0.65 to 0.8 grams is recommended. Anything higher than your recommended intake falls into the realm of a high-protein diet.

    High-Protein Misconceptions

    • For years, high-protein diets were generally considered to be bad for your health, owing to a number of studies that concluded the diets had a negative impact on kidney function. You might have heard the common misconception that high protein diets "are hard on the kidneys." What you probably did not know is that these studies were conducted on individuals who already had pre-existing kidney conditions.

    High-Protein Reality

    • High-protein diets pose little to no risk for individuals who are not already suffering from a pre-existing kidney condition. According to the Mayo Clinic, "high-protein diets are generally well-tolerated by healthy adults." The only risk inherent to high-protein diets is that you might substitute out other essential items such as fruits, vegetables and some whole grains to ingest more protein, leading to unbalanced nutrition.

    Considerations

    • If high-protein diets truly caused kidney failure, you might expect to see a higher-than-average rate of kidney disease among groups such as professional bodybuilders (who consume high-protein diets for years on end), or in hunter-gatherer tribes that make meat a substantial portion of their diet (such as Eskimos). But there is no statistically compelling evidence that shows a higher rate of kidney disease in any of these groups. The bottom line is high-protein diets are safe for healthy adults.

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