Proteins are fundamental building units of the human body. They are made up from smaller building blocks called amino acids. Protein takes up about 16 percent of our total body weight as the second most plentiful substance after water. Almost 2/3 of all proteins are located in the skeletal muscles. The rest is distributed amongst internal organs, blood, skin, hair, nails, etc.

Amino Acids and Protein Synthesis

To synthesize (build) proteins in these structures, the body requires 20 amino acids. Only 12 of them are produced in the body: Alanine, Aspartate, Cysteine, Glutamate, Glutamine, Glycine, Proline, Serine, Asparagine, Arginine, Histidine, and Tyrosine. The remaining 8 can’t be manufactured by our own body so they must be a mandatory part of our diet (food and/or supplements). For that reason they are called essential amino acids: Valine, Leucine, Isoleucine, Lysine, Phenylalanine, Methionine, Threonine, and Tryptophan. We need both essential and non-essential to synthesize proteins, or in other words, to build muscle. To ensure intake of all necessary amino acids you need to know what foods are the best sources of protein. This is especially important if you are a vegetarian solely relying on vegetarian protein sources.

How Much Protein per Day?

• The RDA or Recommended Dietary Allowance (average daily dietary protein intake level that is sufficient to meet the nutrient requirement of an average adult person) for protein is 0.8 grams per kilogram of body weight or approximately 0.36 grams per pound of body weight.
• NSCA or National Strength and Conditioning Association advises 0.88 to 1.32 grams per kg (0.4 to 0.6 grams per lb) of bodyweight for physically active people and up to 1.76 grams per kg (0.8 grams per lb) of bodyweight for serious athletes.
• In professional bodybuilding recommended protein intake numbers go even higher, as much as up to 4 g/kg, depending on the specific training cycle.

So, as you can see, there are various schools of thought, respectable or not, and each of them has its own opinion on this matter. You are probably wondering which to believe. Unfortunately there is no straightforward answer because it all depends on your level of preparedness, intake of other nutrients, and training intensity and volume (endurance, speed, strength…). Essentially, the more and harder you exercise, the greater daily protein intake you will require. However, high protein diet (taking too much protein) will not help you build muscle additionally.

Conclusion and Recommendations

I have experimented with various protein intakes and my answer to the question of how much protein per day is needed is as follows.

• 0.8 – 1.5 g/kg (Inactive people are well settled with the RDA standard).
• 1.8 – 2.2 g/kg (Active people engaged in either endurance or strength training, like powerlifting, to build and recuperate muscle, require around 2 g/kg of bodyweight per day. I want to stress this out one more time for those who don’t believe that such small protein intake can produce the best results. This amount is more than enough, although it needs to be accompanied by proper carbohydrate intake to prevent the protein being used for energy).
• 2.2 – 2.5 g/kg (Active people who are looking to maintain or gain muscle while losing fat at the same time, may require up to 2.5 g/kg of bodyweight per day, but no more than that)!

Besides figuring out how much protein per day do you need, an important thing is to maximize the utilization of it by choosing proper foods and knowing when to take protein.

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