Post By : 2025-05-24T18:05"

How to boost protein in your diet, without losing other nutrients. 5 tips from an expert"

Americans are in the middle of a love-affair with protein.

A stroll through almost any major supermarket — where food labels tout grams of protein — bears witness to the trend.

And why shouldn’t we be? Along with carbohydrates and fat, protein is one of the three main macronutrients that make up our diet. Furthermore, it is the only macronutrient that supplies us with amino acids, making it essential for survival.

Amino acids have a hand in many bodily processes, such as building and preserving muscle, making hormones and neurotransmitters, boosting the immune system, even maintaining healthy skin, hair and nails. And while our bodies can make some of the needed amino acids, it can’t make them all. Enter dietary protein.

What is the optimal amount you should be getting? The answer is that it’s complicated.

The US recommended dietary allowance (RDA) of protein for adults 18 and older is 0.8 grams per kilogram of body weight (or 0.36 grams per pound) per day, which translates to about 54 grams of protein for a 150-pound person, or 72 grams for someone weighing 200 pounds. Established jointly by the US Department of Agriculture and the US Department of Health and Human Services, the RDA represents the minimum amount of protein that must be eaten by a relatively sedentary person to meet the basic needs of their body.

There’s also something called the acceptable macronutrient distribution range (AMDR), which was developed by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to establish ranges for carbohydrates, fat and protein that are associated with a reduced risk of chronic diseases. Those guidelines, which put intake within the context of an entire diet, recommend protein make up between 10% and 35% of the calories in an adult’s diet. (The number of calories per day an adult should be getting depends on characteristics such as age, sex, weight and activity level.)

All that is to say, there is no exact number for the amount of protein that you should be getting. If you look at the statistics, most people in the United States are getting more than enough; if you listen to some influencers, you are not getting enough.

“I was in L.A., and I did some interviews there, and nine out of 10 people I asked, ‘What did you have for breakfast?’ — it was raw eggs or protein bars or protein smoothies. It was amazing,” Dr. Tim Spector told CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta recently, on his podcast Chasing Life. Spector is a genetic epidemiologist and researcher at King’s College London and founder of one of the world’s largest twins registries, TWINS UK.

“They’ve been sort of brainwashed into thinking that they have to move on to protein because they’re somehow deficient and they’re not going to be lean and have a six-pack and be running marathons (if they don’t),” he said. Spector is also author of several best-selling books including “Food for Life: The New Science of Eating Well.” (He’s also a co-founder of ZOE, a personalized nutrition app).

Spector has nothing at all against protein per se. “In general, protein is pretty good, particularly if it’s plant protein — but, nothing wrong with meat protein in moderation. But it’s what it replaces,” he said. “We need to start thinking much more holistically.”

“Studies have shown that Americans have more than enough protein,” he added. “There might be a few exceptions out there, but most people are already on twice the amount, and yet 90% of Americans are deficient in fiber.”

Spector said certain groups may require a bit more protein: older adults, people going through menopause or recovering from serious illness, those with restrictive diets and people who are “training incredibly hard.” But the rest of us — in the United States, at least — do just fine. (Many people in developing countries do not get adequate protein.)

If you find that you need it, how can you get some additional high-quality protein into your diet — while benefiting from other important nutrients and without relying on highly processed sweetened powders and snack bars? Here are Spector’s top five tips.

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