By Dr. Colin Michie
We continually renew skin, hair, nails, even bones. Repairs, growing and building new muscles use proteins. Proteins are built from 20 amino acids. We can make many of these, but 9 essential amino acids have to be part of our diet.
Supplying enough amino acids requires eating about 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight (0.36 g per lb) each day. This comes to about 60 grams for a 75 kg individual. If you are logging many gym hours, protein requirements should increase to 1.6-2.2 grams per kilo. Insufficient protein causes loss of muscle over time. Too much drives metabolisms to convert surplus into glucose which may be stored.
We do not store protein, and eating more protein alone does not bulk up muscles. Protein supports the needs from life’s varied activities each day. (Those using anabolic steroids to build their muscles will be recommended extra protein. Medical advice would be useful in this situation).
It is difficult to lose weight on a high protein diet. Waste products from proteins are passed into the urine by the kidneys. Eating more than the recommended amounts of protein provides significant workouts for the kidneys. In those over 60 years old, kidneys typically function less effectively, protein loads can cause illness.
Marketing in magazines, supermarkets and the media all suggests increasing dietary protein is necessary and good. Protein intakes are increasing in the US and among gym users. The global protein bar market, for instance, was valued at just under $5 billion in 2023; the protein supplements market over $30 billion in 2025. However, surveys suggest that those using protein supplements rarely know of the consequences of these extra nutrients.
We cannot easily detect whether we are eating too little or too much protein. Keeping track of your weight and diet will help monitor some effects of taking a safe protein supplement. Protein supplements are pricey and there is little published relating to their benefits or their long-term effects – unlike fitness and muscle-building exercises. As a medical treatment, protein supplements effectively support healing after burns or major trauma, or poor appetites related to chemotherapy.
As approximate examples to help assess your intake, the protein in an 8oz steak is between 48g (in a ribeye) and 56g (in a filet mignon). An egg has between 5g and 8g of protein; 100g moringa powder 25g of protein; 100g chickpeas 20g of protein; a single cricket (that weighs about 1g) has 0.6g of protein.
If you have enough protein in your diet, how important are their sources? After all, digestion breaks them down into their amino acids, whether they are from sausage, bone broth, milk, wheat, algae, mushrooms or insects. As long as those 9 essential amino acids are provided at some point every few days, adult metabolisms function normally.
Meat, dairy, fish, eggs and insects contain all 9. So do soya products, quinoa, chia seeds, moringa, hemp seeds, amaranth, buckwheat and spirulina algae. Various vegan combinations deliver all the essential amino acids too. Beans used in rice and peas, for instance, or spreading chickpea hummus or peanut butter on whole wheat bread deliver the complete set. Ezekiel bread made with sprouted grains and legumes is a high protein loaf that provides complete protein.
Proteins are always accompanied by many other compounds in foods. For instance, in animal sources, fats and cholesterol are common, fibre is absent. Plant sources provide no cholesterol, but usually have fibre and a host of bioactive molecules including antioxidants. This translates to the findings that plant protein diets are associated with a lower risk of chronic diseases, improved bowel function and a longer lifespan.
Plant proteins are often less digestible because of their different structures and anti-nutrients. Cooks employ soaking, sprouting, fermentation, or pressure cooking to get around these hurdles. Processing plant proteins has recently created novel vegan foods, as well as vegan collagen for beauty face creams. Plant-based protein powders based on soya, rice or hemp are better for the planet’s ecosystems, and support muscle-developing too.
Fermented foods contain unexpectedly large numbers of proteins from the various organisms involved in their preparation. Of the 1573 proteins in brie cheese, for example, a recent analysis unexpectedly found that 1023 were made by the fermenting microbes, and not by the cow that originally provided the milk. Fermented foods support gut immune systems and microbiomes, so perhaps dedicated microbes could be deployed to improve or further enhance foods such as yoghurts or sourdough starters.
Apart from taking into account those wider planetary impacts of supplying and delivering proteins to our kitchens, we could usefully review and adapt our protein intakes. Crickets (and locusts) could be counted out, but plant proteins – in correct amounts – with their bountiful health advantages could really enrich our menus, while also supporting long-term health.
Dr. Colin Michie specializes in paediatrics, nutrition, and immunology. Michie has worked in the UK, southern Africa and Gaza as a paediatrician and educator and was the associate Academic Dean for the American University of the Caribbean Medical School in Sint Maarten.
Useful resources: nsf.org/consumer-resources/articles/supplement-vitamin-certification ~ bhf.org.uk/informationsupport/heart-matters-magazine/nutrition/protein
