6 reasons protein is so important for your health and weight management
By Emily Smith BSc(NutrSc) BA (Media & Comm) - Nutritionist and Health Content Creator
Protein, alongside carbohydrates and fats, is a key macronutrient required by every cell in your body to grow, repair and function optimally. Protein plays so many important and fundamental roles in your health - far beyond simply supporting muscle growth and strength, as many people believe. If you’re not getting enough protein in your diet, this can have serious consequences for your health, including compromising your immune system function, weight management and metabolism.
Let’s dive into what protein actually is, why it’s so crucial for your health, and how to ensure you’re getting enough protein in your diet for optimal health.
What is protein?
Proteins are made up of some combination of 20 different amino acids, also known as the “building blocks” of protein. These amino acids come together in different sequences to form proteins, which in turn are required for all chemical reactions in your body, regulate gene expression, provide essential structural elements to all your cells, and form the major components of your muscles - amongst other roles.
Your body needs both essential and non-essential amino acids. Essential amino acids can’t be made by your body, so you need to obtain them through your diet. There are nine essential amino acids, and 11 non-essential, which can be made by your body and therefore aren’t necessary to get from your diet.
When it comes to including protein in your diet, there are both complete and incomplete protein sources. Complete sources of protein contain all the nine essential amino acids (those which your body can’t make on its own), and can be considered “high quality” sources of protein. These are mostly animal-based proteins, including chicken, fish, eggs, dairy and meat, but also include some plant foods such as soy products, like tofu and edamame. Incomplete sources, on the other hand, lack one or more of the essential amino acids, so are considered “lower quality” protein sources. These include plant-based foods such as nuts and seeds, legumes and lentils, and wholegrains. However it’s important to note that you can combine incomplete sources of protein to form complete sources - for example eating peanut butter on whole grain bread provides you with all nine essential amino acids. These combinations are called “complementary proteins”, and still ensure your body is provided with all the essential amino acids it requires to build proteins.
Why is protein so important?
Protein is required by every cell in your body to grow, repair and function normally. It helps to build and support your muscles, maintains normal immune system function, and can also provide your body with a source of energy when required - amongst many other important roles. In addition to this, protein plays a huge role in helping to manage your weight and hunger levels, assists in injury repair, facilitates the production of important hormones and enzymes in your body, and protects your bone health. Let’s get into the details.
Protein helps to regulate your hunger and supports weight management.
Protein is the most satiating, or satisfying, of all the macronutrients. This means when you’re including enough protein in your daily diet, and spreading your intake across the duration of the day, you’re more likely to feel fuller for longer after each meal, and less likely to overeat. This is largely because protein has a two-pronged effect on hunger. It reduces your production of your hunger hormone, ghrelin, and increases your levels of GLP-1, CCK and peptide YY, or your fullness hormones, all of which help you feel satisfied after a meal.
When you feel more satiated after your meals, you’re far less likely to experience sugar cravings or overeat at mealtimes. Similarly, you’re less reliant on snacking - especially on high-energy, sugary or fatty foods between meals, meaning it’s much easier to manage your weight and prevent weight gain.
One study found that overweight women who increased their protein intake from 15% to 30% of their daily energy intake ate significantly less calories each day, even without consciously restricting any foods or cutting portion sizes. Another study found overweight men who increased their protein intake experienced a 60% reduction in sugar cravings and their desire to snack each night halved. As you can see, the impact of protein on your appetite is very powerful!
To experience these satiety benefits for yourself, try eating a high-protein breakfast - which has been shown to prevent cravings and overeating throughout the day - and consider replacing some of your carbs and fats in each meal with a little extra protein. That does not mean demonising or eliminating carbs or fats - it just means you might slightly reduce your serving sizes of these food groups, and add in a little more protein at each meal or snack. If you’re a snacker, adding a source of protein to your snacks will also help you feel more satisfied after snacking, and prevent you reaching for sugary foods that will spike your energy levels briefly, before bringing them crashing back down shortly afterwards.
The thermic effect of protein.
The thermic effect of food refers to the ability of your body to burn energy or calories as it digests, absorbs and stores the nutrients your food contains after you eat. Your body uses energy to carry out this process, but different food groups require different amounts of energy to be broken down and absorbed.
Protein, interestingly, has the highest thermic effect of all the macronutrients, meaning your body burns significantly more calories breaking it down than it does for fats or carbs. Protein requires 20-30% of the energy content of the protein-rich food you’re eating to digest, while carbohydrates use 5-10%, and fats only 0-3%. This is because the metabolising of protein requires much more energy from your body’s cells. As a result, eating more protein can boost your metabolism for a short period after eating, and this again contributes to your feelings of being more satisfied and full after eating protein-rich foods or meals.
Depending on your protein intake, the thermic effect of protein can amount to your body burning additional calories each day, even with absolutely no change in your activity level or exercise, compared to if you ate a diet lower in protein.
Protein helps your body repair.
Eating enough protein helps your body repair itself if you’re experiencing injury or illness. This is because proteins are the foundation, or building blocks, for your tissues and organs. Studies show that eating more protein when you’re injured can actually speed up the recovery process. Eating adequate protein during injury rehabilitation and healing can also help to prevent your muscles from breaking down or wasting away. For this reason, athletes or highly active people in particular are recommended to prioritise protein intake, to prevent injury and support healing and recovery between sessions.
Protein supports lean muscle mass and strength.
As well as being the building blocks of your organs and tissues, proteins are the key “ingredients” for your muscles. Eating enough protein helps you maintain your muscle mass, and allows you to increase your strength and lean muscle mass when you regularly do resistance training. If you’re doing strength or resistance training and looking to gain muscle, you need to be eating adequate protein in order to achieve this. Plenty of studies have shown that eating more protein allows you to gain muscle mass and strength more quickly when you’re resistance training, and can prevent muscle loss during weight loss too. Whereas if you’re not eating enough protein while you’re actively trying to lose weight, you can end up losing muscle mass too.
Another important consideration is the impact of ageing on muscle mass and strength. As you age, your muscles gradually weaken over time. However, eating sufficient protein is one of the most effective ways to reduce and slow age-related muscle deterioration and prevent frailty and bone/muscle weaknesses - when done in conjunction with resistance training. So protein isn’t just important for young guns wanting to muscle up - it’s equally important throughout all life stages, arguably even more so as you age.
It benefits your bone health.
Protein also has extensive benefits for your bone health, with studies showing that people who eat more protein appear to better maintain their bone mass as they age (when they also have adequate calcium levels), putting them at a lower risk of osteoporosis and bone fractures.
Women in particular, who experience a much greater risk of osteoporosis after menopause, can benefit from eating plenty of protein (at least 1 g of protein per kilogram of bodyweight daily) and regularly participating in resistance training.
Protein plays a role in many essential body functions and processes.
Not only does your body use amino acids and proteins to build and repair your muscles, bones, organs and tissues, but the amino acids in proteins are also required to produce many hormones and enzymes in your body. For example, proteins are required for the production of hormones and enzymes responsible for maintaining your body’s healthy fluid and acid-base balance, facilitating nutrient transport, allowing wound healing and tissue repair, and providing your body with a source of energy if you’re not getting enough from carbohydrates and fats. If you’re not eating enough protein from dietary sources, your body’s ability to produce essential hormones like oestrogen, insulin and your thyroid hormones may be compromised, and your hormone levels can be thrown out of balance.
So as you can see, protein is so important - for many more functions than you probably realised!
So how much protein do you actually need?
Your individual protein requirements depend on your gender, age, height, weight and level of physical activity, so it’s always a good idea to work with a dietitian or nutritionist to determine your personal needs if you’re unsure. As a guide, here are the approximate requirements for protein:
Adult women require around 0.75 g of protein per kilogram of bodyweight daily
Adult men need around 0.84 g of protein per kilo of bodyweight each day
Pregnant and breastfeeding women, or women and men over age 70 need around 1 g per kilogram of bodyweight
Children’s requirements vary depending on their age and weight. Here are the Australian Nutrient Guidelines for reference.
The good news is that most people are able to achieve this without too much planning or thought. After all, many of the carbohydrates or fats you eat often contain a little bit of protein - even if you’re unaware of this fact. For example, while you’d probably consider cheese to be a source of fat, it contains various quantities of protein - as do foods like beans, quinoa, green peas, nuts and seeds. Of course, it can be more difficult to get enough protein if you’re following a vegetarian or vegan diet, so this may require a little more planning.
If you’re unsure whether you’re getting enough protein in your diet, look out for these warning signs and symptoms of protein deficiency:
Muscle or bone wastage, which can cause problems with physical function, reduced strength, and more falls or injuries
Skin or hair changes
Weight changes
Fluid build ups (oedema)
Anaemia or very low iron levels
Slow growth in children.
Again, protein deficiency is quite uncommon. If you’re ill or older, you do have an increased risk of protein deficiency, so you may need to monitor your dietary intake and prioritise high-protein foods in each of your meals. Especially for adults over the age of 50, it’s really important to combine your increased protein intake with ongoing resistance training to prevent muscle wastage and preserve strength.
How to eat more protein
Some tips for easily increasing your protein intake to support muscle gains, prevent injury and muscle wastage, support immune system function and metabolism and manage your weight and hunger levels include:
Prioritise high quality, complete sources of protein (or look at combining incomplete sources to ensure you’re getting all the essential amino acids from your diet - see above if you’re unsure what this means!)
Eat more eggs! These are a great source of complete protein, suitable for most vegetarians too, and are very easy to add into snacks and meals - think eggs on toast, omelettes, boiled eggs as a snack etc.
Add a source of protein to your snacks, as well as your meals. This can mean snacking on Greek yoghurt, or adding nuts and seeds to your snacks.
Eat more legumes and whole grains such as quinoa. Adding these to your main meals is an excellent way to add more protein to your diet - and they have a whole bunch of other health benefits too.
Spread your protein intake across your entire day, starting with a high-protein breakfast. This helps manage your appetite and cravings throughout the duration of the day, and makes it much easier to meet your protein requirements rather than cramming in as much protein as you can in one or two meals.
Eat a high-protein meal after each workout. This supports muscle synthesis, growth and repair, and allows you to recover properly between sessions.
Should you use protein powders or supplements?
Ideally, you want to get the protein you need for optimal health from your diet first and foremost. That means relying on animal proteins, and plant-based sources including soy products and quinoa to meet your daily requirements.
However, for some people this can be more challenging than others - for example, athletes and ageing adults who have higher protein requirements, or anyone following a vegetarian or vegan diet. In these instances, protein powders or supplements may be useful in complementing your dietary intake to ensure you’re getting as much protein as you need. There are many different types of protein powders and supplements available, such as vegan, whey, WPI, and more, so consult a nutritionist or dietitian to determine which is the best option for you and your individual needs and goals.
There you have it, a comprehensive list of the ways in which protein is essential for your health, and why it’s so very important to prioritise it in each of your meals and snacks throughout the day. Not only is protein essential for weight management, metabolism, feeling full and supporting repair and immune system function, it also helps strengthen your bones and muscles, and prevents age-related muscle wastage and decline.
While protein is a crucial macronutrient and should be a key element in your diet, it’s important to remember that carbs and fats are equally as essential for your health. All three macronutrients play unique and vital roles in your body’s health and function, which is why following a balanced diet is so important. So resist the diet culture messaging telling you to prioritise one macronutrient and eliminate another, and remember that the more variety and balance you can incorporate into your diet, the healthier you’ll be. If you want to learn more about what a balanced and healthy diet looks like, check out this article on the Mediterranean diet - it includes everything you need to know about the diet, and why it’s so popular. Until then, prioritise protein (amongst carbs and fats too) and experience the endless health benefits it achieves for yourself.
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About Protein:
Protein is essential for your diet due to its numerous health benefits. It plays a crucial role in muscle growth, aiding in the repair and development of muscle tissues. Protein is also vital for weight management, helping to control hunger and boost metabolism. It provides a steady source of energy, maintaining stamina throughout the day. Consuming adequate protein supports overall health by contributing to immune function and hormone regulation. Including protein-rich foods, such as lean meats, dairy, legumes, and plant-based sources, ensures you meet your daily protein requirements for optimal health and well-being.
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