Protein: How Much You Actually Need, and Where the Numbers Come From
Protein is the one macronutrient almost everyone is now trying to eat more of, and also the one where the official recommendation is most often misunderstood.
What the official number means
The widely cited figure is about 0.8 g per kg of body weight per day for adults.
The important detail is what that number was derived for. It is a recommended dietary allowance, set to meet the needs of nearly all healthy people to prevent deficiency. It is a floor, not a target, and it was never intended to describe the intake that optimises muscle maintenance, satiety, or healthy ageing.
For a 70 kg adult, that is about 56 g a day.
What the evidence supports beyond the minimum
Ordinary healthy adults: roughly 1.0 to 1.2 g/kg provides a sensible margin.
Adults doing resistance training: roughly 1.6 g/kg, with evidence suggesting little additional benefit for muscle gain beyond about 2.2 g/kg in most people.
Adults in a calorie deficit losing weight: higher, roughly 1.2 to 1.6 g/kg or more, because protein preserves lean mass during weight loss and increases satiety. This is one of the clearest practical applications.
Older adults: roughly 1.0 to 1.2 g/kg, and often higher. This matters because ageing muscle is less responsive to protein, a phenomenon called anabolic resistance, so older adults need more protein per meal to trigger the same muscle protein synthesis. Combined with resistance exercise, adequate protein is central to preventing sarcopenia, the muscle loss that drives frailty, falls and loss of independence.
In chronic kidney disease, protein intake is restricted and individualised under medical supervision. Do not increase protein without advice if your kidney function is impaired.
Distribution matters, not just the total
Muscle protein synthesis responds to a threshold dose at each meal rather than to the daily total alone. Roughly 25 to 40 g of quality protein per meal stimulates it, with the higher end more relevant in older adults.
The common pattern in most diets is a low-protein breakfast, a modest lunch and a large dinner. Spreading protein more evenly across three or four meals is a small change that materially improves the result, particularly for anyone over 50 or anyone training.
Quality and plant sources
Protein quality depends on the essential amino acid profile and digestibility. Animal sources are generally complete; most individual plant sources are lower in one or more essential amino acids, typically lysine in grains and methionine in legumes.
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In practice, this is easily solved. You do not need to combine proteins at every meal; eating a variety across the day is sufficient. Classic combinations such as rice with dal, or beans with bread, happen to work well because they complement each other.
Good plant sources: lentils, chickpeas, beans, soya and tofu, tempeh, seitan, peanuts and other nuts, seeds, quinoa, and dairy if you include it.
Plant-based eaters generally benefit from aiming slightly higher, around 10 per cent more, because of lower digestibility.
Do you need powder
No. Whole food can supply any realistic target.
Powder is convenient, not magical. It is genuinely useful when appetite is poor, when the target is high and hard to reach through food, for older adults who struggle with volume, and around training when a meal is impractical.
If you use it: whey is well digested and leucine-rich; casein digests slowly; soya is the plant option with the most complete profile; pea and rice blends work well together. Buy from a brand with third-party testing, because supplement quality varies and heavy metal contamination has been found in some products.
Is high protein dangerous
For people with healthy kidneys, higher protein intakes within the ranges above have not been shown to cause kidney damage. The concern originated in people who already had kidney disease, where restriction is appropriate, and was generalised beyond the evidence.
That said:
- Very high intakes can crowd out fibre, vegetables and other nutrients if the whole diet is not considered
- Adequate fluid is sensible
- People with existing kidney disease, a history of kidney stones, or liver disease should follow individual medical advice
- Processed meats carry their own risks independent of their protein content
Practical amounts
Approximate protein in a typical serving:
- 100 g cooked chicken breast: about 30 g
- 100 g cooked fish: about 22 to 25 g
- 2 eggs: about 12 g
- 200 g Greek yoghurt: about 18 to 20 g
- 100 g paneer: about 18 g
- 100 g tofu: about 12 g
- 1 cup cooked lentils or dal: about 16 to 18 g
- 1 cup cooked chickpeas: about 15 g
- 30 g almonds: about 6 g
- 100 g cooked rice: about 3 g
- 2 slices wholemeal bread: about 7 g
Most people underestimate how little protein is in grain-heavy meals and overestimate how much is in nuts.
A worked example
A 70 kg adult aiming for 1.4 g/kg needs about 98 g a day. One way:
- Breakfast: 2 eggs plus a cup of yoghurt — about 30 g
- Lunch: a cup of dal, a cup of rice, a cup of yoghurt — about 30 g
- Snack: a handful of roasted chana or a glass of milk — about 10 g
- Dinner: 120 g chicken, fish or paneer with vegetables and roti — about 35 g
That is ordinary food, not a regimen.
The short version
The 0.8 g/kg figure prevents deficiency; it does not describe an optimum. Most adults do better around 1.0 to 1.2, people losing weight or training around 1.2 to 1.6, and older adults at the higher end. Spread it across meals rather than loading dinner, use whole food first, and only restrict protein if a doctor has told you your kidneys require it.