A doctor shared advice on how much protein women should be eating every day (Image: Getty)
A doctor has shared exactly how much of a certain food women should be eating daily. According to the expert, you should be eating protein “through the day”.
Speaking on his No Appointment Necessary podcast, Doctor Amir Khan, who is also known for his appearances on ITV, explained how much protein the average 45-year-old woman should eat. Proteins are vital macronutrients that act as the building blocks for body tissues, including muscle, skin, and hair.
It is found in various foods, including meat, fish, eggs, dairy, beans, lentils, and soy. However, it can be hard to know exactly how much protein we should be eating every day – and this will depend on a range of factors, including your age and how much you exercise.
In the podcast episode, Dr Khan’s co-host Cherry Healey asked him: “How much protein? I’m 45 years old. Break it down.”
Dr Khan responded: “You are a typical kind of 45-year-old lady who looks after herself and wants to eat the right amount of protein, right?”
How much you should eat will depend on your weight and how much physical activity you do. Dr Khan continued: “If you’re exercising regularly, particularly resistance training, you probably need to go from 1.2 grams per kilo to about 1.5 grams per kilo.
“So that for you will be about 80g of protein per day, right?” Cherry then asked how much 80g of protein should look like.
He continued: “So what it shouldn’t look like is stuffing your face with protein straight after the gym and saying, ‘Right, I’ve had my protein for the day and that’s that.
“It’s about spreading protein out through the day. Rather than kind of going, ‘Oh I need the protein powder, I need my protein bar, and I need my whey, all of that kind of thing.
“It’s about spreading it out through the day. That’s the key thing.”
Experts at the Mayo Clinic in the US support Dr Khan’s advice that your protein intake depends on your age and how much exercise you do. They said: “The recommended dietary allowance to prevent deficiency for an average sedentary adult is 0.8 grams per kilogram of body weight.
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“For example, a person who weighs 165 pounds, or 75 kilograms, should consume 60 grams of protein per day.” They warned that this should increase if you’re over the age of 40.
“Once you’re between the ages of 40 and 50, sarcopenia – losing muscle mass as you age – begins to set in,” they said. “To prevent this and to maintain independence and quality of life, your protein needs increase to about 1-1.2 grams per kilogram or 75-90 grams per day for a 165-pound person.”
On top of this, they acknowledged that people who exercise regularly also have “higher needs”. They said:” People who regularly lift weights or are training for a running or cycling event need 1.2-1.7 grams per kilogram.”
They also warned that you can eat too much protein: “Excessive protein intake would be more than two grams per kilogram of body weight each day.”
The team at Harvard Health noted the following as some of the best sources of protein:
- Beans, peas, and lentils
- Nuts and seeds such as walnuts, pumpkin seeds
- Lean meats such as chicken and turkey
- Fish such as salmon and tuna
- Dairy products such as milk and yoghurt
- Soy products such as tofu
Common signs that you are deficient in protein include brittle hair and nails, feeling weak or hungry, getting sick often, mood changes, and muscle weakness.
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