Can Too Much Protein Intake Make You Fat? The Debate Ends Here
“Can you consume too much protein? Is too much protein converted into fat? Will it help me build more muscle?” I usually face all these questions on a regular basis as a health coach. People seem to believe that a calorie is just a calorie and if they consume anything in excess, it is bound to get converted into fat. But this is just not true. You can't treat the calories coming from carbohydrates the same as protein. Another set of people seem to think that since protein builds muscle, more protein will build more muscle. Well, this is a myth as well. With this piece, I am going to clear all your doubts about this subject once and for all.
How Much Is Too Much Protein?
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People generally follow a protocol of consuming 1.8-2.0 gms of protein per Kilo of their body weight, per day. Even active individuals are recommended to have around 0.8 gm per kg protein of body weight. Excess consumption of protein means when you consume more than 2 gm per kg of your body weight in protein, generally. Now in this situation, it is believed that the excess protein in your diet will be converted into fat by a process called gluconeogenesis.
Does Excess Protein Get Converted Into Fat?
The argument behind this notion is that if you eat more calories from protein, the excess is converted into fat. Protein is metabolized into amino acids and ammonia. The leftover carbon compound gets converted into glucose which is used by the body as energy. Though it might sound good in theory, practical research has a different story to tell. Especially, with respect to trained athletes and people who lift heavy. A study was conducted by Exercise and Sports Sciences, Nova Southeastern University, San Francisco in which athletes consumed 5.5 times the recommended daily allowance of protein. They consumed 4.4gm /kg/day of protein, which is the highest that has been studied so far. The result was that even such a hyper caloric high protein diet has no effect on body composition and neither did it result in gain in fat mass. Excess calories that come from protein are not metabolized by the body in a manner similar to carbohydrates. So we can surely conclude that even if you consume more than the upper limit of your protein intake, you're not going to gain fat. Also, more protein will not build more muscles either.
When Is Protein Stored As Fat?
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Previous overfeeding studies were conducted on non-trained athletes who had a sedentary lifestyle. In those studies, the subjects had shown an increase in fat mass after consuming excess calories from protein. But in that case too, they were also consuming more calories from carbohydrates, so it would be wrong to just blame protein for an increase in fat mass. The truth is that it is very difficult and a rare situation where your body will start converting protein into glucose and store it as fat. Even gluconeogenesis is not a self-triggered process; it only kicks in when you starve yourself with extreme calorie restrictions.
Conclusion
So given the fact that most people who are reading this piece are already protein deficient, getting fat from eating too much protein shouldn't be bothering you at all. It's out of the question. If you are a well trained athlete, eating upwards of even 3 grams of protein per kilo of your body weight won't make you fat.
Anuj Tyagi is a Certified Personal Trainer, Certified Sports Nutritionist and Therapeutic Exercise Specialist From American Council on Exercise (ACE) . He is the Founder of the website where he provides online Training. Though a Chartered Accountant by education, he has been closely associated with Fitness Industry since 2006. His motto is to transform people Naturally and he believes that the secret formula for Fitness is Consistency and commitment towards your Training and Nutrition. You can connect with him through Facebook and Youtube.