Meet your protein needs with these 3 simple strategies
Part-2 of my in-depth guide on midlife protein needs
Since I started intuitive eating almost 20 years ago, I've refrained from counting anything food-related. That includes fat, carbs, calories, and protein.
But like you, I knew that protein was important as I got older. Did I actually have the desire to monitor my protein grams? Not really. But after listening to Donald Layman on a podcast, some advice he gave really stuck with me.
He said one strategy to ensure protein needs is to choose two meals and overshoot protein. Because I eat both animal and plant foods, aiming for 40 plus grams at two meals would ensure I get >2.5 grams of leucine.
And so that’s what I did, and it really worked for me. I’ll share more of that strategy in a bit, but we all have to find what works for us.
In the last post, I detail the estimated protein needs for midlife women with background information on what protein can and can’t do.
In part 2 of this in-depth protein guide, I will show you how this translates into your daily meals.
Type of protein
Although both animal and plant foods count towards our protein goals, animal proteins have an advantage. That's because they have more essential amino acids and easier digestibility.
In order to assess diet quality, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) recommends the Digestible Indispensable Amino Acid Score (DIAAS). Foods with a DIASS score above 75 are classified as high-quality protein, while those above 100 are considered excellent quality.
While animal proteins are more likely to have >75 DIAAS, plant proteins can still be sufficient when consumed alongside a variety of foods.
In one study, researchers created different dietary patterns, including omnivore, general vegetarian (allowing eggs/milk), and vegan (excluding animal products).Given equal number of calories for a sedentary 51-year-old woman (1600), you can see how the level of essential amino acids in each.
Yet when they looked specifically at leucine, only dinner on the omnivore diet reached >2.5g for MPS. The greatest leucine was at the lunch vegan meal containing 2 grams.
Our findings suggest that including moderate amounts of leucine-rich animal proteins is a feasible strategy to optimize dietary protein intakes, meet EAA requirements, and enhance leucine content and protein quality of meals in healthy eating patterns to maintain muscle in older adults.
Attenuating Muscle Protein Breakdown
I found a meta-analysis of 16 studies examining protein type on MPS with and without resistance training. When separated by age, younger adults (<50) gained more absolute and percent lean mass with animal intake, but the same was not true for those over 50. When resistance training was included, protein source no longer made a difference.
There's more than protein and resistance training to help maintain or build muscle as we get older. And it is the importance of muscle protein breakdown (MPB).
The decline in muscle mass with age is not just about Aging Pause. It has to do with The One Health Principle.
Disruption of The One Health Principle is the increase in oxidative stress and inflammation (the annoying couple that's always together) and the subsequent decrease in nitric oxide. Read more here.
Researchers measured both oxidative stress markers and muscle mass in one hundred and seven pre and postmenopausal women. The post-menopausal women had lower values for muscle mass and strength. But that’s not all.
Lipid peroxide, an indicator of oxidative damage, was primarily responsible for this outcome. With every 0.1 μmol/l increase, skeletal muscle index decreased by 3 units.
For instance, increased production of pro-inflammatory cytokines and reactive oxygen species impairs muscle protein turnover. This means anything that helps tame oxidative stress/inflammation is helpful, including micronutrients such as vitamin D, omega-3 fatty acids, polyphenols (in plants) and taurine.
And we can’t forget about gut health, which starts in the mouth, helping keep inflammation at bay -which is mainly about greens (nitrates), fermentable foods, and fiber, not protein.
Consuming or supplementing with nutrients that reduce oxidative stress and/or inflammation combined with increased protein intake is a promising nutritional intervention to overcome anabolic resistance and maintain muscle mass during disuse and aging. - Cholewa, Aminao Acids, 2017
Nitric oxide, which increases blood flow to muscles, is particularly helpful, including those satellite cells that are at risk as women transition through menopause. In one study, a cup of greens a day boosted muscle function over a 12-year period in middle aged adults.
Protein is one of a variety of players involved in the muscle mass, strength, and the health game. But we can do a lot to combat MPB, the often-missing piece. More on this in another post.
Other muscle (MPS) boosters
The time we eat protein is important too, and we can use it in our favor.
Morning seems to be the optima time to consume protein in terms of MPS. One review found over 50% of studies showed high protein at breakfast increased muscle mass.
This may also be one reason protein evenly distributed throughout the day promotes MPS 25% more than a skewed intake: morning (10g), some at lunch (15g) and most at dinner (65g).
Morning protein can also help reduce blood sugar and insulin levels not only after breakfast, but lunch and dinner too.
Researchers gave women (18-55) three different meals for four days. The meals had similar calories, fat, and fiber, but different protein levels. One was low (3g), and the other two were high (30) and (39g). Researchers monitored their blood glucose and insulin levels for four hours.
Both protein-rich meals had lower levels of both glucose and insulin, although the 39g showed the greatest reductions. "For women, eating more protein in the morning can beneficially affect their glucose and insulin levels," said Heather Leidy, one of the lead authors on Science Daily.
After a workout is another ideal time, which for me is typically the early morning. Studies have shown that this improves age-related MPS. In fact, MPS of 20g protein was found to be the same in the young and old after exercise only.
The good news is that our bodies remain sensitized to protein for up to 24 hours after exercise.
Meeting protein needs in different ways
Let's do a quick recap on protein requirements from the previous post and then focus on strategy.
Most midlife women need a minimum of 1.2g protein/kg/bw. You can get kg by dividing your weight by 2.2 (or just estimate if you don’t weigh yourself).
To build and maintain muscle mass with exercise, it is recommended to consume 1.4-2g/kg/bw. Leucine is important for stimulating MPS >2.5g at a meal or 30g of mixed protein sources. For building strength and muscle mass, resistance training is key, and protein supports that.
Assuming exercise is in the equation, let’s look at three different strategies for meeting needs.
Strategy #1: Two-meal blow out
As I mentioned earlier, I focus on protein at breakfast and lunch, aiming for >2.5. leucine and total protein just over 40g. I also get protein at other meals but don’t sweat how much or food sources. This equates to about 1.6g/kg/BW.
For as long as I can remember, I’ve had oatmeal with walnuts, flaxmeal, and blueberries for breakfast (20g protein) and sometimes eggs.
Now I still do that but rotate additional cottage cheese (20-25g) or protein shake (25g). This fills me up so much, I no longer eat a snack between breakfast and lunch.
And lunch is a high-quality protein animal source mixed with plant protein and some Greek yogurt for a leucine boost. I came across some essential foods that are excellent sources of leucine. So, at these two meals, I zero in on these.
And of course, I watch other micronutrients, get fiber, fermented foods, and all the other lifestyle factors to keep The One Health Principle in check.
Strategy #2: 25-30g per meal/100g protein
You may opt for 30g protein per meal, which, assuming the average leucine is about 8% providing about >2.5g leucine. In another interview, Layman said 100g of protein is a suitable target for most women.
You can use food trackers, but I personally just estimate it based on this:
3 oz of animal protein: 21g
½ cup beans/legumes: 8g
1 cup cow’s milk/soy milk: 9g
1oz cheese: 7g
1oz nuts: 6g
Egg: 6g
½ cup tofu: 10g
If you eat mostly plant sources, strive to increase total protein and/or consider adding in a leucine or creatine supplement.
Strategy #3: Build meals around protein sources
This is like #2, but it’s more flexible. If you build your meals with both types of protein sources–plant/animal–odds are you’ll be getting what you need.
Of course, doing this at breakfast and after workouts are good times. And the even distribution of protein at meals is helpful.
Some of us just don’t feel comfortable counting protein and that is okay.
Below is my protein counter for paid subscribers. If you’re interested in upgrading–and getting some of these bonuses - you can do so here.