Protein
I don’t want to add too much to the food noise here. Some Women are aiming for 100g of protein per day… This is a high amount, by anyone’s standards, and much higher than most traditional diets (including the diet recommendations of Chinese Medicine). This increase in the recommendation may be based on a 2023 study, and a 2018 systemic review outlined below**. Context is always key to health research.
The current Australian Guidelines (RACGP) are 0.8g of protein per day for each kg of ideal body weight.
This increases to 1-1.1g for pregnant and breastfeeding Women and 1.1g per kg of ideal body weight for people over 70.
The target range of 0.8g of protein per kg of ideal body weight, for most Women, is about 50-60g/day. This will still take a bit of work! Protein is really important when:
you’ve done some resistance exercise on that day
you’re trying to gain muscle mass
you are pregnant or breastfeeding, or trying to conceive
you are peri-menopausal, menopausal or post-menopausal
you are recovering from a major illness
you are trying to lose weight (you would be swapping carbohydrates and fat for protein here and aiming for a caloric deficit)
your blood test results show signs of low protein (bring them in for assessment, as it’s not just Protein levels that I look at)
Protein containing sources and meal ideas:
2 large eggs (13g) + 2 pieces of wholegrain sourdough (8g) = 21g
2 large eggs (13g) + mushrooms + spinach = 14-16g
1/3 cup of oats (5g) + 1 Tbsp Chia seeds (2g) + 2/3 cup full cream milk (5.5g) + handful 30g of nuts and seeds (5g) + 1 tbsp Peanut butter (4g) = 21g
¾ of a cup of greek yoghurt (15g) + berries + 1 tbsp of Chia seeds (2g) = 17g
100g of tofu = 12-15g
¾ cup Regular cottage cheese = 18-22g
¾ cup low fat cottage cheese = 20-24g
30g handful of nuts or seeds = 5-7g
100g Chicken breast = 30g
100g Chicken Thigh = 25-28g
100g Lean beef = 26-30g
100g Lamb = 25-28g
100g steak = 28-32g
¼ cup of cooked legumes (40-50g) = around 4g protein
*1 serve of baked beans (130g) = 6.5g
Slice of Tasty Cheese (5g)
*50g of sliced Ham = 9g
*lower quality protein source
If you are sensitive to dairy, or any of the foods on the list, avoid them. If you’d like to track your macro and micro nutrients more closely, the app Chronometer is a good place to start (although the protein target is very high)
**A 2023 study (Mallinson et al) followed Muscle Protein Synthesis (MPS) in Women in their 20s. The Women performed Resistance Exercise twice, 4 hours apart, and were fed either 15g, 30g or 60g of whey protein after exercise. Findings were that the 30g and 60g of Whey Protein groups showed signs of increased muscle synthesis. There was no different in muscle synthesis in the 15g group.
**A 2018 systemic review recommended 1.0-1.2g of protein/ kg of body weight per day for people over 65 years, inconjunction with an increase in Calcium intake. This was associated with a lower likelihood of suffering from bone fractures.