What happens when you eat too much protein? Is it good or bad for your body?
The human body needs enough protein on daily basis to function properly. It helps in maintaining the structure of the body.
Protein is a large category of molecules that support the cells of your body. It is necessary for the functioning of the immunity system.
Moreover, it helps in the movement and is responsible for the chemical reactions of the body. It repairs muscles, organs, and bones at the same time.
The quantity of protein you need to consume depends on your body. To explain, the quantity varies according to body size, age, pregnancy status, or activity levels.
Additionally, it varies due to sex factors as well. Notably, for a woman, quantity is quite different from men. So, it is important to know how much protein is too much for a woman.
Furthermore, excessive protein intake can be risky and you might end up witnessing the symptoms of too much protein consumption.
This blog tells you all about what happens when you eat too much protein.
So, what if you eat too much protein? Let’s discuss it in detail.
What Happens When You Eat Too Much Protein? [Top 5 Risks]
If you are consuming a high-protein diet for a longer period, the excess amount of protein can be harmful to your health.
The consumption of pros and cons of a high protein diet varies from person to person. It can be risky and may lead to certain health complications as well.
Here are some of the risks of excessive protein intake.
#1. Damage The Kidneys
High protein diets generally do not affect healthy people, but people with pre-existing kidney diseases can suffer. There is a scientific reason behind this.
To elaborate, the excess presence of nitrogen in amino acids damages kidneys. As a result, they have to work much more than usual to get rid of the nitrogen.
So, is too much protein bad for your kidneys?
Of course yes!
Excess proteins accelerate kidney damage in people who already have any kind of issues with their kidneys.
#2. Loss Of Calcium
There is a variety of proteins present in the different kinds of food. They have their potential acid load which gives the acidogenic effect.
However, the high amount of acid in the high protein diet food causes excessive calcium loss.
Risks of high-protein diet include poor bone health and osteoporosis. Due to intake of too much high-protein diet, people suffer from bone health issues.
#3. Risks Cancer
The increased risk of cancer due to high protein diets is generally because of overconsumption of red meat. People can undo this risk by taking protein from other sources.
This risk is also accompanied by various health issues.
Red meat and processed meat can be the cause of breast, prostate, or colorectal cancer.
#4. Causes Weight Gain
As far as we know, protein generally helps in weight loss by making you feel much fuller. But just like other foods, you will gain weight as well by consuming an excess high-protein diet.
Fat can be formed by taking excess protein in your body over time. One of its reasons is the number of calories you are taking while protein intake.
#5. Develops Heart Disease
The excess intake of a high protein diet can increase the risk of heart diseases. It’s among the severe risks of high-protein diet. It develops the chances of heart failure by 33%.
The full-fat dairy foods and higher consumption of red meat contain much-saturated fat and bad cholesterol. This could be a massive reason for developing heart disease.
But you can lower these risks as well by consuming poultry, nuts, and fish.
Now you know what happens when you eat too much protein. The risks of excessive protein intake could be life-threatening if ignored for a longer period. So, you better hold back and think before adding too much protein to your diet, or else you might end up with some symptoms of too much protein.
What If You Eat Too Much Protein?- Symptoms
Some of the common symptoms of adding a lot of protein to your daily diet are:
- Nausea
- Dehydration
- Irritability
- Diarrhea
- Intestinal Issues
So, how much protein in a day is recommended?
According to the studies, to prevent any kind of deficiency a healthy adult needs 0.8g of protein per kg of their body weight.
Protein is the building block of the body but just like any other nutrient; too much protein can be dangerous.
Concluding Thoughts
So, in this blog, we covered the risks that can develop inside an individual’s body due to excess intake of a high protein diet.
There are many more risks that can increase due to this reason such as constipation, bad breath, dehydration, diarrhea, etc. Plus, too much protein in the brain causes brain fog.
Now, you must be thinking about how to remove excess protein from the body.
Nothing to worry about, you can get rid of the excess protein by treating the underlying cause.
You can treat it by following some home remedies also. Most of the time you may not identify the real cause on your own, in such a case, you need to consult a physician at that point.
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