Go to page 208 in your text and read the ‘Nutrition Debate’ article on ‘Are current Protein recommendations high enough?’.

1) Make sure your Initial comment has a minimum of 200 words, and each follow-up comment on other student’s initial comments must have 20 words.

2) Include the answers to the 3 Critical thinking Questions given in the article in your initial comments. Submit your work into a MSWord document in Canvas.

1) Ivy Richards.

I found the ‘Nutrition Debate’

on ‘Are current Protein recommendations high enough?’ to be really interesting and I thought that it gave me some really good perspective on my own diet and how much protein I should be consuming on a regular basis. However, in general this course has made me rethink a lot about my diet and what I knew prior to this course because before, I really only thought of meat as a main source of protein, and I did not really take into consideration all of the other ways we can include protein into our diet. Overall, I do think that we need more protein in our diets compared to what the RDA recommends especially if you are being physically active on a daily basis because people need to be able to replenish their energy. However, that being said it also means the people should be smart about what kind of proteins they are putting in their bodies because not all proteins are good for you and that is something that people do not always recognize. I know that the article focused a lot on how the amount of protein someone eats is different depending on their age and how physically active they are but it was a bit alarming how big the differences were between the RDA’s recommendations and the recommendations that were provided by the American College of Sports Medicine. 

Critical thinking questions:

1.  Before taking this course I did not pay a lot of attention to my diet in general but I did notice a lack of protein in my diet and it reflected in my performance throughout the day and at practice if I did not have enough protein in my diet where as now that I have tried to increase the amount of protein I am consuming everyday I notice that I am a lot more active and focused throughout the day and at practice.

2.  I currently do not meet the suggested protein intake for athletes and I think that it is just because I do not have a very strict schedule so sometimes I notice that I do not eat enough throughout the day or some days depending on how busy I am with work or training I might miss a meal which is really not good. 

3. Affects on health: Disorders of bone and calcium homeostasis and disorders of renal function

Affects on environment: Increase in green house gases and increase of waste production

2) Samantha Troilo:

Controversy exists among medical experts regarding the role protein plays in maintaining optimal health. They debate about when to consume it, how much to consume, and what type is best, especially for athletes and highly active people. You need it to put meat on your bones and to make hair, blood, connective tissue, antibodies, enzymes, and a lot more. It’s common for athletes and bodybuilders to wolf down extra protein to bulk up. The message the rest of us often get is that our daily protein intake is too high. The recommended dietary allowance  for protein is  0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight. The RDA is the minimum amount of protein you need to keep from getting sick, but what this doesn’t indicate is how much you actually need for optimum health reasons. For an active adult, a daily protein intake to meet the RDA would supply as little as 10% of his or her total daily calories. In comparison, the average American consumes around 16% of his or her daily calories in the form of protein, from both plant and animal sources.  If you increase protein, dietary arithmetic demands that you eat less of other things to keep your daily calorie intake steady. The switches you make can affect your nutrition, for better or for worse. For example, eating more protein instead of low-quality refined carbohydrates, like white bread and sweets, is a healthy choice assuming the meat choices are lean and without a ton of additives. 

It is tough to say whether protein recommendations are high enough because there are so many pieces of information to account for. In general I work with clientele that benefits from higher protein intake. However, I also have some clients who need less due to underlying health reasons. There is no simple answer, but due to the many positives attributed to increased protein consumption such as muscle growth, hydration, blood flow, and so on, id argue that within reason, more is better in this instance.

before this class I consumed a lot of protein for muscle growth and because I am highly active. This has not changed.

I definitely exceed the suggested protein intake. 

The adverse effects associated with long-term high protein/high meat intake in humans were (a) disorders of bone and calcium homeostasis, (b) disorders of renal function, (c) increased cancer risk, (d) disorders of liver function, and (e) precipitated progression of coronary artery disease.

there is protein malnutrition across the globe, so mass consumption here takes away from other environments. Human consumption can lead to extinction of some animals as well.

3) Lindsay Nigh:

After reading this article in the textbook, I think that the current protein recommendations are not high enough. Although most people are already consuming more protein than the recommended amount, the current recommendation should be updated. The article states that the current recommendation is based on the nitrogen balance method, which typically leads to an underestimation of protein needs. It is important that the proteins’ needs are assessed by the amount needed for proper health and functioning and not just balancing nitrogen levels. There has also been research done for athletes and very active individuals that shows that protein needs are actually 1.8 to 2.5 times higher than the current recommendations. The research showed that the protein needs are higher because, during intense exercise, protein is directly used for energy, protein makes glucose to prevent hypoglycemia during exercise, exercise stimulates tissue growth and causes tissue damage that must be repaired by proteins, and more protein is required to carry more oxygen throughout the body and meet the oxygen-carrying capacity that is increased by exercise. I think that it is important to update the recommended protein intake in order to inform people of their protein needs and promote a healthier lifestyle.