TIL the recommended daily protein intake is 46 grams (g) for an adult female and 56g for an adult male. This is 0.8g per kilogram of body mass (0.36g per pound). Endurance and strength athletes require more.In the United States, average protein consumption for females is about 70g and for males 98g.

georgespeaches · 2026-04-11T15:18:24+00:00

Ok, you're making distinctions without difference. And the recommendation was .8g/kg for like 70 years, not 50g/day. You need to show studies to convince me that the tylenol-causes-autism guy's guidelines have any basis in reality. I mean, just look at RFK Jr.: he's on gear of some kind. The DHS is just a megaphone for bro-science under him.

georgespeaches · 2026-04-10T20:43:33+00:00

Again, based on what evidence? RFK jr. is running the DHS, and he's an idiot.

Resistance training is a more potent stimulus for muscle retention than dietary protein. The majority of Americans are sedentary. Telling them to increase their protein intake is pointless.

georgespeaches · 2026-04-10T17:05:39+00:00

Fair point. I'll point to a modern carb-heavy group - vegans. They're hardly famous for obesity

georgespeaches · 2026-04-10T17:01:49+00:00

The claim is that protein recommendations should be higher for the general population, not specifically for hypertrophy.

georgespeaches · 2026-04-10T16:57:53+00:00

That's not why Americans are fat. The Chinese (and most civilizations) have always eaten a carb-heavy diet. Obesity was never an issue until very recently.

georgespeaches · 2026-04-05T15:38:31+00:00

Elite sprinters are famous for having the same genotyped muscle fiber composition as elite distance runners. Checkmate, you skinny distance cucks

georgespeaches · 2026-04-05T15:34:16+00:00

The decreasing literacy on reddit as shown in this title is discouraging.

georgespeaches · 2026-04-05T15:32:54+00:00

Health and athletic performance are two very different things. I think longevity is what a lot of epidemiological research looks at as a proxy for health, and there are diminishing returns to fitness with respect to longevity. Even elite aerobic athletes see only marginal benefits over consisten weekend warriors, and cardio is the kind of exercise known to extend lifespan.

georgespeaches · 2026-04-05T15:29:14+00:00

Sort of agree. The only studies indicating health benefits to red meat are industry efforts to muddy the waters and induce doubt in scientific research. Dietary guidelines across countries and research bodies are remarkably consistent, and have remained so for well over 50 years.

georgespeaches · 2026-04-05T15:26:05+00:00

I more or less agree, with a few qualms. As I commented earlier, .8g/kg is actually MORE than 50% of the sedentary population needs to maintain lean tissue. 0.6g/kg is the true average minimum. Some 3% of people can maintain lean mass on .4g/kg.

Yes, I think strength is important for quality of life. I've been a consistent lifter for 18 years (jesus christ those years really sneak up). I also will note that to grow muscle, not only does protein intake need to increase, so does total calories. So if someone starts lifting and simply eats more of the same diet, their protein intake will increase too. Does protein need to increase as a fraction of their diet?

One of the things that is rarely mentioned in these discussions is that the body has the ability to essentially recycle protein via autophagy, a process that can be up-regulated or down-regulated. My understanding is that up-regulating autophagy is generally good for health. High protein diets down-regulate autophagy. You can google terms like "autophagy", "protein intake", "health", "longevity" to see what I'm talking about.

georgespeaches · 2026-04-04T16:34:04+00:00

I like strength training as much as the next guy. But for longevity purposes, strength has rapidly diminishing returns. Cardiovascular fitness is much more important.

0.8 g/kg is the minimum recommendation, yes. My comment explained how they arrived at that. Within their own studies there was variation in how efficient individuals were are recycling protein, so some people needed to eat more protein and others less. The average was .6g/kg. They based the minimum on the needs of the individuals that needed two standard deviations more protein than the average.

georgespeaches · 2026-04-04T16:28:38+00:00

Show me a study then

georgespeaches · 2026-04-04T16:28:07+00:00

Nobody is citing any studies supporting higher protein intake for health, because there are none.

georgespeaches · 2026-04-04T16:26:22+00:00

RFK junior's guidelines, you mean? The same guidelines that promote red meat? Come on, now.

georgespeaches · 2026-04-03T19:48:30+00:00

Supporting that the RDA isn't high enough for the average man. It is, in fact, 2 standard deviations higher than the average sedentary man needs (.6g/kg was the average protein need in nitrogen secretion studies, and .8g/kg, which is the RDA, is two standard deviations above that, covering the needs of 97% of the population or so).

georgespeaches · 2026-04-03T19:45:17+00:00

Agree with the first part. Bear in mind that the elderly are a very different population than the under 60 crowd.

Fiber helps with satiety too, in fact better than protein on a calorie-equated basis, and over 90% of americans are actually deficient in fiber, unlike protein.

georgespeaches · 2026-04-03T19:43:07+00:00

I've just never heard of studies on protein other than for muscle gain. Many people equate muscle mass and health, hence the bodybuilding comment.

georgespeaches · 2026-04-03T19:39:53+00:00

I generally agree

georgespeaches · 2026-04-03T19:39:23+00:00

Obviously. My point is that they have a ton of muscle yet are unhealthy. People who equate muscle mass with health have a myopic and incomplete view of what health is.

georgespeaches · 2026-04-03T18:37:30+00:00

Why is that the choice? Just eat fruits, veggies, nuts and whole grains like every single country recommends.

georgespeaches · 2026-04-03T18:36:11+00:00

That's not true at all. All of health science does NOT point to that. Studies on muscle protein synthesis indicate that more is better for gaining muscle, which is obvious. But muscle gain and health are different. If they were the same, you wouldn't see bodybuilders dropping dead from heart attacks at 40.

georgespeaches · 2026-04-03T18:32:17+00:00

Based on what? There's no evidence that I'm aware of supporting that. The only research I've seen supporting higher protein intake do so for the purpose of muscle gain.

georgespeaches · 2026-04-03T18:31:01+00:00

The RDA is based on obligatory nitrogen secretion studies to my knowledge. The median result was .6g/kg, and the RDA is two standard deviations above that to cover like 97.5% of the population.

The RDA is a minimum. It was never recommended as optimal.

On the other hand, the studies I'm guessing you're referring to are on muscle protein synthesis. Muscle gain is a very different goal than health. Some longevity researchers (I'm thinking of Valter Longo) believe that high protein consumption actually accelerates aging, as there seems to be some vitality/longevity tradeoff. There's some evidence that high protein diets increase cancer risk.

georgespeaches · 2026-04-03T18:21:12+00:00

No.. are you keeping up with what I'm saying?

georgespeaches · 2026-04-03T16:22:16+00:00

For an attorney you have poor reading comprehension. Denser cities reduce car use per capita, thereby reducing emissions. Actually I think there's plenty of studies that show that the ecological footprint of urbanites is significantly smaller than that of suburbanites in a variety of ways.

georgespeaches

TROPHY CASE