Thanks to a new study published in Advances in Nutrition, nutrition scientists found that eating more than the recommended amount of protein only benefits people who are actively attempting to lose weight or build muscle.
“Most adults who are consuming adequate amounts of protein may only benefit from moderately higher protein intake when they are purposefully trying to change their body composition,” Wayne Campbell stated, study co-author, in a Purdue news post.
Researchers then determined if adults would benefit from consuming more protein than the daily guidelines suggest as most adult eat more protein that is recommended.
To discover the answer to that question, researcher looked through over 1,500 published journal articles and picked out 18 studies, which assessed a combined total of 981 participants for the meta-analysis.
The study revealed the eating more protein had zero effect on the body composition of adults who were not dieting or exercising to build muscle mass. They did find how consuming more protein did help adults who were dieting to lose weight or working out to build muscle.
Based on the data, researchers want to advise those who are dieting: don’t just eat less.
“Instead, work to maintain, or even moderately increase, protein-rich foods,” said Campbell. “Then, cut back on the carbs and saturated fat-containing foods.”