What happens to your body when you consume too much protein?
I am curious about the effects of excess protein intake.
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Answers ( 1 )
Consuming too much of anything is never good. In the case of over-consuming protein, there are a multitude of things that can happen to your body, but I'll focus on the three most common things you might have to worry about.
1. You might end up with more fat. As with consuming too much of any nutrient, consuming too much protein means you're also taking in extra unneeded calories. Protein contains just as many calories per gram as carbohydrate does, and any excess will generally be stored as fat. Obviously, this depends on what else you're eating, but excess protein is converted to fat, just like any nutrient you consume.
2. You might end up damaging your kidneys. The kidneys are heavily involved in assimilating protein into your body. And they're well-suited to the task. But if you get into the habit of regularly over-consuming protein, it means your kidneys are working harder than they should have to. And like any overtaxed organ, kidneys can be damaged or fail. Further, long-term excess consumption of protein can also lead to kidney stones, which are extremely painful and can be quite dangerous. At the very least, make sure you are taking in plenty of water to help with the process.
3. You might increase your risk of heart disease and colon cancer. While every body is different, and every way of consuming protein is different, it's quite common for the protein sources used in high-protein diets to also confer an added risk of heart disease and certain cancers.
In general, your body is a machine that is built to run on a variety of food inputs, and its performance will be optimized when you consume a wide variety to balance its needs. Trying to "hack the machine" or out-think evolution usually just results in poorer performance, not better. The best thing you can do is eat a wide variety of foods in good balance. Don't deprive yourself, but don't overdo any one thing.