What is Recommended Protein Intake?

To achieve a healthier body composition or address a loss of strength and muscle mass, turn to the protein foods in your diet. The U.S. Department of Agriculture notes that while some women exceed daily protein recommendations, many need to increase the ratio of protein in their nutritional profiles. Eating a variety of protein foods provides all nine essential amino acids, which your body uses to form new muscle tissue and other types of cells. Including protein foods in a balanced diet will also supply the potassium, calcium and vitamins needed for new cell formation.
Recommended Protein Intake
Unless you are a body builder whose protein intake should correlate to higher body weight, you and all women ages 19 and up should get 46 g of protein per day. The National Women's Health Information Center relates that a normal diet of 1,600 to 2,400 calories will supply the equivalent of 5.5 oz.of protein foods, without the use of protein powders, shakes or other dietary supplements. Besides high-protein meats, fish, poultry and dairy products, whole grains, fruits and vegetables offer smaller but crucial amounts of protein and the other nutrients needed for muscle cell growth and strength.
Effects of Protein Deficiency
You can't build up muscle density as it is lost. While your body can sustain life on less than the recommended daily value of protein, a chronic shortfall of protein decreases muscle mass. Inadequate intake forces your body to use metabolized amino acids from your muscles as elements that dietary protein would normally provide. According to the USDA, along with lack of exercise, this ongoing protein deficiency is partially responsible for the gradual loss of muscle and body weight that typically begins at age 45 and renders many older women vulnerable to musculoskeletal injury.
Turning Fat Into Muscle
Women who are overweight and experience muscle weakness have a dual purpose in building up muscle. Replacing body fat with muscle can decrease your weight and your risk for chronic diseases such as heart disease. As you diet to lose weight, maintain your protein intake from low-fat and low-calorie foods in each food group.
Healthy Protein Food Sources
High-protein, low-fat foods such as fish, beef round or sirloin, pork loin, chicken or turkey without skin, 1 percent cottage cheese and non-fat yogurt deliver as much as 30 g of protein and significant potassium per 3 oz. Cooked dry beans such as black beans and peas such as chickpeas have about half the protein amount per 1 cup but less fat. Some moderate-protein foods such as low-fat milk and cooked leafy greens double as sources of calcium and vitamins A, C and D, which assist in muscle growth, repair and function.