4 disadvantages of eating too much protein

Protein (along with carbohydrates and fats) is one of the three macronutrients your body needs to function properly. It has many health benefits including helping your body build and repair cells, helping your body make antibodies, enzymes, and hormones, and helping your cuts heal. However, you can get too much of a good thing, and protein is no exception. In this article I’m going to describe four of the drawbacks of eating too much protein.

1) MAY HAVE A DEHYDRATING EFFECT: In a four-week study looking at five endurance athletes consuming low, medium, and high levels of protein, it was found that higher protein intake leads to lower levels of hydration. Dehydration can cause a number of serious problems, including extreme fatigue, muscle cramps, headaches, muscle spasms, shortness of breath, and loss of consciousness.

2) PROMOTES FAT STORAGE: – Many people believe that you can eat protein to your heart’s content and not gain weight. However, if you eat too many calories (whether they come from carbohydrates, fat, or protein), they eventually get stored as body fat. Eating more of this macronutrient while eating the same number of calories can stimulate your body to burn fat, but eating too many calories from protein will lead to fat storage.

3) CAN LEAD TO KIDNEY STONES: – When protein breaks down, acids such as uric acid are created, which increases acidity levels in the blood. To combat this, your body releases the alkaline substance calcium phosphate from your bones into your bloodstream. In general, this increases the levels of uric acid and calcium in the urine, which can develop into kidney stones.

4) CAN LEAD TO OSTEPOROSIS – As mentioned above, eating high levels of protein can cause your bones to release calcium phosphate. Low levels of calcium in the bones can cause the development of osteoporosis. Osteoporosis reduces bone density and can cause bones to bend, break, and fracture much more easily than normal, healthy bones.

As you can see, protein is not a super nutrient. While it has many valuable functions when consumed properly, eating too much can lead to the problems listed above. Moderately increasing your protein intake can help you build muscle and burn fat. So if you decide to eat more protein, make sure you don’t overdo it.

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