Are you taking excess protein on your diet? If you do, you should know that it affects your body in a lot of ways. There is a certain amount of protein you need every day in the diet. In any case, if you take more than that, it does not have any benefits to your body. You see, protein is responsible for building your body, making hormones, antibodies, etc. Hence it is an extremely important part of the diet. You may think that taking protein has only gains. But the truth is, the excess of everything is bad. If you take too much protein it does not have advantages, rather it could harm your body. So, it is important to know how much protein you should take every day and how it could affect your body. One of the common problems you will notice with excess protein in the diet is constipation.
Does protein make you poop more?
Protein can affect your digestive health in many ways. It mainly depends on what you are having in the diet as a protein source. For example, protein can give you constipation. However, if you are taking dairy products as a rich protein source, you can get diarrhea. Of course, no one wants any of these problems. So yes; It’s definitely possible to deal with constipation or diarrhea as a result of a high-protein diet.
Let us see how and why a high protein diet causes these digestive problems.
Why protein causes constipation?
Having too much protein in the diet can cause constipation and other stomach problems. You need some protein every day to keep up with your needs. However, having excess protein means you are having fewer carbohydrates, dietary fiber in the diet. These are also necessary for a healthy lifestyle. If you are selecting items to have a rich protein meal, then you are probably eating more animal protein than plant protein. Hence, you are missing out on dietary fiber from the diet which is necessary to keep your bowel healthy. The fiber adds bulk to the stool and makes sure that it passes out properly.
Lack of fiber in the diet can result in constipation. Protein does not have anything to do with food movements along the gut, but it can make you dehydrated. If there is less water in the gut, the stool can become harder and make it more likely to suffer from constipation. When you take more protein in the diet, your body has to get rid of the excess protein. Due to this, your kidneys use the water from your body and lower the protein content from the blood. As a result, you get dehydrated; it leaves the stool dry and difficult to move through the gut. Hence you suffer from constipation.
Why protein causes diarrhea problems?
As you can see, too much protein in the diet can cause constipation. Although, diarrhea is a completely different scenario. But yes, excess protein can also cause diarrhea sometimes. It depends on which protein source are you consuming in your diet? If you are taking excess milk, cream, of cheese for protein. It can end up causing diarrhea.
Some people are sensitive to certain types of food, and dairy products are the main reason for a reaction. This happens because most people can’t produce the enzyme needed to digest dairy products. So, if they have a diet rich in dairy products, it can upset the stomach and result in diarrhea.
How much protein is too much protein?
Generally, you need a certain quantity of protein in the diet. It depends on your weight, age, sex, etc. So, for a particular person, he/she has to calculate his/her protein needs by himself/ herself. Just to get an idea, we know that a person should have 0.36grams protein per pound. That means an average man should have 56 grams of proteins, and the average woman should have 46 grams of protein. Now, this is how much protein you can get from a bowl of skim milk or 4 ounces of lean chicken breast. So, you can easily get too much protein, if you are not keeping track of your food intake. Additionally, your body can only digest up to 30 grams of protein in one sitting. It means even if you eat more proteins during this time; they are of no use to your body. They will be counted as wasted nutrition.
What can you do to avoid stomach problems and have rich protein?
So, there are two major digestive problems with having a rich protein diet. In order to avoid diarrhea, you can avoid dairy products in the diet. On the other hand, if you are taking animal-based protein, you can try taking more plant-based protein instead. The best way to do this is through a vegetarian keto diet.
In the vegetarian keto plan, you will find lots of plant-based protein. If you change your protein source, it can help you avoid digestive issues. Additionally, you need to drink plenty of water to make sure you are hydrated enough to make up for the water that your kidneys are using up.
Should you have high protein in the diet or not?
There is a way to deal with the digestive problems that come with a rich protein diet. Does that mean I can continue a rich protein diet? Probably not, sure you can avoid digestive problems for a while, but that does not mean a rich protein diet is good for you. You see, apart from diarrhea and constipation, excess protein can cause many other issues. To count on one, it puts too much pressure on your kidney. I am sure you don’t like that. Continuous strain on this vital organ can be harmful to you. It can also cause dehydration, bad breath problems, tiredness, and more. If you continue this for the long term, it can cause much damage. Hence it is wise to have only as much protein as you are recommended in the diet.
Protein Takeway:
Does protein make you poop more?
A little protein in the diet makes up for a healthy diet. However, if you are taking too much protein or too little protein, that is not good for your health. Hence, you should learn more about how much protein you can take. You can take help from a professional dietician to prepare a diet plan. Then you can eat healthy regularly.
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