Excess high protein diet may cause problems in kidney and liver etc.

      
 Yes, high intake of proteins may be dangerous for our health if not controlled regularly. This is a fact that protein is one of the most important nutrients. However, we normally have no awareness about the quantity that how much of proteins we should take on daily basis in our food. Many people have the opinion that having a lot of protein or high protein diet will help to lose weight, gain muscle mass and improve our health. Whereas, some people think that having it too much is not good.  Everybody knows that protein is essential for our health while deficiency of proteins in our body may affect our body negatively like loss in muscle mass, development of type 2 diabetes, can cause swelling, fatty lever and rise in the infections etc.

Why Proteins required :     

 Let us first understand the function of Proteins in our body. Protein is an important component of every cell in our body and hairs and nails etc. are made of protein. Also, our body uses protein to build and repair the tissues and muscles, cartilage, skin and blood etc. Proteins are also used by our body system to make enzymes, hormones, and other body chemicals which are essentially required for functioning of all body parts. Our body needs relatively large amounts of it than vitamins and minerals. Also, unlike fat and carbohydrates, our body does not store protein, and therefore has no extra storage is there for using it when it needs a supply. Apart from above, the proteins keep our body structurally sound, controls urge of hunger. 

What is an ideal quantity for Proteins:  Let us discuss and understand that how much protein should we include in our diet per day. It is generally said that the protein should be taken every day as per our body weight. 

It means that 0.8 gm to 1 gm/kg body weight/day (1 gram per kg of body weight per day) must be considered as the ideal intake for a normal person without any medical complication. It is also said that the people who do physical exercise or trying to recover from some injury may need more quantity of protein in their daily diet.The fact is that every individual's body has different protein requirement based on his or her age, sex and daily physical activity levels. It means that almost everyone, even athletes and sports persons can easily meet daily protein requirements without dietary supplements. 

What if extra proteins is consumed: All of us might have heard that having daily extra protein builds more muscle. However, this may not be correct for all us as the only way to build muscle is to do systematic and regular physical exercise. Our bodies need a modest amount of protein to function well and extra protein doesn't give our body extra strength. Let us always remember that increasing the amount of protein that we eat by restricting carbohydrates and fats can cause health problems ranging from mild to serious, especially over an extended period of time. Say for example, we may experience gastrointestinal issues such as constipation or diverticulitis, stemming from nutrient deficiencies and reduced fiber in our diet. Also, over a period of time, eating more protein than we need can cause undue stress on our kidneys, resulting in kidney disease, kidney stones or osteoporosis. For instance- taking large quantity of processed meats like hot dogs, sausages and other processed meat may lead to risk of several health problems like type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and colorectal cancer. Therefore while taking protein we should choose carefully which kind of protein will be suitably required for our body. 

            Actually, high-protein foods are also high in fat, such as red meat and full-fat cheese and consuming the same may raise Cholesterol in our body and subsequent risk of heart disease or even cancer. When we consume lots of proteins and take less quantity of carbohydrates the metabolism of our body changes to a state which is called ketosis which means that our body converts from burning carbohydrates for fuel to burn its own fat. When fat is broken down, small bits of carbon called ketones are released into the bloodstream as energy sources. It is also important to know that Ketosis, which also occurs in diabetes, tends to supress appetite, causing us to eat less and it also increases the body's elimination of fluids through urine resulting in loss of water weight.

         Another fact is that when we eat high protein food, then we excrete excess calcium through urine i.e. our body releases more calcium into blood stream to counter act an increase in acids caused by protein consumption and too much loss of calcium may lead to osteoporosis. Moreover, it is not advisable to take over dodge of protein through powder or other forms as supplement because taking too much of protein can cause the above mentioned health complications. 

Quality is important than quantity: We must also keep in mind that whatever proteins we take, should be a high quality protein instead of high quantity of proteins. We all know that animal products like meats, milk and eggs are rich in high quality protein with essential amino acids. Vegetarians may also opt for various sources of protein available in nuts, seeds, milk and other dairy products, pulses and soya products, food including grains and legumes etc. Still, there is a need to know that which kind of protein we need for some specific purpose. 

From where to get good quality of proteins:

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Nuts: One ounce of almonds or nuts gives us 6 grams of protein. 

Beans: Beans contain more protein than any other vegetables and the beans contain fibre that helps our body in many ways as you already know.

Whole grains: It is always recommended to have whole grains which give sufficient quality of proteins and fibre.

Fish: Consuming fish gives healthy omega-3 fatty acids for healthy heart and also fish have less in fat than meat. 

Poultry: If the skinless chicken is consumed then most of the saturated fat can be avoided and it can be rich in good quality of protein. 

            Thus, the above discussions may be useful to keep up our health level to certain extent which may increase the health of mind and spirit which may result in longer and happy life.