High-Protein diets are still very popular because protein has been shown to assist weight loss efforts by protein’s ability to increase satiety and resting energy expenditure. Combining lower carbohydrate intake with a high-protein intake can boost weight loss results by the loss of glycogen and water molecules. The current intake recommendation for daily protein is 0.8 grams/kg of “goal body weight.” One looking to increase muscle mass (body weight) will set the protein gram intake for a higher or lower body weight.
Gluconeogenesis (GNG) is the body’s process of making glucose out of protein in the liver and kidneys. Glucose is the most important source of energy in all organisms. Glucose for metabolism is stored in animals as glycogen. Glucose circulates in the our blood as blood sugar. The other day, a client commented that eating a high-protein diet will make too much glucose in the body which will throw blood sugar out of bounds. However, Gluconeogenesis is a carefully regulated process that runs on demand-driven instead of supply-driven. GNG is a slow, stable process that does not change it’s rate under a wide range of conditions. There is not solid evidence to support that excess protein is turned into glucose. In 2000, an example study demonstrated that participants following a Keto diet for 11 days had only a 14% increase in glucose production from Gluconeogenesis after overnight fasting (less than a gram of glucose per hour). Another study of participants on a Carb-based rather than a Keto diet, ingested 50 grams of protein in one sitting which caused glucose production to be the same amount as if they drank water and did not eat the protein. As of now, there is no evidence that consuming a high-protein diet will increase glucose production from GNG; however, there is evidence that it does not.
- Dangerous Donna
