The Protein Debate: How Much Protein is Ideal? Which Diet is Healthiest? (Vegan? Paleo? Mediterranean? Keto?)

In today's episode, we dive deep into the heart of the protein debate. Brace yourself for a journey through the controversial topics of nutrition – Vegan, Paleo, Mediterranean, and Keto diets – as we dissect the age-old question: 

How much protein is ideal, and which diet reigns supreme for optimum health?

In this episode you'll learn:

• Which protein sources are healthiest? (Vegan? Paleo? Mediterranean? Or keto?) 
• Top key benefits of protein (and why you need enough!)
• Signs you may be getting too much or too little protein
• Pros and cons of different types of protein (plant-based, fish, red meat, etc)
• Are lectins, oxalates, and phytic acid from plants evil anti-nutrients to avoid?
• Is eating red meat the surest path to cardiovascular disease?
• Your ideal protein intake based on your blood and body type
• The exact formula to calculate how much protein YOU need per day!

Links:

• Navigating Conflicting Health Advice: Creating Bio-Individualized Wellness in a World of Information Overload (episode) 
• Eat Right 4 Your Blood Type (book)

Thank you so much for listening. I’m so honored that you’re here and would be SO grateful if you could leave me a review on Apple podcasts or Spotify, that way we can inspire and educate even more people together.

I’d love to connect with you on IG: www.instagram.com/bindistables

Visit my website for more resources and ways to work with me: www.bindistables.com

Transcript

Bindi: 0:04

Welcome to the Vibrant you podcast. I'm your host, bindi Stables, and here we talk all things wellness and vibrant living. You'll learn about integrative health, functional medicine, holistic biohacking and enjoy raw and real conversations on personal growth, mindset and motivation. Optimize your body and mind and become the happiest, the healthiest, most vibrant. You Enjoy the show. Hello, and welcome back to yet another episode here on Vibrant you. I'm so excited you're here and I'm so excited for what we're diving into today.

Bindi: 0:43

This is an episode that I've been wanting to do for a while and I'll admit that I felt a bit nervous to talk about this. We're getting into the protein debate on how much protein is healthy. Which diet is healthiest? Is it vegan? Is it paleo? Is it Mediterranean? Should you go keto? The reason why I feel a little bit nervous is because there is just so much heat in the health and wellness industry around this whole freaking protein debate. My goal for today is to share my honest, unbiased opinion based on science, based on literature weaving in elements of ancient wisdom from everything how your activity levels, also your blood type, your body type, how all of this matters when it comes to our protein intake and where we should be getting our protein from. So I'm really excited to share this information with you and my goal is, by the end of this episode, for you to have crystal clarity on exactly how much protein you need as an individual and the sources of protein that are going to be most helpful and healthy for you, for your unique body. So if you've listened to this podcast before, you know that of course I, as an integrative health practitioner, I am a big advocate of bio individual health, right. So I never take a one size fits all when it comes to health and well-being, because there is no one body, right. Everybody's unique. Therefore, how we eat, the foods that we eat, how much protein we have, all of this should really be bio individualized. So there's so many factors to help us determine the right amount and the right type of protein that needed for you as a unique person.

Bindi: 2:16

And if you ever hear, you know, on social media or on someone's podcast and they're making this big, bold claim that is like universal for everyone Everyone should eat vegan, everyone should eat carnivore. Plants are evil, they're anti-nutrients. You know, whatever it is, you need to eat seven grams of protein per blah, blah, blah, like any, just like broad painted perspectives on anything else I always take with a grain of salt and I'm always cautious, of like. Whenever I hear these big extreme claims, kind of saying this is the one and only way. When it comes to health, I always, you know, have my blinders up, but I'm always more cautious when I hear that. Because the truth is, when it comes to health and well-being, there is no one size fits all approach. There is only bio individuality, and that's what we're talking about today. I have a whole podcast episode just on bio individuality and how to just make your way through the sea of information out there. So I will link that up in the show notes and make sure that we get that for you, that on bio individuality.

Bindi: 3:10

But for today let's talk protein. So first, before understanding how much and where should we get getting it, let's understand the why. So what are the benefits of protein? Why do we need protein at all? So, first and foremost, proteins needed for recovery, so for our overall tissue repair, muscle repair. Every body system inside of us needs protein or, more specifically, needs amino acids, which are the smaller molecules that are the building blocks of protein. So if we eat protein from meat or vegetable based sources, our body actually breaks it down into usable amino acids and that's the form that our body actually uses it. So we need that for tissue recovery, for organ recovery, skin recovery, everything recovery based. We need protein and amino acids for that to happen. We need protein and amino acids for our cognition, so for brain function, we need it. For our hormones. We need amino acids and protein for optimal immune function, for our body to detoxify, for curbing hunger levels as well as, of course, in the more body transformation space. Of course there's benefits of protein for weight loss, for fat burning as proteins such as thermogenic food, it helps put our body into a more fat burning state. And, of course, protein also helps to increase muscle mass and size. It boosts our metabolism. So there's benefits for body transformation with those higher levels of protein.

Bindi: 4:26

So let's get into how do we know if we're not getting enough? Okay, this is a question. So what happens if you get too little protein? So a few things can happen. One we can become too catabolic, meaning that our tissues are just in a state of breakdown or degeneration. Right, so the breakdown of tissues when you go to the gym, it takes you forever to recover. When you fall sick, you know you get a colder flu, it seems to take you so much longer than the next person to boost your immune system and get back to optimal health, so that's a big sign.

Bindi: 4:52

Another sign is loss of muscle. So if you've just noticed, like over the last couple of months or years, that your muscle mass, your tone, your physique has really declined in terms of your muscle mass and muscle strength, it can certainly be a sign of too little protein. It can mean many things. I should say all of these symptoms can mean many things, but that can be a sign. Gaining of weight and, specifically like fat increase, this can be a sign of too little protein. Water retention or edema, brittle hair, hair loss If you're like what the heck, why am I losing my hair? Why are my nails so brittle and always breaking? This can be a sign of too little protein and just overall fatigue, a lower immune system and fatigue those are can be some, some signs as well.

Bindi: 5:30

Now the other end of the spectrum are you getting too much protein and how do you know? So again, all of these things can be many things, but just generalize too much protein can show up as gut imbalances. Protein is actually really hard to digest, especially animal based proteins. So if we are eating too much protein it can cause certain gut imbalances, like H pylori, it can cause stomach ulcers, all kinds of gut based issues, and that's simply because you know, so much energy goes into digesting protein, it can make digesting quite difficult.

Bindi: 5:58

If we're getting too much we may also notice like more rapid aging. So too much protein can actually be inflammatory inside of the body, especially for getting it from more inflammatory based protein sources like red meats, for example. So it can increase aging. We may notice more fine lines and wrinkles. We may notice that our hair turns gray at an earlier age. So just overall signs of aging can be from too much protein Definitely will have a greater likelihood of mortality or death from, you know, cancer, cardiovascular disease, kidney disease, all of these things Too much protein can definitely lead to that. My hope is, of course, that you don't experience any of that. But if you are experienced that, or even hypertension, you know a lot of these cardiovascular based diseases, not even a full blown heart attack just these more earlier signs and symptoms can certainly be a sign of too much protein.

Bindi: 6:44

So if we're too anabolic, right, so catabolic. Catabolism is when our bodies in a breakdown of tissue and muscle and function. And then being too anabolic is that our bodies in too much of a building or growth state. So most of the time for body transformation we like to be anabolic because it means that we burn fat, we build muscle. But being too anabolic meaning we're in a state of constant muscle growth also puts the other parts of our body that we don't necessarily want to overgrow into overgrowth. So things like tumors, for example, cancer cells, all of these things. Right, if we're building muscle, we're also too anabolic and can be growing tumors if there is a cancerous state in the body. So too much protein, we can have higher levels of those IGF factors. So higher risk of cancer cells, kidney stones from increased uric acid, from eating too much protein. All of the above.

Bindi: 7:33

So let's get into the pros and cons of some different types of protein. So this is where there's so much debate out there, you guys and I'm so done with it, because the truth is that there is no perfect protein out there. Right? I'm a big advocate of balance, health, moderation, the middle path. I have such conviction that there is medicine and so much healing and balance and that health is a state of balance, right and extremism, or adopting a really extreme one-way diet way of eating lifestyle. Number one it's not sustainable. And number two, it can be really difficult for our body in that extreme state to try to keep up Looking at protein from a vegan-based source, from a fish-based source and from a meat-based source, so like a red meat kind of thing, and kind of the pros and cons of both right.

Bindi: 8:21

Knowing that there's no one, which way? Now I will say myself you know I'm really bringing an unbiased opinion. I myself eat a plant-based diet and that has worked very well for me. For the last gosh, I went vegan when I was 12 and I'm now 30, so however many years that is, it's a long time now, and so this is very unbiased. This is based on the literature, the science, as well as ancient wisdom.

Bindi: 8:41

So, vegan pros of vegan-based or plant-based forms of protein. So number one is that vegan-based proteins are loaded with amino acids, right. So again, those basic forms of proteins that our body actually utilizes. So you can be eating all these really whole, complete proteins with all the amino acids, but your body has to work really hard to break those down and to be able to uptake and utilize those basic molecules of amino acids. Another pro is that plant-based proteins are very nutrient-dense foods, so a lot of the plants that you're getting your protein from are loaded with phytonutrients, which only phytonutrient-based foods can prevent cardiovascular degenerative-based diseases, metabolic-based diseases. So this is really important to look at right.

Bindi: 9:25

What are some of the cons of vegan-based proteins? Well, the truth is is that there is more of a narrow amino acid profile in plant-based foods. So we call a complete protein a protein that contains all of the amino acids that our body can't naturally produce. Okay, An incomplete protein is foods that have less amino acids than what our body can't produce on its own. So there is a more narrow amino acid profile and we do need more variety. And it does require more intention to get complete proteins. Now, is it impossible to get complete proteins and get the full amino acid profile that we really need for all of our body functions? Not impossible. I've been doing it for many, many years, certainly much better than others in different chapters of life. It does require intention. It does require knowledge of the amino acid profiles in different foods and food combining. But hot little tip for you, it's actually quite cool A lot of the more traditional cuisines out there Indian food, you know, mexican food or Aztec food, mayan food, a lot of Asian-based foods, right, a lot of these foods.

Bindi: 10:25

Just culturally, there's an ancient wisdom and an ancient knowledge of nutritional science. Let's take Indian food, for example, where the science of Ayurveda comes from, the, basically the queen of bio-individuality in medicine. And basically, when we combine different foods, such as in traditional cuisine, like in Indian food, there's a lot of beans and lentils. What do we get when we combine beans and lentils? A complete protein, right. When in Asian cultures, here in Bali, for example, when we combine rice and soy food products tempeh or tofu what do we get? A complete protein. So what do we get in Brazil, brazilian cuisine or South American cuisine? Beans and rice. This makes a big one, right, complete protein for us. And there's so many other foods. Of course, even broccoli has amino acids. All of the foods that we're taking in there is amino acid profile inside. It's just getting the complete proteins that matters.

Bindi: 11:16

Other cons is that, of course, not so much on protein, but a vegan-based diet does lack B12. Now this is a whole other debate. Today we're not getting into necessarily like which diet you should do and what's more ethical and what's the healthiest. We're really specifically narrowing in just on protein. We could get into B12 because in older times, before our soil quality was so depleted, there actually was an abundance of B12, as in our soil right and back in the day before. You know modern agriculture and there's like big farmland, big agro, I think they got it. But before these times, like our soil quality was so micronutrient dense. And what is B12? It's actually a microorganism. It's a living microorganism found in nature. And now, with our soil quality so sterile in the use of pesticides, we can't just pull a carrot out of the ground, wipe off the visible dirt and eat it and be getting B12. Not from the carrot but from the soil. So that's a whole other conversation.

Bindi: 12:09

But vegan protein sources and plant-based sources they are lacking an essential nutrient called vitamin B12. There is less bioavailable iron in foods, right. So there's high levels of iron in spinach and kale and leafy greens and beans and legumes. But the truth is, is that plant-based sources of iron? They are more difficult to absorb. There is a difference between heme iron or animal-based iron and plant-based. Is it impossible? Certainly not. I've been doing it for many, many years and maybe we'll do a full episode just on how to do vegan right. I think that would be really valuable, but just to share that, that it is less in B12, less in iron. And then, finally, the last argument for why vegan-based protein sources aren't as optimal is specifically for people that can't digest some of the nutrients in vegan based foods.

Bindi: 12:55

So phytic acid, right, oxalates, lectins we hear so many of the main bio hackers in the industry you know, you hear, I'm not going to name names, but you, you hear all these people in biohacking world saying that a lot of these foods like kale is the enemy, spinach is the enemy because it has oxalates, and beans and grains are the enemy because they're sources of lectins, which is, you know, lectins. They are an issue, they can be an issue. They're the natural pesticides present within the plant, in nature, to keep pests away and that can cause a lot of digestive issues in people. However, the plants are not the problem. Okay, it's not the lectins that's the problem. It's not the phytic acid that's the problem. It's, number one, how we prepare those foods and number two, the genetics and the gut dysbiosis that isn't allowing us to absorb those foods. Okay, so the plant is not the problem, it's a gut based issue and that's based on genetics and that's based on gut based imbalances. So either an overgrowth of candida or parasites, there's something in your gut that is reacting to these foods. Now we can pull out the lectins and avoid lectins or whole life, or we can heal the gut so that you can absorb and manage those lectins and those that phytic acid better. There's a whole conversation around that. There's so much that we could debate, but I'm going to leave it at that for now.

Bindi: 14:09

Pros and cons of fish. So pros of protein from fish based sources is that, of course, it's high in omegas, so we like omegas high in omega threes. It's naturally anti-inflammatory. Fish does have a wider amino acid profile than vegan based sources. So you get those complete proteins without needing to food combine and, you know, bring different sources of protein together. So it's those complete proteins. Now what are some of the cons of fish based proteins? That they can be really high in heavy metals. They can be high in toxins and PCBs, plastics, right? So a lot is endocrine disrupting chemicals that we see. And so the main things is I mean quality matters, source matters. That means going organic with your vegetables. For vegan proteins, that means going.

Bindi: 14:53

What is it? Not farm raised, but what's the word you guys? Like? Fresh caught, what do you call it? Sorry, there's a term for this and it's skipping my mind at the moment, but yeah, not using the farmed fish sources, but it's like the free range of fish. What is it you guys? Anyway, I think you know what I mean. You're getting it wild caught. There you go. My brain's processing out loud Wild caught fish, okay, or like sea sourced, like that, so it's not coming from a farm where there is those higher levels of heavy metals. Also, go on the environmental working grouporg, ewgorg, and you can search the heavy metal levels in different types of fish. So go look up sardines, go look up tuna, go look up salmon and go look at the cleanest sources of fish available on the market today.

Bindi: 15:40

Okay, so that's a little tip for fish pros and cons of meat. So red meat in particular I'm talking about. Pros is that meat, animal based protein does put us into a more anabolic state. What does that mean? Greater muscle mass, muscle growth. It's thermogenic. Animal based protein, or red meat based protein, is the most thermogenic form of protein. So it's really fat burning. You do get those higher levels of B12, higher levels of iron, that more bio available iron. It does have a wider amino acid profile and complete proteins.

Bindi: 16:10

What are the cons? Of course, these degenerative based diseases. The inflammation caused by red meat so makes us more prone to things like, can make us more prone, especially for eating in too much. Right, health is about balance. Having red meat once in a while is certainly not going to kill you, but it does, you know, in the long term. And if we're eating it out of moderation, we're eating it too frequently, we're eating it daily or multiple times a day can make us more prone to cancer, high cholesterol, heart disease, cardiovascular issues, all of these different things.

Bindi: 16:42

So, in summary, carnivore, paleo, ketogenic diet it's certainly not a longevity diet. Okay, it's not a long term diet. So if you are doing something like keto or carnivore those, these are like medical based diets. They're not meant to be our daily diet for years on end. Right? This is not supposed to be how these diets are used. They can be helpful, without a doubt, in the short term, for body transformation, for, you know, adjusting blood sugar levels, for diabetic health, metabolic health, putting you into more fat burning state, but it's not a long term diet and it's certainly not a longevity diet. If you can't digest vegetables, it's not a gut issue, it's not a vegetable issue, sorry, it's a gut issue. It can be used, you know, in the short term, to remove those foods, to bring in a higher meat based diet for a couple of months, to manage blood glucose better, to build muscles, burn fat. But the longer term, that we are on a solely carnivore, paleo, ketogenic diet, it is a recipe for hormone based issues, especially for women out there. So, guaranteed, if we're on one of these more extreme carnivore, paleo ketogenic diets for extended periods of time, even vegan can be.

Bindi: 17:49

You guys, I'll say that too Vegan, not done right, can absolutely lead to hormone issues. So, too much protein, too little protein, all of the above, those imbalances there's, extremes, are what cause those imbalances. Okay, so let's get into a little bit more ancient wisdom here. So, protein intake before modern science, before all the ratios based on your you know activity levels and the foods that you eat, your metabolic type, you know, there was two bodies of wisdom. One is how to eat right for your body type and the other is how to eat right for your blood type. Okay, so we're going to get into both and how much protein you know based if you know your blood type and if you know your body type, which we'll get into what that would look like and how that translates into our protein intake. Okay, so, protein intake based on your blood type.

Bindi: 18:39

If you are blood type, oh, this is naturally more of a high protein thriving person, right? So really beneficial. If you're blood type, oh, these were more the like caveman genetics, right this comes from. So if your blood type oh, I believe, if I have it right, this is the most ancient blood type, this blood type can thrive with higher levels of protein. So focusing on more lean, organic, grass fed meats, fish, can be really excellent. Now, this doesn't mean only eating those things. We need micronutrients from fruits and vegetables, but knowing that a blood type oh can thrive with a little bit higher levels of protein compared to the other body types, I'm saying in comparison to not a high protein diet forever and ever, amen. I'm just saying that, compared to the other blood types, you, as a blood type oh can thrive with a little bit higher protein levels.

Bindi: 19:28

Then there's blood type a, and that's actually what I am. Blood type a's can actually thrive on more of a plant based diet, right, or a more Mediterranean diet. So you know we can tolerate things like soy foods. You know you can enjoy some cold water fish like salmon or sardines, but a lot of vegetables and healthy plant based oils and fats. This is more suitable for vegan or vegetarian based diets, or just, um, what do you call it when you eat fish? Um, pescatarian. Yeah, so that's blood type a. Blood type B is kind of a more moderate to more middle path, so eating meats more like lamb and goat can be a little bit better. Again, fish, so salmon and sardines. Blood type B you can get away with bit more like protein from dairy based sources like yogurt or kefir. Those would be like the main ones for blood type B. And then blood type AB is again a combination. So they can as well do well with soy products. They can do a little bit better with a vegetarian or pescatarian based diet, having fish as well. They can also tolerate dairy a little bit more.

Bindi: 20:30

Look up the book. I think it's called Eat Right for your Blood Type and the blood type diet. This can be really insightful If you know your blood type, just to look at it and see. Of course there's many other factors. There's genetics, there's environment, there's activity levels. So take it with a grain of salt and again, take in what makes sense and then leave what doesn't and apply all the other principles I'm gonna share here. But that's helpful to know that your protein intake should vary based on your blood type.

Bindi: 20:55

Okay, let's get into body types. So body types according to both ancient wisdom of Ayurveda, which is I talk about it all the time the oldest medical science known to humankind. It goes back more than 5,000 years from ancient India. The Vedic seers that basically channeled this wisdom of Ayurveda summarized the human body into three main types, known as Vata, pitta and Kafa. Okay, vata being a more air body type, pitta being a more fire body type, kafa being a more earth body type, and this is a metaphor. We're talking in symbolism here. However, modern science also talks about the exact same three body types. We just call it a more medical term.

Bindi: 21:38

The Vata based body type is known as the ectomorph in more like fitness and modern wellness circles. So the ectomorph or the Vata body type is naturally more catabolic. So that means your body is gonna be naturally in more of a breakdown state, a tissue breakdown. You're naturally gonna have higher levels of stress, your cortisol is more likely to spike. Right, when you wake up in the morning and you do a longer fast, you're gonna be depleted, you're gonna feel shaky, you're gonna feel light headed, dizzy. We don't want your blood sugar dropping down too low. As an ectomorph or as a Vata based body type, that's important. Now, this ectomorph or this Vata body type also has a little bit less digestive capacity to break down proteins. So this body type actually runs more on carbs, with a more moderate protein intake. So we say like 50% or more of your calories as a Vata or ectomorph should come from carbs, second from protein and then third from fat. So that's important to know.

Bindi: 22:36

Okay, a pit a body type, the fire body type in more Western science we call it the mesomorph body type. So I guess, if you've never heard these words, the Vata the first one that I mentioned or ectomorph, you're more thin, right, you're. Naturally, you're probably a bit taller, you're more thin, you've got longer limbs. This is the Vata body type. Okay, the pit a body type or the mesomorph, is more of a medium build, okay, so not too thin, not necessarily too big or less fat mass, but a lot of muscle. So this body type is more of a moderate body type. This is the body type of a lot of body builders or athletes, a lot of like Olympians. These types of things are more mesomorph. So this mesomorph or pit a body type actually needs higher levels of protein. Your body's in more of that anabolic state, meaning in a state of growth and building of tissue and muscle.

Bindi: 23:24

This pit a or mesomorph has the highest digestive strength and has the capacity to break down animal-based proteins with more ease than the other body types. So the diet for this person is a little bit more balanced. Macronutrients okay. So macros being protein, fat, fiber, carbohydrates, things like that. So it's mostly gonna be equal across the different macronutrients. So you know, protein, fat, carbs are relatively equal to one another in terms of how many calories we're getting from each source of macronutrients. So let's say, about 30% of our diet your calories is from protein, about 40% of our calories is from carbs and about 30% of our calories from fat. So hopefully that helps.

Bindi: 24:04

Finally, is the kafa body type or the more endomorph body type. So if the ectomorph or vat is quite thin right Longer limbs, more thin stature Pit a is more of a medium build, more muscular. A kafa body type or an endomorph, is more earth, so there's more abundance to this body. You may be more broad in the shoulders. You may have genuinely thicker bones. You may tend towards weight gain, fat gain, also muscle gain, have a little bit of a slower metabolism. So because of that slower metabolism, this body type can actually handle more protein, less carbs. So this body type has less carb tolerance and will thrive and build strength more on a higher protein diet.

Bindi: 24:46

So that plate is gonna look about 35% of our calories from protein, 25% of our calories from carbs and then 40% of our calories from fat. And just to be clear, that doesn't mean that the portions on your plate are 35, 25, 40, or these different ratios. It's actually the calories that come from it. So that's another conversation. I'm just clarifying that. I don't mean like your plate should look like 40% fat. We want the calories to come from it and there's a different calculation that we do. So just take it with a grain of salt. But basically, if you're Vata body type, less protein, if you're Pitta, little bit more and if you're Kafa, the most.

Bindi: 25:23

So let's break it down even further how much protein is actually needed? So this is the great question this is the meaning of this episode how much protein is actually needed? It is the minimal dose needed to achieve the result that you want. So let's break that down into three main categories of what that could look like. Either the result that you want is number one, body transformation. So you're looking for fat loss, you're looking for muscle gain, you're looking to get more lean, more muscle definition and tone. That's one possibility, and I'll share with you how much protein exactly you need in a sec.

Bindi: 25:59

The second way that we can look at it, the result that we might be looking for is longevity. So longevity is you wanna live longer. You want anti-aging, you want overall health optimization, best cognitive function, best mental energy, mental clarity that's longevity. You wanna live a long time, you wanna live over 100 years old? That's the second result. And then the third possibility of how we may need to calculate our protein is what I call the middle path. So that's more people that are like you know, kind of like me. I'm just average, you know. Of course I want to look my best, I want to feel lean, I want to feel toned, I want to feel good in my body and confident, but I really care about my health, my mental clarity, my hormones, my longevity. That's the middle path, right? Kind of like the average person that wants the best of both worlds.

Bindi: 26:46

So, based on these three possibilities, what is the actual protein intake that we need? So, if you fall into category one, you're looking for body transformation. You're very active, you want to transform your body. You want to get lean, you want to add muscle, you want to get more toned. The fact is is that you're going to need more protein to achieve that.

Bindi: 27:06

So the standard formula for body transformation is one gram of protein per pound of ideal body weight. Okay, so an ideal body weight is key here. So, basically, what you're going to do is you're going to take your ideal body weight. We're going to put it through this little calculation and get the number of grams of protein that you need per day from that. So let's say that your ideal body weight is 140 pounds. You might be 120 pounds right now. You may be 160 pounds right now. Whatever it is, the ideal body weight, let's say, for you, for example, is 140 pounds. So what we do is we times 140 times one gram of protein per pound of body weight, we get the easiest calculation 140 grams of protein per day. Okay. So if we break that down into three meals 140 grams of protein per day based on that 140 pound ideal body weight, we get 46 grams of protein per meal. Okay. So if that's you, you're really active, you're looking to burn fat, you're looking to gain weight, gain muscle. 46 grams of protein per day based on that 140 pounds. So again, you can add in your own ideal body weight to that formula, and I will add this in the show notes as well. So it's nice and written out for you. An easy calculation, okay.

Bindi: 28:19

Number two if you fall into the category of longevity, that's what matters most to you is you want to live a long life. You're focused more on optimal hormones, optimal gut health, optimal cognition. You're less concerned about body transformation. Maybe you just want to maintain the weight and the muscle mass that you're at, then we're getting into this longevity category. So research shows us that the longest lived people in the world live in what's known as the blue zones, which are cultures that actually eat significantly less protein and the majority of their diet comes from plant based sources.

Bindi: 28:51

So if your goal is longevity and anti aging and you're not super, super active, you're not like at athlete status, you're not working out five plus days a week, you're not running a marathon, you're not training super hard then we're going to strive for this ratio of protein 0.4 grams of protein per ideal body weight. Okay so, 0.4 grams of protein per ideal body weight. So we're going to take again this ideal body weight of let's say there's no ideal body weight for everyone, this is your ideal body weight, but just for math sake. And let's say it's 140 pounds. So if your ideal body weight is 140 pounds, I'm going to times 140 times 0.4, we get 56 grams of protein per day. So 56 grams of protein is what you need. That's like the minimum protein intake that we would need. Divide that by three meals a day, we get 18 grams of protein per meal.

Bindi: 29:45

Okay, now if you are really active, you are trying to build muscle, you have a really like physically demanding lifestyle or job, or you're working out a lot, this will certainly not be enough for you and eating only 0.4 grams of protein, but trying to maintain the lifestyle that you are, with those higher levels of stress, those greater physical demands, you're working out a lot, you will go more into that catabolic state. You will go into lower immune function, you will lose your hormonal balance, you will mess up your gut, right? So, again, it's not for everyone. So 56 grams of protein, three meals a day, that's 18 grams per meal. That's longevity, okay. And then let's say you're more like me and you want the middle path. So you enjoy exercise, you want to be lean, you want to have an active life, but you also know that too much protein is not beneficial for longevity, right, for overall health and well-being.

Bindi: 30:35

So the formula that I personally like to use find this good middle path is like this we're going to find our ideal body weight and ensure that a maximum so this is maximum of 20% of our daily calories is coming from protein. Okay, that's maximum. So 15 to 20%. So what does that actually mean? What's our calculation? We're going to take again our ideal body weight. Let's say that it's 140 pounds. We're going to times that by 0.7, right grams of protein per pound and we get 98 grams of protein per day. Okay, so just almost 100 grams of protein per day. We're going to break that down. So 98 grams of protein per day, divided by three meals a day breakfast, lunch and dinner we get about 32 grams of protein per meal. Now, for a woman of my size, a woman of my activity level you know, a woman with the same goals as me about 30 grams of protein. That's what we need. That's really healthy, that's really balanced. So I hope this was helpful, you guys.

Bindi: 31:31

Little summary for us is our protein intake is bio individual. We need anywhere from about 0.4 to one gram of protein per ideal pound of body weight. That we're trying to achieve, and I'd love for you to just worry less about the type of protein and focus more on the foundations. Focus more on getting the right amount, knowing what your goals are and creating the optimal amount for you. In different chapters of life, we need different things. If we're going through pregnancy, if we're going through a more stressful time, if we're going through a more active time, these things will need to change. But overall, I just want to share with you that there is no one size fits all when it comes to diet nutrition. This is exactly what I work with my clients on inside of my private practice. Our nutrition plans are really custom, really bio individual, and that's for a reason because everyone's unique and so the diet, nutrition and protein requirements that you have is unique, so remember that a state of health is about balance, it's about the middle path, it's about finding what is right for us, and that's how we're going to achieve the best results. So that is all for today.

Bindi: 32:32

I want to thank you so much for listening. If you think that this episode could be helpful for someone in your life someone that's considering doing a carnivore diet or a vegan diet, or someone on the fence of knowing how do I, you know, manage the sea of information out there, please do share this episode with anyone you think that it can serve. Please download this so when you come back to it later, you can know exactly the ratios. You can go straight to the show notes or I'm going to link up some additional episodes as well as these ratios so you can start to calculate your own optimal protein intake. Let me know your questions over on Instagram.

Bindi: 33:06

My handle is at bindi stables. That's B I N D I stables with a B, and I'd love to hear your questions and your top key takeaways over on there. So thank you so much for listening and I'll see you back for another episode real soon, take care. Thanks so much for listening. If you loved today's episode, please spread the love by subscribing and leaving a review, or if there's someone in your life that you think could benefit from this conversation, please share this episode with them. I would love to hear from you over on Instagram at bindi stables, or visit my website, bindi stablescom to connect and work with me. Thank you so much again for being here, and I'm celebrating you in this journey of becoming the happiest, the healthiest, most vibrant you.