At 12:45 -0400 11/7/03, Adrienne Smith wrote:

>What do you define as high protein ie how many grams?

High protein could probably be used to describe any diet with more
than the RDA of protein, which in your case is about 44 grams per day.

I notice that the RDA for fat intake is that no more than one-third of
daily energy intake should come from fat. So take the RDA for protein
intake with a similar-sized grain of salt.


> How would one determine
>the requisite grams of protein for a high protein regime.

I guess you keep increasing protein intake until you find a balance
that works well for your body.

In your case (54 kg body weight), the maximum amount of protein you
could eat would be about 180 g/day. Beyond this you would run into
the limit of the amount of nitrogen your liver could metabolize.

Note though that you need to increase protein intake slowly to
reach this amount. The liver maintains just enough enzymes to enable
the metabolization of dietary protein, and as protein intake
increases it needs to build more enzymes in response.

Short term symptoms of excess protein intake are nausea and diarrhea.


> I felt the worst on regime #2 -- constantly
>hungry and often constipated and lacking in energy.

High-protein, low fat and low carb doesn't really work. You can't
get enough energy before running into the protein ceiling.

 ...Richard.