The hype around protein intake doesn’t seem to be going away.

Social media is full of people urging you to eat more protein, including via supplements such as protein shakes. Food companies have also started highlighting protein content on food packages to promote sales.

But is all the extra protein giving us any benefit – and can you have too much protein?

Protein’s important – but many eat more than they need

Eating enough protein is important. It helps form muscle tissue, enzymes and hormones and it plays a role in immune function. It can also give you energy.

Australia’s healthy eating guidelines, penned by experts and backed by government, recommend we get 15–25% of our daily energy needs from protein.

The recommended daily intake of protein for adults is 0.84 grams per kilogram of body weight for men and 0.75 grams per kilogram of body weight for women

This is about 76 grams per day for a 90 kilogram man or 53 grams per day for a 70 kilogram woman. (It’s a bit more if you’re over 70 or a child, though).

Most Australian adults are already eating plenty of protein.

Even so, many people still go out of their way to add even more protein to their diet.

For people working to increase muscle mass through resistance training, such as lifting weights, a protein intake up to 1.6 grams per kilogram of body weight per day (that’s 144 grams a day for a 90 kilogram person) can help with increasing muscle strength and size.

But research shows there is no additional muscle gain benefit from eating any more than that.

For most of us, there’s no benefit in consuming protein above the recommended level.

In fact, having too much protein can cause problems.

What happens when I eat too much protein?

Excess protein is not all simply excreted from the body in urine or faeces. It stays in the body and has various effects.

Protein is a source of energy, so eating more protein means taking in more energy.

When we consume more energy than we need, our body converts any excess into fatty tissue for storage.

There are some health conditions where excess protein intake should be avoided. For example, people with chronic kidney disease should closely monitor their protein intake, under the supervision of a dietitian, to avoid damage to the kidneys.

There is also a condition called protein poisoning, which is where you eat too many proteins without getting enough fats, carbohydrates and other nutrients.

It’s also known as “rabbit starvation”, a term often linked to early 20th century explorer Vilhjalmur Stefansson, in reference to the fact that those who subsisted on a diet of mainly rabbits (which are famously lean) quickly fell dangerously ill.

Where you get your protein from matters

We can get protein in our diets from plant sources (such as beans, lentils, wholegrains) and animal sources (such as eggs, dairy, meat or fish).

A high intake of protein from animal sources has been associated with an increased risk of premature death among older Australians (especially death from cancer).

High animal protein intake is also associated with increased risk of type 2 diabetes.

On the other hand, consuming more plant sources of protein is associated with:

• a lower risk of dying from cancer
• a reduced risk of type 2 diabetes and
• improved blood cholesterol levels.

Many animal sources of protein are also relatively high in fat, particularly saturated fat.

A high intake of saturated fat contributes to increased risk of chronic diseases such as heart disease. Many Australians already eat more saturated fat than we need.

Many plant sources of protein, however, are also sources of dietary fibre, which most Australians don’t get enough of.

Having more dietary fibre helps reduce the risk of chronic diseases (such as heart disease) and supports gut health.

Striking a balance

Overall, where you get protein from – and having a balance between animal and plant sources – is more important than simply just trying to add ever more protein to your diet.

Protein, fats and carbohydrates all work together to keep your body healthy and the engine running smoothly.

We need all of these macro nutrients, along with vitamins and minerals, in the right proportions to support our health.

Margaret Murray, Senior Lecturer, Nutrition, Swinburne University of Technology

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) affects one in eight women globally. However, this complex hormonal condition is under-researched and often misunderstood.

This is partly due to its name, which overemphasises “cysts” and the ovaries. In fact, you can have PCOS without cysts.

It can affect many parts of the body, not just the ovaries, leading to acne, excess body hair, changes in metabolism and even mental health issues.

Our new research, published today, shows that changing the name would help better reflect the complexity of PCOS and improve awareness about this condition. We surveyed 7,700 health professionals and people with PCOS and found the majority supported a name change.

What is PCOS?

PCOS is a chronic condition caused by an imbalance of multiple hormones – the body’s chemical messengers – that circulate through the body.

Genes and environment play a role. Lifestyle factors, such as diet (especially ultraprocessed foods) and activity, can also lead to weight gain and worsen its severity.

In PCOS, the “cysts” are actually partially developed eggs that, due to underlying hormonal imbalance, remain dormant. This means they are less likely to be released (ovulation).

Unlike conventional ovarian cysts, these dormant eggs will generally not grow larger, cause pain, require surgery or burst. Instead, they are slowly reabsorbed over time back into the ovary.

Having dormant eggs in your ovaries is not, by itself, enough to be diagnosed with PCOS – and you can have PCOS without any dormant eggs.

So, what’s needed to diagnose PCOS?

For adults, a diagnosis requires two of three features:

1) irregular periods (due to limited ovulation)

2) high levels of certain hormones (androgens), such as testosterone, which is evident either in blood tests or symptoms (excess facial and body hair, acne, and thinning/balding scalp)

3) excess dormant eggs detected either on an ultrasound or ovarian hormone blood test

In adolescents, only the first two criteria are needed for a diagnosis. Ovary tests (ultrasound or blood tests) are not recommended until after age 20, as changes in the ovaries are common during normal adolescent development.

However, these criteria focus heavily on the ovaries and menstrual cycles, neglecting the condition’s broader impacts.

Widespread health effects

In fact, hormonal imbalances in PCOS affect multiple systems in the body. This can include:

metabolism – higher blood pressure and cholesterol, and greater risk of heart disease and diabetes.

reproductive system – irregular menstrual cycles, reduced fertility and pregnancy complications and increased endometrial cancer risk.

skin – excess facial/body hair, acne, scalp hair thinning and dark skin patches.

mental health – anxiety, depression, disordered eating and body image concerns.

PCOS has also been linked to sleep apnoea (a sleep disorder involving irregular breathing, snoring and fatigue) and inflammatory conditions such as asthma.

Widespread confusion

It’s not uncommon for women with PCOS to see two or three doctors and wait years for a diagnosis. Many types of doctors, including GPs and hormone, skin and fertility specialists, may be involved in care.

Often, health-care providers focus on reproductive concerns, overlooking other health impacts.

Common but problematic approaches include not informing women of the diagnosis, telling them not to “worry” about their PCOS until they wish to conceive, providing inadequate information or only addressing the problem in their speciality area, such as infertility.

This fragmentation creates a troubling paradox. Some are told they’ll face infertility. Yet without proper education they may be unaware they can still occasionally ovulate and may experience unexpected pregnancies.

Conversely, others planning for families often face unforeseen fertility difficulties that early comprehensive care – such as reproductive life planning, healthy lifestyle and early treatment – could have addressed.

The case to change the name

In our new study, we surveyed 3,462 health professionals and 4,246 people with PCOS across six continents.

We wanted to find out what health-care professionals, doctors and those affected by the condition understood about PCOS, and whether understanding has improved over time.

We also wanted to understand whether changing the name – for example, to include “endocrine” or “metabolic” – could have a positive impact, given frequent confusion and misdiagnosis.

Support for a name change was widespread: 86% of women with PCOS and 76% of health professionals said renaming PCOS would better reflect the condition, reduce confusion and likely lead to better outcomes.

We are now leading an international process to find a consensus on a new name and formally change it in the International Classification of Diseases. This involves engaging widely with health professionals and people with PCOS.

By reframing PCOS beyond a purely reproductive disorder, a name change can support broader research funding, education and advocacy. It may lead to better recognition and improved diagnosis, care and outcomes for people with PCOS.

Combating misinformation with evidence

Accurate information is critical for proper PCOS management. Yet misinformation about the condition – for example, that PCOS can be cured through diet or exacerbated by the oral contraceptive pill – is rife on social media.

We have also co-designed and developed evidence-based guidelines and free resources for people with PCOS to find out more about the condition, including the free “Ask PCOS” app.

Renaming PCOS is another key step in improving knowledge about this understudied condition – and care for the 170 million women affected worldwide.

Helena Teede, Director of Monash Centre for Health Research Implementation, Monash University; Chau Thien Tay (Jillian), Research Fellow, Monash Centre for Health Research and Implementation, Monash University, and Lorna Berry, Consumer Lead, Centre for Research Excellence in Women’s Health in Reproductive Life, Monash University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.