Your protein questions, answered

The RDA is 0.8 g/kg for sedentary adults, but active people need more. For muscle building aim for 1.6–2.2 g/kg. For a 70 kg person that’s about 112–154 g daily. Use the calculator for a personal target.

Yes. The PROT-AGE Study Group recommends 1.0–1.2 g/kg/day for adults over 65 to maintain muscle mass and function, because aging blunts the muscle-building response.

Add about 25 g/day in the 2nd and 3rd trimesters and while breastfeeding. For a 60 kg woman that’s roughly 73–100 g daily in total. Confirm with your prenatal care provider.

Ages 14–18 need 0.85 g/kg/day as a baseline. Active teens often do well with 1.2–1.6 g/kg to support growth and training.

Higher protein helps preserve lean mass in a calorie deficit. Many people do well around 1.6–2.4 g/kg of body weight; research on lean athletes uses 2.3–3.1 g/kg of lean mass.

For most healthy adults with normal kidney function, high intakes are well tolerated when spread across meals. A commonly cited upper range is about 2.0–2.5 g/kg/day. People with kidney disease should follow their clinician’s limits.

There’s no good evidence that high-protein diets harm healthy kidneys. For people who already have chronic kidney disease, however, limiting protein is often recommended.

For CKD stages 3–5 not on dialysis, KDOQI 2020 suggests about 0.55–0.6 g/kg/day under dietitian supervision. Dialysis patients need more, about 1.0–1.2 g/kg/day.

You can, but it’s not ideal for muscle. The muscle-building response per meal levels off around 20–40 g, so spreading protein across 3–4 meals is more effective.

No, that’s a myth. Protein is absorbed steadily and almost completely. Total daily intake matters most, then distribution.

30–40 g of a slow protein such as casein or cottage cheese 30–60 minutes before sleep can support overnight muscle recovery.

Yes. Muscle repair continues for 24–48 hours after training. Keep intake consistent every day.

Plant proteins are slightly less digestible, so aim 10–20% higher than omnivore targets and combine complementary sources.

Gram for gram, many plant proteins are less digestible and limited in one amino acid. Pairing (e.g. legumes + grains) and slightly higher intake closes the gap.

No. Eating complementary proteins across the day works. Pairing within a meal simply makes it easier to hit the leucine threshold.