Paleo and Too Much Protein
One of the keys to the Paleo Diet is maintaining the correct amount of protein. It includes higher levels of protein than the typical diet and yet less fat. That’s because the primary protein is lean protein, foods like turkey breast, shrimp, buffalo, fish and very lean cuts of meat. The tricky part is this, even though much of the rest of the diet is vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds, it provides the amount of protein that the body needs to work better.
When people start to get enough protein, while avoiding the type of carbohydrates that clog the gut, their energy level rises. The single biggest reason people visit doctors is low energy levels. Having lean protein first thing in the morning, (instead of the typical carb and sweet shot of faux nutrition that most people get) has advantages. That lean protein boosts the metabolism first thing in the morning and after that it tends to stay higher.
What you need to watch out for is the instinctive human reaction, if a little is good more is better. That is the kind of thinking that takes a person from a social drink to a DUI. So, when people feel more energized from having more protein, if their energy flags their response is ‘more’. They ramp up the amount of protein. The problem begins when the body has to process that excess protein, which it breaks down into amino acids. That ramps up the urea production, an acidic material that the body has to process.
This tires the body out, the acid accumulates in joints causing pain, digestion suffers, the urinary system is seriously stressed and all of those benefits that came from getting enough protein evaporate. Even though you might fill up with alkaline minerals to balance the acid from the protein, the fact that those excess amino acids are converted into ammonia, and then urea, amplifies the power of that excess protein to affect the body in a potentially negative way.
When it comes to maintaining a balanced energy diet this is one of those cases where burning more fuel doesn’t mean going faster. Instead, just like in the days of carburetors, too much fuel too fast floods out the engine and everything stalls. Don’t let that happen to you. Establish the proper proportions for your protein based on the book and stick to the minimums. The main time that amount increase is when your athletic demands bump up the volume of your entire diet.
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