Far 2 Fabulous

Beyond Muscles: How Protein Shapes Your Hormones, Energy, and Longevity

• Julie Clark & Catherine Chapman • Episode 64

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Episode 64

Julie and Catherine delve into the crucial yet often misunderstood world of protein requirements, especially for women over 40 and those leading active lifestyles. They explore why most women need significantly more protein than conventional guidelines suggest and how insufficient protein affects everything from energy to recovery.

• Government protein guidelines are too low, especially for women over 40
• Active women need 1.2-2g of protein per kilogram of body weight
• Most "healthy diets" only provide about 60g of protein when many need 80-120g
• Protein deficiency causes the body to break down its own tissues for amino acids
• Fasting protocols often inappropriate for active women, causing stress and fatigue
• Eating protein within 30 minutes of waking helps regulate cortisol and blood sugar
• Digestion capacity diminishes with age—bitter foods and apple cider vinegar can help
• Vegetarians and vegans need strategic food combining to meet protein requirements
• Protein quality matters—focus on minimally processed, nutrient-dense sources
• Track your protein intake for a week and notice improvements in energy and cravings

Try tracking your protein intake for seven days to establish your baseline, then increase it to the recommended levels and observe changes in your energy, sleep quality, and cravings. Your body will thank you!


Got a question or comment? Send us a text message here!

Finally Hit Your Protein Goals Without the Hassle—11 Fast & Easy Ways to Get 25+ Grams of Protein, No Stress, No Boring Meals!


Simply click HERE to download your free protein guide.

Thank you for listening.

You can continue the conversation with us in the Far 2 Fabulous Facebook group. Come and connect with other women on a journey to empowered health.

For more information about Julie Clark Nutrition, click HERE
For more information about Catherine Chapman, click HERE

We look forward to you joining us on the next episode.

Speaker 1:

Welcome to Far Too Fabulous hosted by Julie and Catherine.

Speaker 2:

Join us on a mission to embrace your fabulousness and redefine wellness. Get ready for some feistiness, inspiration, candy chats and humour as we journey together towards empowered well-being. Let's dive in. Hello, hello and welcome to this week's episode of the Far Too Fabulous Podcast.

Speaker 1:

Honestly, you're taking the piss now because you're really going for the lively intro, Really having it up now.

Speaker 2:

yeah, I'm going to start. I'm going to do like one of those like 50s kind of like. It's like sharing the platform with someone.

Speaker 1:

naughty bum bum bum bum bum bum bum bum bum bum bum bum bum bum bum bum bum bum bum bum bum bum bum bum bum bum bum bum bum bum bum bum bum bum bum bum bum bum bum bum bum bum bum bum bum bum bum bum bum bum bum bum bum bum bum bum bum bum bum bum bum bum bum bum bum bum bum bum bum bum bum bum bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum bum bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum to do anything wrong.

Speaker 2:

There was like I look back and I mean, it wasn't perfectionism, but I was definitely scared of being in trouble sticking out doing anything wrong. And and now I am the polar opposite and I love it I know that you don't conform to things are you?

Speaker 1:

are you going to talk about chocolate a lot again today on this episode, or are you gonna leave? I?

Speaker 2:

mean it could be like I tell you what I am going to tell you about. Actually, we get right, so let's rewind. So we thought that we would talk today about protein. It's a big, big topic, yep, and topic chocolate bar no it's a big, big time.

Speaker 2:

And what made me think about when you said about chocolate? I was totally I think I told you this as well I was totally, totally drawn into the gimmick that was on the side of sports directs till and I was post run and it said mars bar protein and I was like, wow, that must be really, really good. And I was. I was hungry, I was really what were you thinking?

Speaker 2:

I know I was feeling like I am right now like post run. I want to eat anything that stays still long enough that I can put it in my mouth, as it were, and I know and and to have a mars bar for me. I used to only like them after I'd been sailing, so after I'd really expended a lot of energy. That was the only time I kind of really fancied something as as sickly and as full-on as that. So I was properly drawn in and I and I bought it. And it wasn't a proper Mars bar, it was. It was this protein rich thing, and it wasn't a proper Mars bar, it was this protein-rich thing and it was disgusting. And not only was I disappointed, it was blooming expensive. How much was it? It was like £3.50 or something, yeah, yeah. So it was very disappointing. So we've gone off on a tangent totally already Already when I say we, I have.

Speaker 1:

I'm intrigued to know if you still ate it, though.

Speaker 2:

Oh yeah yeah, yeah, and in fact, I tried to give some to mikey and he gave it back to me because it was vile. Yeah, no, it wasn't, it really was bad, really bad. What's really annoying actually is I am, so I did my 20 mile run training run yesterday and well, it won't be yesterday at the point this podcast goes out no information, yeah, a couple of weeks ago now.

Speaker 2:

Oh, I would have been fully recovered by then, thank goodness. What's really annoys me and people used to talk about like wanting to eat lots after the marathon, like when you finished I don't get that. I actually genuinely I feel quite sick straight afterwards. I don't get that feeling that I want to just eat and eat, or that I actually genuinely I feel quite sick straight afterwards. I don't get that feeling that I want to just eat and eat, or that I can just eat and eat. I even yesterday we mark made a nice midweek roast which was nice yeah, um, with cauliflower cheese and everything.

Speaker 2:

It's so exciting and um, and it was nice and I ate most of it. But it wasn't like I was ravenous. And even this morning I woke up and I was thinking, oh, it'd be nice to eat loads of food and I just didn't want to.

Speaker 1:

Very disappointing. It's quite interesting, though, isn't it? Because if you think about what you've just done, your body should be looking for that fuel, unless it still thinks it's in stress and it just can't deal with the digestion right now. Perhaps it's too busy trying to repair everything that it can't afford the energy for the digestion? No, maybe, maybe.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, no, it's interesting, isn't it? I mean, I do like I fuel all the way through. I would be so glad not to have another gel. I mean, I imagine that makes your heart crack a little bit, doesn't it?

Speaker 1:

a gel. I was doing my best to ignore it and I was just gonna let it go. I was literally gonna let it go. I was gonna let you speak about the gel, let it go, and then now you've pulled me into it.

Speaker 2:

I know, then they're not. If I wasn't so close to the marathon now, I would be looking for alternative ways to fuel all the way through the marathon. Right now, I've got something that kind of works and keeps me going. That's relatively simple, so I'm going to stick to it. However, I think that this is not ever an admission that I'm going to do another marathon again.

Speaker 1:

Let me be clear.

Speaker 2:

And if I even sound everybody, if I even sound like I might be thinking it's a really good idea. Please message me and remind me. However, half marathons I am definitely up for, and I've definitely got another half Ironman in my future at some point, so we'll have to fuel. Can it be an Ironwoman? Well, I mean it could be or an iron person an iron goddess?

Speaker 2:

yes, yes, I mean, I imagine that there are female triathlons and they've probably done something like that, but uh, yes, uh, for the sake of the branding, an, I am mad. We quite mark and I do quite enjoy doing those. So, um, yeah, there's definitely one of those in my future and I think maybe we'll use it as a podcast and we'll work out how I can feel better than drinking those revolting gels I do know how to do that excellent and I can't believe you haven't asked me already.

Speaker 1:

I know why haven't I done that?

Speaker 2:

I don't know what are you thinking? Okay, I promise, I promise I will do it so. And actually this is this is a bit of a tangent, but it's very, very relevant to what we are going to be talking about because we're talking about protein and we kind of started this conversation earlier on. It was like let's just get a microphone in front of us, yeah, and and do this, and there are lots of different viewpoints in how much protein you should be having, and I think that the main thing is your reason why you're taking on this protein. Is it like we were talking about longevity, or is it that you are actually training for something, or you know whereabouts in your life? Are you, how old you are, it all. It's not just like one size fits all is it?

Speaker 1:

no, no, it isn't.

Speaker 1:

But I was saying to you that the research coming out now, I think it's becoming more evident that we need more protein than we realized. So the current government guidelines for protein, it's now being thought that that is actually too low, especially for women, especially for women over 40. So it was interesting that I was saying to you that when I look at my clients food diaries, there seemed to be a pattern emerging where if somebody was eating what I would consider quite a good diet, they would tend to be hitting around 60 grams of protein on a good diet before we started working together. So they do a food diary for their first appointment and the recommendations really now that we're looking at means that that is too low. So someone who feels like they're doing all the right things is low on something that appears to be extremely important for our health yeah, and potentially at half as much hey yeah, because really the amount that we should be getting for being over 40, especially if we're active, is between 1.2 and 2 grams per kilogram of body weight.

Speaker 1:

So for me I weigh just over 60 kilograms. I think I'm about 61 kilograms I need to be hitting 80, plus even up to maybe 120 grams of protein in a day, especially on the days that I'm active, whereas the government guidelines would probably suggest that I need about 40.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, but again it's like the recommended daily allowance, isn't it that? You've said is just enough to not get scurvy. Which?

Speaker 1:

is not what we're aiming for. Yeah, and it might be that that figure I haven't actually looked at that it might be that that figure for protein is just enough to avoid.

Speaker 1:

Um, what's the condition, sarcopenia't it when you've got not enough protein and then you get that muscle wastage. So I think that having had a few clients lately looking at their food diaries, combined with their symptoms, and realising that their protein is low and I know we've spoken about it before because when you did that exercise of tracking your food intake, your protein was definitely low- wasn't it?

Speaker 2:

yeah, yeah, absolutely. And what you've just said then is really crucial is if you're active as well. So I just want to really highlight that point is what you've just said is that if somebody is active, like really physically active, so that's really important, and so I was very physically active yesterday does that mean that I should increase my protein around that time, or does it work that it just spreads out throughout, say the week, or something?

Speaker 1:

that's a really good question. I think there is an amount of protein that you need to compensate for being active, yeah, but you've also got to look across what you're doing on a day, like a weekly basis or just an overall summary of what you're doing. I suppose the average yeah is also going to be important, but, of course, if you're doing a lot of exercise, you're going to be pulling on those protein reserves and what you don't want to do is break down your muscle mass.

Speaker 2:

No, absolutely yeah, because that's that's so, so important. And again, you said about being over 40, you start to reduce your muscle mass from like 30 35 years old, and so, as well as being actively actively active yeah, actively active in um, in growing that muscle mass, this protein sort of element of it is really important. And I think that again, in our society, it's people take away things, don't? We take away, uh, calories, we take away nutrition, uh we do more cardio to we. We think that these are the things that we need to do to to keep in shape or to lose weight, which is a massive that's. That's kind of like the um holy grail for some reason, and it's completely the opposite, isn't it?

Speaker 1:

yeah, I think the trouble is with our view of protein is we just associate it with being for muscles, and it is an important component. And, of course, when we're looking at muscle mass, especially as we get older and that impact on hormones changing, we do need to take account for that. But protein is the building blocks for everything. When we look at how the body makes energy, when we look to the mitochondria, we need amino acids. Those are the things that you get from the breakdown of protein, and so if you're looking at energy levels, you've got to have sufficient amino acids for your brain to work. When you're looking at how well your body's managing blood sugars, we know that having protein-rich food reduces cravings, so it plays into that weight loss area anyway.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, and I definitely feel that if I've had a protein not even a protein-rich, because it makes it sound like I'm overdoing it, but uh, enough protein, a substantial amount of protein in a meal, I don't feel like well one. I don't feel like I want that kind of sweet treat afterwards, which is definitely, um, a habitual thing, and I don't. It's so weird because we don't have dessert. We just don't have dessert ever, but often I will still have that weird craving for something sweet when I literally can't fit anything else in my body. However, when I have a protein sufficient meal, then then I don't get that, which is lovely yeah, so so the protein.

Speaker 1:

I thought it would be good to have a chat about protein because it's come up so many times recently with talking to clients and I think that we we don't necessarily realize how little protein we're eating, especially if you're vegetarian or vegan. You've got to, you can still get your protein vegan. You've got to, you can still get your protein intake. But you've got to really know what you're doing and I, unfortunately, have seen a lot of vegan and vegetarian people be unwell, especially if they've suddenly decided to change over to that style of diet and they start to impact their nutrition. You've got to understand how to combine foods and you need to eat more of the plant-based foods to get the amount of protein you need. That might be controversial, but that, unfortunately, is a fact.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, absolutely, and you have to embrace the love of legumes for the love of legumes. Yes, Because they are absolutely essential and I don't know why they get such a bad rap, but they are so essential and they are so easy and they are so full of all the goodness but and they're really cheap as well.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, so it is a good thing, but I was listening to um a doctor, talking about protein on a podcast, who a doctor that's also is also a nutritionist. So I have some level of respect for this person, um, because it's good that they're coming at it from both angles. You know, I've said to you before I should just become a doctor so that I can come at it from both angles. But this guy has done that and he was talking about if you're vegetarian or vegan and you don, about making sure that, where these products come from is really important that they're again, they're not highly processed, because companies have really jumped on the bandwagon, haven't they?

Speaker 2:

of big time creating these things that that look like they directly replace meat products, and it often it depends on why. You are vegetarian. I can't. I remember buying and this again, this is going to make your heartbreak just a little bit more. I remember buying a, I think it was. I think it was a meat replacement product that began with a Q, but it was supposed to be like ribs and I mean I've never eaten ribs so I don't know genuinely what they taste like. But it was the texture and the sauce and the stuff actually made me feel funny. And it was the same with the kids. Like the children have never eaten meat so they don't have anything to compare it to. But they all felt it was a weird texture and, yeah, we didn't end up.

Speaker 1:

We didn't end up eating it, but a lot of those foods that you're talking about. These meat replacements are actually incredibly low in protein. As well as being ultra processed, they are low in protein. So if you're out in the supermarket and you're buying those types of things, just have a look at the packet and see how much protein is actually in there, because really, if we want to be hitting our level of protein, we've got to be getting around 25 to 30 grams in at least our main meals and then having snacks that are also protein rich if we're active to push that figure up a bit yeah, I've definitely been reaching far more for the tofu and again, I think it's tofu gets a bit of a bad rap, but I also think it's because it's so plain.

Speaker 1:

You do have to do something with it and it's just learning how to create a meal with that yeah, I use tofu and I love it and the family enjoy it, because the way that I cook it is that I get the extra firm one and I cut it into slices and I dip it in some corn flour and then I dip it in some spices. Yeah, so I will do like a paprika one or a curry flavored one, and then I will fry it in olive oil and it gives it a nice crispy outside and it's delicious isn't it?

Speaker 2:

yeah, yeah, I I'm to be honest. It's a miracle if mine ever actually make it into the pad thai or the stir fry or whatever we're making, because usually I have to go and shut it in the microwave so I can't see it once I've made it, because it's really nice, yeah.

Speaker 1:

It's really nice and soya is a really good source of protein. If you are vegetarian, it does compete quite well with meat animal products. So when we're looking at making sure you're reaching protein levels, it's really useful. Otherwise, you've got to eat a lot of beans and a lot of lentils, and what you've got to be careful of is that if you, if you want to push your protein up with things like seeds and nuts, you can then push your fat up too much yeah yeah, this is the problem it is a bit of a balancing act, isn't it?

Speaker 2:

as we were talking about, like, the different aims of why you are eating, the amount of protein that you're eating and what everybody recommends, because there is so much, there is so much information out there that it's so easy to get confused. We were talking about. You guys that been listening to us for a while know that we are big fans of dr stacy sims and she's really promoting this increase of protein in your diet. And then, on the flip side, I've just been reading um volta longos, what's it called? The vitality no, that's my word the longevity, longevity diet another nice word. I really like that and I was saying that I was. I was basically was quizzing julie as to what she thought was um was either the best or why these are so different, because stacy sims is talking about really increasing your protein in your diet and Volta is talking about for me, I think it was he recommended about 55 grams, and so, yeah, I was quizzing you on what you thought about that.

Speaker 1:

So my first thought was Stacey Sims is really at the forefront of the latest research and specifically for women, at the forefront of the latest research and specifically for women. So I think that she is championing the protein intake for women because she is working in that area and she's seeing the research and she's working with active women, which we are, yeah, so we got to take on board what she's saying. The other guy, volta longgo, I always get, I always want to say his name the other way. Yeah, I don't know why, but yeah, he has done amazing research. But I wonder if his research into longevity is coming from that male aspect and the data that he's looking at for longevity.

Speaker 1:

Because I was looking at I bought the book by Dr Mark Hyman, who wrote another book about longevity and the stuff that he's got in there again, highly respected, well-known functional medicine doctor in America. His research that he cites in that book is very male dominated for longevity. So he talks about the benefits of fasting. But he says the benefits of fasting. But he says the benefits of fasting. He doesn't distinguish between men and women. Yeah, and we know that, as an active woman, fasting isn't actually good for us and that I'm seeing a lot of women come through my clinic that are doing that 16 8 and they're not getting enough nutrition. They're certainly not getting enough protein and they're getting up thinking that I won't eat until lunch, but they're still doing all the things and expecting their body to function. And then they're coming to me saying I'm tired, I've got brain fog, um, I think, I think it's my hormones. Then I'm looking and what are they? In Stress again. Because the body is stressed because they have not eaten for 16 hours.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, you know, yeah absolutely, and if this is if we're talking to you, if that's something that you do, I completely completely get it, because I we read Fast Like a Girl, which I love. We love Dr Mindy Peltts completely and we love her work and her research. However, what I didn't grasp was that she was talking to more inactive women. She wasn't talking about people that run around like a blue ass fly like we do, and also she.

Speaker 1:

Her target audience for the most part were obese women in in america. Yeah, and we know that we are heading in that direction. For sure, because you know what america does? We have to all have to follow, don't we?

Speaker 1:

oh god, apparently that but yeah, we, you know we are seeing the trends go in that direction. But in america they have a serious issue with metabolic illness, obesity, blood sugar issues and what she is doing is targeting that massive problem that they've got to those people that aren't active. But if you're active, like we are, and you're relatively healthy, but you're noticing that your weight's changed, your body composition, your shape, etc. Because of life and hormones, etc. Fasting is not the answer.

Speaker 2:

No, absolutely, and I and I get it. It's annoying because it's a really easy rule, isn't it, to be able to just not eat until lunchtime, just eat in that eight hour window and then and then not again. And I, you know, I like, I like a rule, but it is not. It is not good for us, it is not good to be putting like we've talked about stress on your body and that is such a huge stress on your body. So Stacey Sims recommends that we eat within the first 30 minutes of us waking up, and this always makes me think about you telling me not to have my coffee for the first 30 minutes, because it's the same thing.

Speaker 1:

It's about that cortisol spike yeah, yeah, absolutely so if you. We've already, as women, got a higher level of cortisol when we wake up anyway. So if we then don't eat, we cause more of a cortisol issue, and if we have something like a coffee which, with caffeine in that, kicks the adrenals, we end up producing more stress hormones yeah.

Speaker 2:

So that's, yeah, a really good thing to think about that. That, even if I don't really feel like I want to eat very much in the morning, that always kind of helps me to think no, actually this is what I'm doing, it for my body. I'm not not doing it because I'm probably trained I've probably trained myself not to eat anything at that point in the morning. And people have these stories, don't they? About, oh, I can't eat in the morning and we're not. We're not telling you to to create a fry up in the morning. We're, we're telling you to have something balanced, and and you can talk about balanced in a minute. She took a breath, but I'm gonna say something. One more thing is that if you often people are quite active in the morning when they'll want to get their exercise and something done, and it's important to get your protein in, then and it's not necessarily this is what I found so interesting it's not necessarily about your muscles in your body, it's about giving your brain the fuel to be able to help the whole body to function.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, yeah, there is an aspect of that. So, yeah, I mean I don't want to eat loads if I'm gonna be really, really active, but you've got to eat something, and so I know you've spoken about having your, your drink with your protein powder in now. Yeah, that makes a huge difference, for sure.

Speaker 2:

Yeah and I've just come across, I think. I think it's called my protein. It's a and it's a vegan drink and it's protein powder. But it creates just literally like a it just they've got, it's got flavors in it, just looks like a squash. So it's not even that you're. You feel like you're drinking a shake or a smoothie. It's not even that heavy, and so I found that if I'm sorting the kids out for school and then I'm straight into a class or I'm straight into a client where I'm active, it's it was something that I could kind of almost have, you know, on the way down the garden ready and it's. You know, we it's good to be able to have these things to continue our busy lives but support our protein intake as well.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, because, again, going back to what I was saying, that it's not just about your muscles, it is about the other functions in your body and as we get older, things need more repair. The things that help your body repair are the amino acids. But I must just say because this is really important and this comes up a lot with my clients is that we need to be able to digest our protein. So a lot of people are going to be compromised. We've mentioned the acid reducing medications in the past about omeprazole and things.

Speaker 1:

If you are on those medications, you are going to be compromised in breaking down your proteins because you need acid to break your protein down into the amino acids. There is a high chance that you're going to need some support. Generally, as we get older, we lose that ability. If we're stressed, there's no way that we're going to have those digestive enzymes coming in. So if you suddenly push up your protein, listen to this and think, yep, okay, I hear you, julie and Kathleen, I'm going to push up your protein. Listen to this and think, yep, okay, I hear you, julie and Catherine, I'm going to push up my protein. And then you discover that my tummy doesn't feel right. I've got gas and bloating. That assures signs that your body's not breaking protein down properly.

Speaker 2:

That's really interesting, isn't it? So are there any things that either people can eat at the same time as, or what can they do to help that?

Speaker 1:

can eat at the same time as, or what can they do to help that? Yeah, so you can eat bitter foods before your protein. So things like rocket or radish, things that are bitter, stimulate that that flow in the in the stomach. You can drink apple cider vinegar I think I've mentioned this before, that I will drink apple cider vinegar proper apple cider vinegar. I think I've mentioned this before that I will drink apple cider vinegar proper apple cider vinegar with the mother, with the mother, with the mother and something like Bragg's that you can get in the place I don't usually like going into, but you can get it there and then I just put it with a bit of sparkling water.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, and I just drink it while I'm getting the dinner ready so that I've got that acid ready to take in my protein and deal with it oh, that's really interesting that you you have that at a certain time, and so not only is the apple cider vinegar really really good for you, it's then supporting you to make the most out of your meal yeah, yeah, and that's just a simple habit that you can get into.

Speaker 1:

I mean, I I tend to do that in with my evening meal and I tend to forget about it in the other meals, unless I'm really aware and I'm going oh this has got a lot of protein in this lunch. I better have something to help. And then I might just take a digestive enzyme yeah, tablet, you know yeah, I, so I love that.

Speaker 2:

So when we talk about habit stacking, we talk about making the very most of everything we're doing. So we've got that brilliant idea about idea as if that it was Julie's and mine about chopping the broccoli up at least 40 minutes before you are going to cook it and you make the very, very most out of that meal. So now, drinking apple cider vinegar whilst you're making your meal so that you get the best out of your protein intake, I bloody love that and a lot of my clients find this really good for when they want to reduce their alcohol intake.

Speaker 1:

yeah, because a lot of people will be in their kitchen. They've finished their day's work or whatever they're up to. They're now in their kitchen getting ready for the dinner. I'll just have a glass of wine and then it spirals. As we know, women are drinking more. There's a bit of an issue with that. But if I get them to have their apple cider vinegar with some sparkling water in a wine glass, it just takes away that connection with the alcoholic drink as well yeah, and I actually find that it's got that same sort of feeling as an alcoholic drink, not that it's champagne like it just kind of it's the taste.

Speaker 2:

There's a bittery kind of taste to it. It's sparkly. I like that you put it in a wine glass or a gin glass. Yeah, yeah, now that's a fantastic idea. I really enjoy that.

Speaker 1:

And then you could really jazz it up, because you could put some uh, cucumber in there, some rosemary, some lemon because, again, all of those things are good for your digestive system, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 1:

And then you've made yourself a cocktail and it's all special and it's all good and it's all good. Oh, I love that so much. Okay, so what I would suggest you do with all that information we've just given you? We're going to go back to the awareness exercise again. Honestly, right out of food diary. If you've got one of those apps that you can load your food in, at least you can have a look and see what is my current protein intake, based on what I'm doing. You may find yourself really surprised at how low it is. Like I said, I'm looking at lots of food diaries on a regular basis. A healthy diet is seeming to be around about 60 grams of protein, but the women that I'm seeing need more protein. And then up it and see how you feel for seven days. Just do it for seven days and say, oh, hang a minute. What's happened with my sugar cravings? What's happened with my sleep? What's happened with my energy?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, yeah, absolutely yeah, and just keep, yeah, get interested with it, just keep tweaking it. That's very exciting, I think. And again, it's not about taking stuff away, it's about adding things in for your benefit yeah, protein is king.

Speaker 1:

At the end of the day, remember, it's the building blocks for everything that's what I was going to speak to you about.

Speaker 2:

So protein we associate with growth and I very much. When I'm reading Volta's book. It's very much about that. Protein is about growth and we talked a lot about hormones and growing and things like that. So how does that fit in with our kind of?

Speaker 1:

I think this is a mental thing as well, about not wanting to grow I do know what you're saying, but the body is very clever, yeah, and the although you're putting the amino acids in. Those amino acids are the ingredients that the body needs for the various activities that it needs. So if it's not needing to grow because we're of us you know, we're 50 years old or something then it's not going to use those ingredients for that. I think that's the difference. If, um, something that comes up quite frequently when I run the testing is that when there is insufficient levels of protein going into the diet, what happens is the body will start to break down its own tissues in order to access the amino acids it needs to keep things functioning, because that's an easy source for it, isn't it?

Speaker 2:

Yeah.

Speaker 1:

Well, really, it can't do it any other way. It's got to access those ingredients somewhere and it's going. Hang a minute. We're in energy deficit. Here we've got a problem. If we're in energy deficit, we can't run our brain. We can't run run our major organs. We've got to have a certain amount of energy produced. If the diet is so low in protein, the body will break down its own tissues in order to give the mitochondria what it needs to make at least a base level of energy.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, so if you hear nothing from from today, just think that when you are increasing this protein, you are just making sure that your body is not breaking down your muscle mass, because you need your muscle mass to be a lean, mean metabolic, if you like the word calorie, calorie burning machine. The more muscle that you have got, the more you take to run, and so you're going to be burning. And I'm talking to the people that are really fixated on on their weight loss.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, yeah you are going to be burning these calories. You do not want to be breaking down your muscle. You need to be building up, and unless you are paying extreme attention to your nutritional intake, you are not going to look like Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Speaker 1:

No, no, that is not going to happen. I think that's the fear. And then, just one other thing to say about increasing your protein intake is that you've also got to be careful about where that protein is coming from. So, again, you could eat a really rubbish diet high in protein if it's coming from sausages and processed meats. You don't want that. You don't want to push your fat up as well. So, having good quality protein and having a mix of plant-based protein to go with it, if you eat animal food, then you give your gut the right fiber and the nutrition it needs there, but you're still putting those building blocks in with the amino acids. And if you are vegetarian or vegan, you've got to be really clever with your combinations to make sure that you meet your requirements yeah, definitely do so.

Speaker 2:

I was just thinking about another bit that I was reading about in uh volto longo's book, and he was not very, uh, favorable with things like the red meats. So is there, if you're balancing sort of what your, what your intake is, is it better to have the white meats? He was actually.

Speaker 1:

He was a big champion of fish it's such a difficult one to answer because everybody is individual and some people will thrive on eating a load of red meat and other people won't. I personally don't actually like red meat, so I don't eat a lot of it, but the nutrition in red meat is particularly easy for us to utilise and absorb. Yeah, so you've got to weigh that up. And actually, when we're looking at white meat, fish is slightly different, but if we're looking at white meat, it's not necessarily better. You know, we've been led to believe again that it is better. Yeah, but when you look at the nutritional content of cuts of meat, if we look at chicken, a chicken breast actually has less nutrition than a chicken thigh. Okay, so yeah, I don't know. Did I answer your question?

Speaker 2:

I think it's just an ongoing conversation for him for volta's uh book. He is talking about longevity, so he's not necessarily like it's. You're looking at it possibly from different angles.

Speaker 1:

But the thing is is if you haven't got sufficient protein and you start to impact your metabolic health because your sugar cravings go up and you're not got your muscle mass there, so you've got muscle wastage, your longevity is going to be impacted anyway because you put yourself at risk of falls and other things that are going to have a knock-on effect as well.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, absolutely yeah. So I mean that's another thing for. For protein is I don't know if we're if I'm generalizing and we're getting to a certain age and we are more prone to injuries and things having that higher protein intake will be a preventative, but it will also help you to recover from those as well I found it interesting that the research on collagen is not that strong, but the incidental benefits of collagen seem to come from the fact that it's giving your body protein rather than the collagen itself.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, that is interesting because I yeah, every now and again I'd like to dive down that rabbit hole of collagen, especially from a vegetarian's point of view as well, because lots of them are very fish based, and that's really interesting. Yeah, yeah, because I've always wondered is it, is it a bit of a gimmick? Or, and I kind of I think in my heart I feel like it is, but that's interesting to know that you can get the benefits from your proteins from the protein.

Speaker 1:

So in the research for collagen, the improvements in hair and skin and the things that we tend to think of, that we use collagen for, seem to actually be as a result of the protein rather than the actual collagen itself.

Speaker 2:

Boom, yes that's so exciting, and I just wanted to just circle back to the to the whole breakfast no breakfast argument, because often people talk about oh well, if I have breakfast in the morning, I feel hungrier, whereas if I don't have breakfast, I can make it to lunchtime quite well, and I and again I know that I can feel that I've said that. In fact, however, it's a bit of a false economy, because by the time you get to lunch and you are really, really hungry, you then end up eating far more than you would have done if you'd have had your breakfast, a snack, and then you'd gone for your lunch.

Speaker 1:

And I know that's true, definitely yeah, and the other thing is a lot of people that say that when you look at the quality of their breakfast, it's often too high in sugar, which is the problem with most of our breakfasts, right, yeah, all the cereals and things.

Speaker 2:

And again, that's marketing. Marketing have been wonderful at telling you that cereals are really wonderful and healthy for you, and they're not.

Speaker 1:

And they're not.

Speaker 2:

And that's the end of that one. There was a definite full stop after that, people. Well, I had my lovely porridge and my seeds and chia seeds and nuts, and I just have a scoop of protein. But the trouble is now I am having to because I've got the pea protein, which is much higher, so much higher than any of the other ones I've been having. However, because it's not the chocolate one that I was having before, I'm now having to put honey on it because I can taste the pea protein and it's not very nice why don't you put cacao powder in there, because that's also got protein and it's going to take the edge off the pea taste oh, I'll try that.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, because it's and it's not just like it's got all all sorts of wonderful things in cacao, isn't it? So, yeah, that's a nice idea. Okay, I will try that and I will report back. Fantastic, so this was. I mean. We've jumped around all over the place. This is a huge, huge topic and I know that this is a really big conversational piece. So, as always, please come and chat to us in the far too fabulous Facebook group. We would love to welcome you in and if you've had these conversations with anybody, please share this podcast with them. Yeah, thank you, and we'll see you next time. Thank you for keeping us company today. If you enjoyed the podcast, don't forget to subscribe and leave a review.

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