Protein, Weight Loss, And Health
Channel: Jonas Kuehne MD
Date: 2023-02-14

One issue that frequently comes up in my weight-loss clinic is insufficient protein intake. Often times, when people go on a diet with the goal to lose weight, they cut back the carbohydrates, the fats and the protein. This can lead to slow weight loss and loss of muscle. 
In healthy individuals (this is of course not medical advice), I usually recommend to keep protein intake high at up to 0.8g/pound/day. 
In other words, a 150 pound individual can consume up to 120 g of lean protein per day. ￼
Studies have shown that increasing protein while other parameters constant can result in loss of body fat and maintenance or gain of muscle. 
A 2015 publication in the ‘Journal of International Society of Sports Nutrition’ showed that even intake of 1.5 g per pound in healthy individuals showed “no evidence that consuming a high protein diet has any deleterious effects”. And a 2020 review in the ‘Journal of Obesity and Metabolic Syndrome’, titled: ‘Clinical evidence and mechanisms of high-protein diet-induced weight loss’ concluded that a high-protein diet is “a safe method for losing weight while preserving fat free mass; it is thought to also prevent obesity and obesity related diseases such as metabolic syndrome”. 
So, when designing your daily dietary intake, keep your protein on the higher side, if you are healthy to do so. Then, decrease carbohydrates by excluding simple sugars and refined carbohydrates such as junk foods and baked goods. Decrease fat intake by using fats like olive oil and butter sparingly. 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7539343/

https://jissn.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12970-016-0114-2

Now, when you eat a high protein diet, you will have more calcium in your urine. But does this mean that protein causes a decrease in bone density? No. 
Protein stimulates the reuptake of calcium from the digestive tract and actually can make bones healthier and stronger. 
Besides protein, vitamin D3 also stimulates the reabsorption of calcium from the digestive tract. To help direct the reabsorbed calcium to bone, where we want it, and prevent it from going to other places like our arteries (where we definitely do not want it), I recommend to take vitamin D3 together with K2. 
Vitamin K2 directs the reabsorbed calcium to deposit in bone. 
Of course, none of this is medical advice. Always ask your doctor if a high protein diet or vitamins are safe for you. 

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12936953/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22127335/