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Too Little Protein: These 8 Signs Point to a Deficiency

Proteins are vital for the body and have many important tasks. An acute deficiency can quickly become harmful and thus trigger food cravings, muscle breakdown or mood swings.

Protein deficiency dangerous: The body needs proteins for this

Just like carbohydrates and fats, proteins also belong to the so-called macronutrients. Proteins are primarily used by humans as a source of energy. In addition, proteins are an important building material, with the help of which, among other things, cells and tissue, enzymes and hormones can be formed. The body must therefore be supplied with enough protein every day in order to function as well as possible. Animal and vegetable proteins can be ingested through food. Animal protein sources include fish, meat, milk, dairy products and eggs. Vegetable protein, on the other hand, is found in grain products, potatoes, legumes and nuts.

But how much protein should you consume every day? There is a rough reference value for this: “For adults, the reference value is derived using data from nitrogen balance studies. According to this, the recommended intake for 19 to 65 year olds is 0.8 g protein per kg body weight per day. This corresponds to 57 to 67 g protein per day . This amount can be achieved by eating protein-rich foods,” says the Federal Center for Nutrition. A reference value of 0.9 grams of protein per kg of body weight per day is assumed for children and adolescents, and around 1 gram of protein per kg of body weight per day for people over 65 years of age.

Since the human body needs proteins in many different places, a deficiency manifests itself in different ways. Insufficient protein intake can not only affect the body, but also the psyche.

This is how a lack of protein affects the body

Visual Appearance: Proteins play an essential role in many parts of the body. A deficiency can therefore also become apparent in various places: A protein deficiency can “promote the edges of the eyes and cause more wrinkles,” writes utopia.de. Brittle nails and a pale complexion are also possible signs.

Hair loss: Sufficient protein is essential for the hair, since our hair also consists of special proteins – so-called keratins. “If the body is not supplied with enough protein, the keratin formation necessary for hair growth suffers. Dry, brittle hair and hair loss can be the result.”

Atrophy of the muscles: A lack of proteins is easily noticeable in the muscles – they are broken down slowly. If the body doesn’t get enough protein, it uses its own stores – which in the case of proteins are mainly found in muscle tissue. Losing muscle mass is also accompanied by a loss of body weight.

Food cravings as a typical sign

Weak immune system: The immune system also suffers from a protein deficiency. Here the nutrient is urgently formed for the formation of antibodies that are used to fight pathogens. If the body can only produce insufficient defenses, the immune system is weakened – which leads to an easier susceptibility to infections.

Impaired wound healing: Impaired wound healing can also show a protein deficiency. If there are too few proteins in the body, wounds often heal more slowly because the damaged cells cannot be repaired or renewed as quickly as possible.

Cravings: Because proteins are harder for the body to digest, it takes longer for the body to use them. Proteins are responsible for a stable blood sugar level. “Without enough protein, blood sugar levels fluctuate wildly, leading to food cravings that often lead to excess calories and weight gain.”

A protein deficiency has these effects on the psyche

Mood swings: In addition to physical signs, psychological symptoms can also indicate a protein deficiency.

Mood swings are particularly typical. But a lack of concentration, exhaustion, tiredness and dissatisfaction are also common among those affected.

Depression: In extreme cases, a severe lack of protein can also cause serious mental illnesses such as depression.

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Anyone who suspects that they are suffering from a protein deficiency should seek medical advice and a medical examination. The risks of an untreated deficiency include digestive problems or a weakening of the respiratory and heart muscles. In Germany, the deficiency occurs comparatively rarely, the daily protein requirement is usually exceeded. Therefore, caution is advised, because even a permanent excess of protein is not healthy.

It is often diseases such as eating disorders, gluten intolerance, a dysfunction of the thyroid gland or tuberculosis that promote a lack of proteins. Excessive alcohol consumption and drug abuse can also lead to this.

Resolving a protein deficiency depends entirely on the cause. “If illnesses are the trigger for the deficiency, you obviously have to treat them very differently than a deficiency caused by insufficient nutrition. If the protein deficiency is due to an eating disorder, you should talk to both your family doctor and a therapist.”

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Food

Too Much Salt: Signs And How to Avoid Salty Foods

Too much salt in the body can cause lasting damage to various organs. Here you can find out exactly how the spice affects our organism and how you can avoid consuming too much salt.

When do you start talking about too much salt?

Salt used to be considered an expensive luxury product that was only accessible to the social elite. Today it is part of the basic equipment of every kitchen. Hardly any dish can do without the former “white gold”. Salt is absolutely essential for survival: it supplies us with the electrolytes sodium and chloride.

These help our body in particular to regulate the fluid balance. Adults should therefore consume around six grams of salt per day, according to the Society for Nutrition. However, due to ready meals, fast food, chips and other snacks, we often consume too much salt.

According to the adult women consume about 8.4 grams of table salt per day. For men, the value is even 10 grams. This is clearly higher than the recommended daily amount.

Too much salt: health consequences

Too much salt in the blood causes more water to accumulate in the bloodstream. As a result, the volume of fluid increases and blood pressure increases. If blood pressure is elevated over the long term, this has a harmful effect on other organs. In particular, the heart, the coronary arteries, other blood vessels, the brain and the kidneys are affected.

cardiac insufficiency and cardiac arrhythmia
Heart attack
stroke
chronic kidney failure
kidney failure
deteriorated visual performance.

Too much salt is not only harmful to people who already suffer from high blood pressure. Elevated salt consumption is a key risk factor for serious organ damage in all population groups.

Too much salt: first signs

Since each person reacts differently to salt, it is not possible to give general indications of excessive salt consumption. High blood pressure is the only sure sign. Other symptoms can also occur, such as:

fatigue
difficulty concentrating
Tremble
seizures
edema

In order not to let it get that far in the first place, however, you should already take preventive measures to avoid too much salt in your food.

Too much salt: How to avoid the white gold

To reduce your salt consumption, you should gradually wean yourself off the popular spice. Our taste buds have often adapted so much to foods that are too salty that low-salt foods quickly seem bland to us. Therefore, you should give yourself enough time to slowly reduce your cravings for salt. This increases the likelihood that you will stay on the ball in the long term.

As a first step, you should first start cooking more at home and thus avoid ready meals. Make sure to add salt sparingly and to taste from time to time.

Try to avoid highly processed foods as much as possible. You can see how high the salt content is on packaged foods.

Eat enough unprocessed foods like fruits and vegetables. In general, a mostly plant-based diet will help you avoid excess salt by avoiding meat, fish, and dairy.

If low-salt dishes still seem too bland to you, you can refine your dishes with fresh herbs or spices.

You can prepare bread, rolls, crackers & Co. yourself at home and significantly reduce the salt content.

If you don’t want to do without animal foods completely, you should use low-salt representatives of this category. Types of cheese with a little less salt are, for example, mozzarella, Emmental or cream cheese. Mortadella and liver sausage are among the low-salt types of sausage, but in contrast to other foods they still contain a relatively large amount of salt.

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