How much egg protein do young men really need?
Human protein requirements: a long-term metabolic nitrogen balance study in young men to evaulate the 1973 FAO/WHO safe level of egg protein intake.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
Elevated liver enzymes (AST/ALT) normalized rapidly when protein intake jumped from 0.59 to 1.5 g/kg/day.
Liver stress is usually linked to alcohol or fatty liver—not low protein. This flips the script: low protein might be an underrecognized cause of liver strain.
Practical Takeaways
If you're eating only the official protein recommendation (0.8 g/kg for general adults), consider increasing to 1.5 g/kg if you're active, young, or noticing unexplained fatigue or liver discomfort.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
Elevated liver enzymes (AST/ALT) normalized rapidly when protein intake jumped from 0.59 to 1.5 g/kg/day.
Liver stress is usually linked to alcohol or fatty liver—not low protein. This flips the script: low protein might be an underrecognized cause of liver strain.
Practical Takeaways
If you're eating only the official protein recommendation (0.8 g/kg for general adults), consider increasing to 1.5 g/kg if you're active, young, or noticing unexplained fatigue or liver discomfort.
Publication
Journal
The Journal of nutrition
Year
1977
Authors
C. Garza, N. Scrimshaw, V. Young
Related Content
Claims (5)
Eating just 0.59 grams of egg protein per kilogram of body weight every day isn't enough to keep your body in good balance over time—it can cause your body to lose muscle and potassium, even if you're young and healthy.
When young men drank more skim milk powder to get more protein, their liver enzyme levels went back to normal quickly—this might mean that not getting enough protein can stress your liver early on.
Scientists found that we lose more nitrogen through our skin than previously thought—about three times more. This means the old guidelines for how much protein we need might be too low.
A long-standing guideline says people should eat 0.57 grams of egg protein per kilogram of body weight each day, but this study suggests that might not be enough to keep healthy young men’s bodies in balance — they might need a little more, like 0.59 grams.
Eggs have a special kind of protein that helps your body keep more nitrogen instead of losing it in urine, which helps your muscles and tissues grow better.