I know, it's been discussed endlessly. How much protein do you need for building strength and muscle? I addressed this in an article quite a while ago called How Much Protein for Bodybuilding.
In my latest article I look further afield at the long-term safety of high-protein diets, especially diets high in animal protein. Now I'm not saying that strength trainers and athletes in general don't need more protein. In fact it's a universal recommendation among sports nutritionists and it's not unusual to see recommendations of up to twice the dietary recommendation for sedentary people, which is where I draw the line. But it's not uncommon to see up to four times the RDA and 40% of total energy from protein recommended by some in the bodybuilding community.
That could conceivably be unhealthy, or even dangerous over the long term by reducing intake of other essential nutrients and for a variety of other reasons. And there is no convincing evidence that a 30% or 40% protein diet improves muscle or strength in anabolic diets.
