How Much Protein Do You Need to Stay Strong as You Age?

Protein is what your body uses to repair tissue, run your metabolism, and make many of the hormones and enzymes that keep you steady. You can’t store it the way you store fat or carbohydrate, so what you eat today really does matter. And it matters more as you get older: from your mid-30s you slowly lose muscle unless you work to keep it, and protein — paired with a little strength training — is one of the most useful things you can do about that.

Why it matters more as you age

The clearest reason is muscle. You lose it gradually as the years pass, and in later life the bigger losses have a name — sarcopenia, a condition tied to weakness, falls, and the slow loss of independence. The encouraging part is how much say you have in it. Eating enough protein alongside resistance training can slow that decline, and in many people partly reverse it.

Protein steadies your metabolism, too. It’s the most filling of the three macronutrients, which makes managing your weight feel less like a fight, and it softens the blood-sugar rise that follows a meal. There’s a nuance worth knowing: what protein replaces matters as much as how much you eat. Trading some refined carbohydrate for protein — especially plant protein — is the version most consistently linked to better metabolic health.

And it quietly supports your brain. Your body builds messengers like serotonin and dopamine from amino acids, the building blocks inside protein, and a few of those can only come from food. That’s useful context rather than a promise — mood and focus lean on far more than any single nutrient — but eating too little protein was never only a muscle problem. The same repair machinery keeps your skin, bones and immune system in good order whether or not you ever pick up a barbell.

Protecting muscle is central to healthy ageing. Protein and resistance training work together to help you do it.

How much you actually need

The adult RDA is 0.8 grams of protein per kilo of body weight a day. It’s designed to meet the needs of nearly all healthy adults — but it isn’t necessarily the most useful target for every age, activity level or goal. For most people who want to build or hold onto muscle, the evidence points higher: somewhere between 1.2 and 2.0 grams per kilo a day if you’re active, edging toward the top of that range if you train hard. Older adults belong at the higher end as well, since that’s precisely when protein does the most to defend muscle.

In everyday terms, a 70-kilo adult is looking at roughly 85 to 140 grams a day — noticeably more than most people eat without paying attention. The one exception worth flagging: if you have kidney disease, these general targets may not apply to you, so talk it through with your doctor first.

Where to get it, and when

Two things make a protein source worth leaning on — quality, meaning whether it carries the full set of amino acids, and quantity, how much you actually get per serving. Animal sources like lean meat, eggs, dairy and fish tick both boxes and count as “complete,” with oily fish such as salmon adding omega-3s on top. Plant sources — lentils, chickpeas, beans, tofu, tempeh, quinoa — cover any single food’s gaps when you vary them through the day, and bring fibre along for the ride. Protein powders sit in a category of their own: a genuinely handy top-up on a busy day, but never a stand-in for real food.

Timing matters less than the daily total, but it still helps. Spreading protein across your meals, rather than saving it all for dinner, gives your muscles repeated chances to rebuild through the day. Include a solid serving at each meal and something after you train, and don’t worry about a larger portion going to waste — your body still puts it to use. This is about steady habits, not strict rules.

What Pheno can add

Here’s the honest version: no blood test can measure how much protein you eat. None. What a Pheno panel can do is add context around it. Albumin gives a rough read on your nutrition, creatinine tracks with your muscle mass, and your blood sugar reflects the metabolic health that protein helps protect. Read together over time, and alongside your diet and activity, those markers help you see whether you’re heading in the right direction. They just can’t answer the protein question on their own — and we’d rather tell you that than pretend otherwise.

Three myths worth dropping

The first is that high protein wrecks your kidneys. In people with healthy kidneys, higher-protein diets haven’t been shown to cause harm in the studies we have — though most are fairly short-term, and existing kidney disease is a genuine exception to raise with your doctor. The second is that protein is bad for your bones; if anything the reverse is true, since enough protein supports bone strength, especially with adequate calcium and some resistance training behind it. The third is that more protein automatically means more muscle — it doesn’t, because without the training stimulus and enough total food, the extra grams simply have nowhere to go.

Key takeaways

• Aim higher than the official minimum — around 1.2–2.0 g/kg a day if you’re active.
• Spread protein across the day rather than saving it for dinner.
• Mix animal and plant sources, and treat powder as a top-up.
• Pair protein with strength training — they work as a team.

The bottom line

Not many habits pay off across so much at once — muscle, recovery, physical function and metabolic health — and the fix here is refreshingly ordinary. Eat a little more protein than you do now, spread it through the day, lean on good sources, and add some strength training. Do that consistently and you’re investing directly in a stronger, sharper, more independent future you.

Frequently asked questions

How much protein do I actually need in a day?

For most active adults, roughly 1.2–2.0 grams per kilo of body weight — about 85–140 g for a 70 kg person. Older adults sit at the higher end. Use the calculator above for your own range.

Can you eat too much protein?

For people with healthy kidneys, higher-protein diets haven’t been shown to cause harm in the studies we have. If you have kidney disease, it’s different — talk to your doctor.

Is plant protein as good as animal protein?

Individually, most plant proteins are slightly less “complete,” but varying them across the day covers any gaps — and they bring fibre with them. A mix of both is ideal.

When is the best time to eat protein?

Spread it across your meals rather than saving it for dinner — aim for 25–40 g each, with some after training. Your daily total matters more than exact timing.

Can Pheno tell me if I’m eating enough protein?

Not directly — no blood test measures protein intake. Markers like albumin and creatinine add context over time, read alongside your diet and activity.

See how Pheno tracks your health over time →

This is general education, not medical advice. It reflects current nutrition-science consensus, including the ISSN position stand on protein and exercise (2017) and the PROT-AGE recommendations for older adults (2013). If you have a health condition — kidney disease especially — check with a clinician first.

Sources & methodology

The ranges and claims here reflect current nutrition-science consensus, and are shown as bands rather than precise targets. The calculator applies published per-kilogram protein ranges to the details you enter.

• Jäger R, et al. International Society of Sports Nutrition Position Stand: protein and exercise. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2017;14:20.
• Bauer J, et al. Evidence-based recommendations for optimal dietary protein intake in older people (PROT-AGE Study Group). J Am Med Dir Assoc. 2013;14(8):542–559.
• Institute of Medicine. Dietary Reference Intakes for Energy, Carbohydrate, Fibre, Fat, Fatty Acids, Cholesterol, Protein, and Amino Acids. National Academies Press; 2005.
• Cruz-Jentoft AJ, et al. Sarcopenia: revised European consensus on definition and diagnosis (EWGSOP2). Age Ageing. 2019;48(1):16–31.