9 Benefits of a High Protein Diet

Arguably, high protein diets are also low-carbohydrate (or low carb) diets due to the fact that they restrict carbohydrates and place the bulk of nourishment on consuming protein-packed foods for calories and energy.

Perhaps the most well known high-protein diet is Atkins, a diet regimen that takes the bulk of calories from protein (with 20- to 30-percent of calories coming from protein); compared to more traditional diets that recommend 10- to 15-percent of calories come from lean, protein-rich foods, like meat.

As with any diet, you must remember that there are always pros and cons. For example, the long-term consumption of a high protein diet has been linked to heart disease, stroke, high cholesterol, certain types of cancer, calcium deficiency that causes osteoporosis, and kidney stones. However, for this particular article, let’s focus on the nine benefits of a high protein diet…

1. Easy to Follow Diet

Most diets break the bank as far as buying up a bunch of diet-brand or strange foods that you’ve never even heard of and probably won’t like. However, high protein diets stick to what you know with any special type of protein so you can stick to protein-rich foods that you already enjoy so it’s a diet that’s easy to follow.

2. Protein Satiates You for Longer

High protein are often favored by those who like to snack after meals for the simple fact that after eating a protein-heavy meal; you’ll feel full and resist the urge to snack for much longer. And, let’s face it, taking away the desire to gorge yourself on snacks will lower your daily calories consumed and help you lose weight much faster.

3. Faster Weight Loss

Sure, this high protein diet will help you lose weight faster—over the short term. This means you’ll notice drastic weight loss early on, but if you continue to consume a diet made up of mostly protein, eventually your body will store the excess as fat, causing you to gain back that lost weight and contributing to high cholesterol and other health issues.

4. Skin, Hair, and Muscle Repair

As far as glowing skin, luscious locks of hair, and strong muscles, high protein diets can help in those areas as well, due to the fact that protein is an essential building block to cell growth and regeneration—meaning that protein is required to keep your blood circulating, skin regenerating, muscles repairing, and bones strong.

5. Boosts Energy

Protein is a macronutrient, which means the body takes its best energy stores (or nutrients in order to function) from protein. In the end, protein is essential for daily movement, memory, thought, and physical exertion.

6. Heart Health

If you consume a high protein diet, fish will be a common staple that you’ll eat quite frequently throughout the week. Luckily, fish is not only low in fat; it’s jam-packed with omega-3 fatty acids (or heart health fats) that will help lower your cholesterol, promote weight loss, and reduce your chances of developing heart disease, cancer, and arthritis.

7. Less Water Retention

Another plus of cutting carbohydrate intake and focusing on high protein foods is that you’ll banish excess bloat and water weight. However, on the flip side, consuming a diet void of complex carbohydrates means that once you start eating them again, you’ll gain the water weight back quite quickly.

8. Lower Cholesterol with Soy

Many focus on the fact that a high protein diet can attribute to high cholesterol and heart disease. However, if you concentrate on high protein sources that are also plant-based, like soy, you can actually help lose weight as you lower cholesterol. Try incorporating foods such as tofu and faux meat sources made with soy beans into your high protein diet.

9. Foods Are Inexpensive

Inexpensive cuts of lean beef, fish, chicken, soy, tofu, beans, and low fat dairy—really, when you consider the foods common to a high protein diet, the cost is quite comparable, or even less expensive, than most mainstream diets.