What if we don't get enough protein?

Someone  a while back asked me to do a post about what happens if we don’t get enough protein.  And this is a subject near and dear to my heart, because I had a lot of trouble with protien for the first three or four months.  I had a terrible case of pnuemonia and really believe I would have recovered faster if I'd been getting enough protein.

So, here are some of the more common symptoms.

• Edema - A collection of fluid under the skin, which most commonly affects the legs, feet, and ankles, but can occur anywhere on the body.
• Thinning or brittle hair, hair loss
• Ridges or deep lines in finger and toe nails
• Skin becomes very light, burns easily in the sun
• Reduced pigmentation in the hair on scalp and body
• Skin rashes, dryness, flakiness
• General weakness and lethargy
• Muscle soreness and weakness, cramps
• Slowness in healing wounds, cuts, scrapes, and bruises
• Bedsores and other skin ulcers
• Difficulty sleeping
• Headache
• Nausea and stomach pain
• Fainting
• Depressed immune system, increase susceptibility to infection and illness
• Loss of  muscle tissue
• Heart damage (eventually)
• Crankiness, moodiness
• Severe depression
• Anxiety
• Lack of energy, no desire to do things

There are a couple of these to pay special attention to right after surgery.

When we have RNY, our stomach is sliced open.  Lots of tissue is damaged and needs to heal.  It will not heal well without protein.  Some docs recommend patients do not begin protein drinks for a couple of weeks after surgery and I personally think that is unwise.  We need EXTRA protein to heal from major surgery, not less protein.  If your doc recommends clear liquids right after surgery, we can use clear protein drinks.

Some of these symptoms are pretty common after RNY even if we do get enough protein, like some nausea, fatigue, weakness, hair loss and depression.  But not getting enough protein can make those things a whole lot worse.

It’s important to understand that we need protein for the amino acids.  If we don’t consume protein, we start to break down our muscles for the amino acids we need.  It’s kinda like we eat our own muscles.  And our heart is a muscle.  And, well, eating your own heart is not a good thing.

How much protein do we need?  The ASMBS suggests 1.1 gram protein per kilogram of ideal body weight, which works out to about half a gram per pound of your ideal weight.  Doesn’t matter what you weigh now, base your protein goal on your ideal weight.  If you work out a lot, you may need a bit more than that.

Thanks for that post Kelly- very good reminder!

Valerie

Kelly your right protein  makes you heal I have a lil girl that has cp and she has a G-tube and has to take extra protein or  her skin breaks down and won't heal so make sure you get the protein in

So you can only imagine if someone slices up your stomach muscles and sews them together again and you want that to heal up - you'll gonna need protein.

Thank you for sharing this.... I think it is important that people know this information

Protein might be pretty yucky.... but it IS medicine, and it IS essential

I tanked up on protein shakes prior to my recent surgery, and after the surgery .... my surgeon was very surprised at how welll I healed,a nd I'm convinced it's because of the protein

A lot of it is yucky but most people seem to be able to come up with something they actually like.  Who is it that always says there's no excuse for drinking a nasty protein shake?

I believe Nik is the one who says that...and backs it up with some great protein dink recipes on her website.

bariatricfoodie.blogspot.com/p/protein-shake-recipes.html

where would you find clear protein?

Syntrax Nectar, which you can order online, or Cytosport or Isopure, which you can buy in single serving bottles at GNC or Vitamin Shoppe.

Thank you Kelly.  Very useful as always.