Protein is an essential macronutrient that must be included in the diet in an adequate amount for good health. Due to their high protein content, foods made from meat, poultry, seafood, beans and peas, eggs, soy products, nuts, and seeds are considered part of the protein foods group. According to the 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelilnes for Americans (DGA), protein foods should be a piority in the diet. However, just getting more protein doesn’t mean you’ll be more healthy. Foods in the protein group contain a lot more than just protein, and nutrient density varies because of it. In this edition of Surprising Stars, we will explain why Guiding Stars does not consider protein level as it evaluates the nutrient density of food.
Protein Deficiency is Uncommon in the US
People in the U.S. generally overconsume protein, mostly through animal-based sources, thus protein deficiency is extremely rare. It’s estimated that in the average daily protein intake in the US is 1g/kg—not far off from the DGA’s suggested 1.2-1.6g/kg. What’s more, according to the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, adult men are getting roughly 90g of protein per day and women are getting 65-75g daily. That’s already in line with the revied DGA recommendations. Finally, the labeling of protein on the Nutrition Facts label on foods hasn’t changed. There is still no Daily Value required for protein if a product is intended for the general population (age 4 and over) and no content claim is made for the product, such as “high protein.”
How Guiding Stars Views Protein
It’s Guiding Stars’ policy to focus our algorithms on food components for which there is significant scientific consensus regarding health promotion and/or an association with reduced risk of chronic disease, and when recommendations or authoritative statements have been established by a key scientific bodies. Protein is certainly an important food component, but it’s also one that’s found in negligible amounts in many foods—including highly nutritious ones like produce. This is one of the reasons that Guiding Stars believes it makes more sense to consider protein as a component of the total diet, rather than as a percentage of individual foods. We treat the other macronutrients (carbohydrate and fat) the same way—they aren’t part of the algorithm. We recommend that individuals adjust their food intake and overall diets to their needs. For example, specific recommendations for extra protein are being made for certain population groups (such as people on GLP-1 medications, those who are pregnant or breast-feeding, certain athletes, and older people). However, the general population is meeting its protein needs.
Protein Source is Important
Current scientific consensus suggests that the source of protein in diets is more important than the amount of protein for health. The risk for several diseases and premature death can be reduced by eating healthy protein sources like beans, fish, nuts, or poultry instead of processed meat and red meat. It’s important to remember that when you add protein foods to your plate, you are adding all their nutrients: fats, sodium, fiber, sugars and more.
Let’s look at a couple of examples. Steak is a great source of protein, but it also contains saturated fat that the Dietary Guidelines recommends limiting. Ham provides plenty of protein, a moderate amount of saturated fat, but is loaded with sodium that most Americans eat too much of. Salmon is high in protein, low in saturated fat and low sodium. It’s a fatty fish, but is considered heart-healthy because it mostly contains unsaturated fats and is an excellent source of omega-3 fatty acids. Lentils are rich in protein and fiber, which most American diets could use more of, and have really no saturated fat or sodium. As you can see, measuring a food’s nutrient density requires evaluating its composition of key nutrients to encourage and limit in a healthy diet.
Request our White Paper to learn more about the Guiding Stars algorithms.