In a recent TIME magazine article, correspondent Lauryn Higgins discusses the importance of getting enough protein in our daily diets and the role it plays in muscle mass and overall wellness. She explains that protein is essential for many bodily processes, yet research shows that many people, especially women and older adults, don’t consume enough of it.

Proteins are the body’s building and repair material. When we don’t get enough from food, the body starts breaking down muscle to create amino acids, or the building blocks that make up proteins. Even if you’re eating enough calories, too little protein means your body has to pull from its own reserves by breaking down muscle.

– Dr. Glenn Jones, an internal medicine physicia, Sentara Medical Group (source: TIME Magazine)

In the article, Higgins reports that even mild protein deficiencies can quietly affect energy, muscle health, and appearance. Below are the most common signs experts say may indicate you’re not getting enough.

• You feel constantly tired: Higgins says low protein intake can lead to ongoing fatigue, low energy, and muscle loss, even with adequate sleep. “Fatigue, low energy, and loss of muscle mass or strength are often the first clues of inadequate protein intake,” Taylor Fazio, a registered dietitian, tells Higgins.
• You’re losing muscle, not building it as easily: Without enough protein, the body may break down muscle to meet basic needs, slowing metabolism and making weight management more difficult, Higgins explains. “When protein intake drops too low, your body begins breaking down muscle tissue to harvest amino acids for essential processes. That loss of lean mass has downstream effects on energy and metabolism.” Ashley Koff, a registered dietitian, tells Higgins.
• You’re always hungry: Protein helps regulate appetite and stabilize blood sugar, Higgins notes. When intake is too low, cravings and poor satiety become more common. “Many people also notice increased hunger or poor satiety, as protein is critical for appetite regulation,” Fazio tells Higgin.
• Your hair, skin, or nails look dull or weak: Higgins reports that thinning hair and brittle nails can be early signs of low protein intake, as the body prioritizes essential functions. “A lot of people think of protein only in the context of muscle, but it’s really a structural and functional nutrient for almost every system in the body,” Koff tells Higgins. “So when you don’t get enough, the signs show up in surprising ways.”
• You’re getting sick more often: Protein plays a key role in immune health and tissue repair, Higgins says. “Proteins are the body’s building and repair material,” Jones tells Higgins. “When we don’t get enough from food, the body starts breaking down muscle to create amino acids used to keep essential systems running, like repairing organs, maintaining immune health, and healing wounds.”
• You have trouble concentrating: Low protein intake can affect brain function, leading to brain fog, poor focus, and mood changes, Higgins explains. This is due to reduced availability of amino acids needed to produce neurotransmitters such as dopamine and serotonin.
• Your recovery after exercise takes longer: Higgins says insufficient protein can slow muscle repair and recovery after exercise. “People often describe feeling weaker, recovering more slowly, or noticing subtle changes in body composition even when sleep and stress are normal,” Fazio tells Higgins.
• You notice swelling or puffiness: Prolonged low protein intake can disrupt fluid balance, sometimes causing swelling in the face, hands, or legs, Higgins notes. “Other signs of prolonged insufficient protein intake include leg swelling, anemia, and poor wound healing,” Jones tells Higgins.
• You’re losing weight for the wrong reasons: Rapid weight loss linked to low protein intake often reflects muscle loss rather than fat loss, Higgins reports, which can slow metabolism over time. “When muscle mass starts to decrease, metabolism may be impacted to slow down, as muscle helps burn more calories at rest,” says Leah Tsui, a registered dietitian at Ciba Health in New York, tells Higgins.

Higgins adds that most adults should aim for about 1–2 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight daily, with higher needs during recovery. Prioritizing protein at each meal, from varied sources, supports energy, muscle health, and overall well-being.

“Many people are consuming just enough protein to avoid outright deficiency, but not enough to support optimal muscle mass, immune health, or metabolic function. This ‘gray zone’ of low-but-not-deficient protein intake often goes unnoticed because the signs are subtle and progressive, rather than acute,” Ashley Koff, a registered dietitian from California, told TIME.

Acknowledgement: This summary was generated using AI writing tools as part of my experimental learning process. For more information, please refer to the original article in TIME Magazine.

Related resource Link

• 9 Signs You’re Not Getting Enough Protein | TIME Magazine