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THE PROTEIN REVOLUTION

Why You’re Probably Not Eating Enough

In December 2024, I attended the Longevity Conference where Dr. Gabrielle Lyon spoke about protein. Since that conference, I've talked to all of my new patients, and I hear the confusion about proper protein intake amounts. We are noticing many people are under-eating protein.



I want patients to constantly focus on gaining muscle, improving mobility, bone health,

and metabolic health.

YOUR BODY'S SECRET WEAPON

Why Muscle is More Than Just Strength

Muscle is a large organ — think of it as a metabolic unit, a glucose disposal site, a lipid oxidation engine, an amino acid reservoir, a mover of bones, and a messenger through fascial connections.

Muscle-span equals health-span.

The Simple Formula That Beats Most Medications

Protein is the most essential nutrient and the only essential macronutrient, because carbs and fat are interchangeable.

Best results for decreasing metabolic syndrome and creating healthspan: 

High protein + low carb + exercise

Dr. Lyon recommends a minimum of 100 grams of protein per day.

The worst condition? A low-protein diet combined with lack of motion.

What 30 Grams of Protein Per Meal Can Do for You

• Decreases triglycerides
• Increases HDL
• Increases LDL particle size
• Decreases fasting blood glucose
• Decreases post-prandial insulin
• Decreases blood pressure

This should be first-line therapy when your doctor says, "Let's put you on a statin."

THE MAGIC NUMBER

3 Grams of Leucine Activates Muscle Growth

One of my key takeaways from Dr. Lyon's talk was that 3 grams of leucine is the trigger for muscle protein synthesis. Leucine is a skeletal recovery mechanism.



Top Leucine-Rich Foods:

• Chicken (especially dark meat and leg/thigh cuts) – Among the highest leucine sources per serving; a typical 6 oz portion of roasted chicken can provide well over 2 g of leucine
• Beef (steak, roasts, ground) – Red meat supplies similar leucine levels to chicken, often around 2-2.5 g per 100 g cooked depending on the cut
• Pork (chops, ham) – Pork chops and lean ham are also very leucine-dense, commonly exceeding 2 g per 100 g
• Fish (e.g., tuna, salmon, sardines) – Oily fish provide roughly 1.5-2.5 g leucine per 100 g plus omega-3 fats
• Dairy proteins (cheese, milk, cottage cheese) – Hard cheeses and cottage cheese are particularly rich; a cup of cottage cheese or several ounces of aged cheese can easily approach or exceed ~1.5 g leucine

For patients avoiding animal products, emphasize soy foods (tofu, tempeh), beans/lentils, and seeds (pumpkin, sesame, hemp), which provide smaller but still useful amounts of leucine when eaten in higher total protein intakes.

The Breakfast Fix That Transforms Your Metabolic Health

The Standard American Diet (SAD) provides only ~10 grams of protein in the morning.

Patients need to go from 10 grams to 30 grams of protein in the morning. If you follow this program, triglycerides should go down.

Your Personalized Protein Prescription

General recommendation: 1.5 g/kg of body weight (0.7-1.0 grams/pound per day)

• This equals approximately 110-140 grams/day for most people

For vegans and vegetarians:

• Should get at least one meal above 35 grams per day
• Vegan diet minimum: 60 grams/day
• Note: Whey is better than soy. You need more plant protein to be equal to animal protein.

The Longevity Plate: Dr. Lyon's Blueprint for Optimal Health

• Saturated fat < 10% of calories
• 95% of people eat too many grains
• Dr. Lyon's ideal plate: 1/3 protein, 1/3 good vegetables, 1/3 good starch
• Exercise recommendation: 2 sessions of High Intensity Interval Training per week

MEN'S HEALTH ALERT

The Surprising Link Between Muscle and Sexual Performance

On another note about protein and erectile dysfunction: I looked up a paper titled "Exploring the link between muscle quality and erectile dysfunction: assessing the impact of mass and strength" by Michelle Duan et al., with Dr. Gabrielle Lyon as one of the co-authors.

Men: Your Muscle Mass Directly Impacts Your Sexual Health

Reduced muscle mass and strength are tied to insulin resistance, chronic inflammation, and endothelial dysfunction — all key drivers of vasculogenic ED.

As mentioned above, skeletal muscle is framed as a metabolic and endocrine organ. Healthy muscle helps regulate glucose, lipids, inflammatory cytokines, and vascular nitric oxide signaling, thereby supporting penile blood flow and erectile capacity.

The bottom line: Maintaining or improving skeletal muscle through resistance training, adequate protein intake, and possibly combined therapies (e.g., testosterone plus L-carnitine in appropriate patients) may improve both erectile and overall health outcomes.

What they didn't mention was the use of shockwave therapy for ED. We have many successful cases using the Piezowave focused pulsewave and radial pulse therapy for ED.

Sources include research on protein and muscle synthesis: Katsanos et al. AJCN 2005; Symons et al. AJCN 2007; Arnal et al. AJCN 1999; Duan et al. on muscle quality and erectile dysfunction.

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