The official protein RDA (0.8g/kg/day) is an anti-deficiency floor, not an optimal target — aiming higher (typically 1.2-1.6g/kg/day) serves most adults better, especially if you're active or older.

noli's read

The point made in this clip (via epidemiologist David Allison, a guest on Peter Attia's podcast) is that the US Recommended Dietary Allowance for protein (0.8g/kg/day) was derived from nitrogen-balance studies designed to prevent net protein loss in 97.5% of healthy adults — a safety floor, not a health optimum. Several literature reviews (Wolfe & Miller, 2017, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition; Layman et al., 2017, Frontiers in Nutrition) document that higher intakes (1.2-1.6g/kg/day, more for older adults or anyone in a calorie deficit) support better lean-mass retention, with no demonstrated harm to healthy kidneys or bones at those levels. The nuance: most trials showing this extra benefit are done in people under some kind of stress — resistance training, weight loss, aging — a sedentary adult with no body-composition goal is still adequately served by the RDA to avoid deficiency, something the clip doesn't actually claim otherwise. The core message ('the RDA is a floor, not a target') holds up without sliding into 'everyone needs way more protein.' Verdict: holds up.

the sources

1. 1Morton RW, Murphy KT, McKellar SR, et al. 2018
2. 2Leidy HJ, Clifton PM, Astrup A, et al. 2015