Your number
Slide to your weight
Then see how an ordinary day of Indian meals adds up against it.
65kg
Your daily need
About 54 g of protein a day (0.83 g for each kg).
A sample day adds up to 72 g
The pink line is your need. This day covers it.
- Breakfast2 eggs, 1 roti and a glass of milk24 g
- LunchA katori of dal, 2 rotis and a bowl of curd17 g
- SnackA handful of peanuts7 g
- Dinner100 g fish curry, a cup of rice and sabzi24 g
Vegetarian? Swap the eggs for 100 g hung curd and the fish for 100 g tofu. Values from ICMR-NIN’s food tables and USDA, rounded.
The RDA covers almost every healthy adult. If most of your protein comes from rice and roti, ICMR-NIN uses 1 g per kg instead, because cereal protein is lower in quality.1 On ICMR-NIN’s 2,000-calorie plate, about 15% of energy comes from protein, and eggs, fish or meat can stand in for part of the dal.4
Everyday portions
What your usual servings give you
Sort by serving or by 100 g, and filter to what you eat.
| Food and serving | Protein per serving | Per 100 g |
|---|---|---|
| Chicken breast, cooked3100 g cooked | 31 g | 31 groasted |
| Chicken breast, raw3100 g raw | 23 g | 23 graw |
| Mutton (goat)2100 g raw | 22 g | 22 graw |
| Rohu fish2100 g raw | 20 g | 20 graw |
| Cow’s milk2500 ml | 16 g | 3.3 g |
| Soya chunks330 g dry | 15 g | 52 gdry; check your pack |
| Paneer250 g | 9.4 g | 19 g |
| Dal (masoor)21 katori, from 30 g dry | 7.3 g | 24 gdry |
| Whole egg31 large egg, 50 g | 6.3 g | 13 g |
| White rice31 cup cooked, 158 g | 4.3 g | 2.7 gcooked |
| Egg white31 large egg’s white | 3.6 g | 11 g |
| Curd (dahi)3100 g | 3.5 g | 3.5 g |
| Roti21 roti, from 30 g atta | 3.2 g | 11 gatta, dry |
Raw or cooked?
Why the numbers online disagree
Cooking changes the water in food, so protein per 100 g moves even though the protein doesn’t.
Who needs more
When your number goes up
- Pregnancy
- About 9.5 g a day more in the second trimester and 22 g more in the third.1
- Breastfeeding
- About 16.9 g a day more for the first six months, and 13.2 g more after that.1
- Losing weight
- Weight-loss studies used 1.2–1.6 g per kg. In 24 trials, higher-protein diets lost 0.79 kg more and kept 0.43 kg more lean mass than standard ones.7,8
- Mostly rice and roti
- About 1 g per kg, because cereal protein is lower in quality.1
Spreading protein across the day may help your muscles. In a small study of 8 adults, about 30 g at each meal built 25% more muscle protein over 24 hours than eating most of it at dinner.9
Myths
What you might hear
They say
“More protein harms healthy kidneys.”
They say
“Roti and rice have no protein.”
Actually
Cereals give urban Indians 28 of the 72 g of protein they eat each day. They’re low-density, not zero.5
They say
“100 g of chicken is 31 g of protein.”
Actually
Only once cooked. Raw breast has about 22.5 g per 100 g.3
They say
“The protein is all in the egg white.”
They say
“You need protein powder to lose weight.”
Talk to your doctor before eating more protein if
- You have kidney disease, or diabetes or high blood pressure that has affected your kidneys.
- Your ankles, feet or hands swell, you see blood in your urine, or you pee more at night.
- You are losing weight without trying, especially with other symptoms.
- You are pregnant or breastfeeding: plan your extra protein with your doctor.
People with chronic kidney disease may need moderate amounts of protein, set with their doctor or dietitian.11,12,13
