Endogenous nitrogen excretion and utilization of dietary protein

1. The endogenous nitrogen losses of men of different ethnic, ecological and socio-economic backgrounds are similar when calculated per unit body-weight or per unit basal energy consumption. The hypothesis that endogenous N losses, adjusted upwards by a factor of 0-30 to equate them with N equilibrium, can be used to derive man's physiological requirements for proteins of high quality, e.g. those of egg and milk, was studied. 2. Men living in Nigeria, accustomed to eat diets which provided mixtures of protein only slightly higher than the 'safe level of intake' proposed by the Joint FAO/WHO ad hoc Expert Committee on Energy and Protein Requirements (FAO/WHO, 1973), were found to use absorbed N more efficiently than University of California students who habitually consume diets which supply a great excess of protein over that 'safe level'. 3. The greater protein-sparing effect of carbohydrates than of fats and oils may play a part in this more efficient use of protein by men living in developing countries. Also, man possesses mechanisms in intermediary metabolism which allow him to adjust to low levels of protein intake. 4. Thus it appears that all apparently healthy men cannot be considered equal in regard to their requirements for protein.