How This Bodybuilder Mom Died From Consuming Too Much Protein

The culprit? Too much protein. Hefford, who competed in a bodybuilding competition in 2014, didn’t know she had urea cycle disorder, a rare genetic disorder that results in enzyme deficiency, according to the National Institutes of Health.

Here’s what that means: When you consume more protein than your body needs, the excess is broken down into organic acids and ammonia. For an average person, that’s no big deal, since your liver works its magic and converts it into harmless waste. But for someone with urea cycle disorder, your body can’t efficiently remove that excess ammonia from your blood stream, so it builds up and becomes toxic. If it reaches your brain through your blood, it can cause irreversible damage and even death.

While the disorder is super rare, Hefford just didn’t know she was one of the few who had it—and since she was set to compete in a bodybuilding competition in September, she had been ramping up her protein intake, which included supplements.

“Excess supplements can be more dangerous if someone already has health conditions, like renal impairment, but people won’t necessarily know they have that, so that’s why people need to be cautious and stick to what the guidelines say,” Simone Austin, a sports dietician in Australia, told PerthNow. (Here are three supplements that actually work—and three that are wasting your money.)

So what does this mean for you? Don’t freak out just yet. If you’re a normal healthy guy, overdosing on protein isn’t likely.

How Protein Becomes Muscle:

Your personal intake depends on your weight and what your workouts look like. Most highly trained athletes do just fine with 0.77 grams of daily protein per pound of body weight, nutrition and exercise researcher Mark Tarnopolsky, M.D., Ph.D, explained to us in the past. So if you’re 180 pounds, that equates to 139 grams of protein a day.

If you’re not an athlete, but still hit the gym at least five days a week for an hour per session, 0.55 grams of protein per pound should suffice. (Not sure how much protein you need post workout? Read this.)

Bottom line: Even if you’re not suffering from a rare genetic disorder, more protein doesn’t always mean more results. But Hefford’s case is tragic and illustrates that you might not realize you have an underlying health condition that could mess with the way your body digests protein supplements—or any supplement in general. If you’re not sure how much you should be taking, talk to your doctor to make sure you’re consuming a safe dose.