One of the most important aspects of postworkout recovery is getting enough protein. Doing so helps repair and build your muscles, and, believe it or not, reduces soreness as well.

The recommended daily amount of protein for women in the U.S. is 0.8 grams per kilogram of bodyweight, so for a 140-pound person, that’s about 51 grams per day. In the U.K., the recommendation is even lower, at 0.75 grams per kilogram of bodyweight daily. But new research presented at the American College of Cardiology’s annual scientific session suggests that aiming slightly higher could benefit your heart.

Researchers examined data from nearly 100,000 women, with a median age of 64, over a 10-year period. The women filled out health questionnaires, providing information on what foods they ate and how much activity they got, as well as cardiovascular markers like high blood pressure, high cholesterol, coronary and peripheral artery disease, diabetes, and history of heart failure.

They found that those who ate between 58 and 74 grams of protein daily were five to eight percent less likely to develop atrial fibrillation (AFib), which is a heart rhythm disorder associated with serious cardiovascular issues like stroke. Those with the lowest protein intake had the highest incidence of AFib, even if they were meeting U.S. recommendations.

Want to take action now? Luckily, it doesn’t take much to boost your protein intake to hit that more beneficial range, lead study author Daniel Gerber, M.D., cardiovascular medicine fellow at Stanford University, told Bicycling.

“Eating as little as 10 to 15 grams more protein a day could have a significant effect, and that’s just a cup of Greek yogurt, for example,” he said. “Increasing healthy, lean protein intake could be a relatively easy way to lose weight and decrease your risk for AFib.”

More research will need to be done to understand exactly why additional protein can lower your AFib risk, he added. But the answer may be related to the way higher protein consumption helps with fat loss, lower body mass index, and improved insulin sensitivity—all of which are beneficial to your heart.

Also, the age of the participants is important—AFib is more common among older people, but also, as women become postmenopausal, they tend to lose bone mass and lean muscle mass. Not only can protein have a protective effect for the heart, said Gerber, but may also enhance these effects and reduce risk of frailty.

Although this affects women slightly more than men, Gerber said it’s likely that similar results would be seen in a study with male participants.

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So, if consuming slightly more protein has so many heart and muscle benefits, does that mean even more could be extra protection? Not so fast, he suggested.

“There does appear to be a ‘sweet spot’ with regards to protein intake, where going above 74 grams per day is no longer beneficial,” he said. “We believe this may be related to concurrent higher calorie intake, and obesity in women eating the most protein, which negates the benefits.”

It’s also worth noting that your body can’t absorb more than about 30 grams of protein at one time, so it’s best to split up your meals in this way and not try to cram as much protein as you can into them.

Gerber recommends sticking to that sweet spot and focusing on healthy protein sources like fish, chicken, lean beef, Greek yogurt, lentils and beans, nuts, seeds, and eggs.