Protein absorption myth

[deathmetal1992]

So right now I make a shake and pretty much that's my only meal

I blend everything in it
All carbs fat and proteins

My protein is 180-200 g
And I drink this after my workout once a day.

My question is, someone was telling me to spread around the protein as this much protein all at once is just going to a waste. Isn't this a myth? Can someone post a link.

I hope if I drink 200 g of protein my body can use all of it even if it's at once

[Vampirelol]

you have to inject protein if you have more than 50g

[GeneralSerpant]

Might be taken more seriously if you said you eat a chicken once a day.

[deathmetal1992]

you have to inject protein if you have more than 50g

Pls srs

[cjr169]

if you butt funnel it you get 200% absorption

i prefer chocolate myself i dont wanna disrupt the color scheme down there

brb butt funnel strawberry and poo out pink beta turds no fukin thnx jeff

[rhadam]

So right now I make a shake and pretty much that's my only meal

I blend everything in it
All carbs fat and proteins

My protein is 180-200 g
And I drink this after my workout once a day.

My question is, someone was telling me to spread around the protein as this much protein all at once is just going to a waste. Isn't this a myth? Can someone post a link.

I hope if I drink 200 g of protein my body can use all of it even if it's at once

In the case of a bolus intake of protein the gut will slow down digestion to try to use as much of the protein/amino acids as possible. But taking in 200g in one serving is far from ideal. A lot of that will be excreted. Spreading protein intake throughout the day is preferable.

[401Delta]

Interview w/ Stuart Phillips:

Okay…let’s start with the basics. Can you give us a general guideline as to what the average protein requirement might be for a trained lifter? And does that requirement change if a person is in a calorie deficit versus being in a surplus?

I like to make an early distinction between protein requirement and optimal protein intake (OPI). I don’t think there’s any evidence to suggest that a lifter’s protein requirements are any greater (and perhaps even less) than the protein RDA. From an optimal standpoint, however, there are benefits of ingesting protein intakes as high as 1.6-1.8 g/kg/d [0.73-0.81 g/lb/d], which we further breakdown to ~4 meals of 0.4-0.45 g/kg/meal, in a day.

In an energy deficit higher intakes might be of benefit to protect muscle mass, but the exact number for what to eat when in energy deficit is a little hard to pin down, but I’d have no issues with 2-2.5 g/kg/d [0.91-1.14 g/lb/d] or 0.5k/kg/meal 4 times daily. Some people are advocates for higher intakes but I just don’t think that those intakes feed into any useful metabolic process – like muscle protein synthesis. You can certainly eat more protein, but it’s not doing anything too useful for you!

Oh and I like 4 meals per day as opposed to 5-6.

[Note: I asked him about this after the fact and he said that consuming 5 or 6 meals as opposed to four offers no additional benefit. However, if you prefer 5 or 6 meals in the interest of having to get in a lot of food in a day, that would be fine.]

Do you believe that there is any truth to the notion that there is a certain maximum amount of protein that can be digested and/or utilized in a single meal?

Well as I said above there’s a useful limit but I think that’s reflected in the intakes I’m talking about above. While our group has continually been tagged with the 20g/meal tag (which equates to ~0.25g/kg), you can certainly eat (and digest) a lot more protein. My point would be that your body can’t use the amino acids from protein when ingested beyond the immediate roles of those amino acids to build new proteins – in muscle and elsewhere – make neurotransmitters, or use the amino acids in intermediary metabolism.

After that the nitrogen (N) is fundamentally toxic in a mammalian system and you strip the amino acid off the nitrogen and eventually it ends up in urea and some ammonia. So beyond what your body can immediately (or within a few short hours) use metabolically, large ‘doses’ of protein simply aren’t metabolically useful. So If you eat 100g of protein, you digest it, absorb it and use some of it (I’d estimate ~25-35% for protein synthesis) and the rest has the N stripped off, and the metabolic carbon ‘skeletons’ are metabolized.

[deathmetal1992]

So it's saying no? I thought it was a myth tbh

Now I have to eat 4 meals a day and spread my protein around?

Interview w/ Stuart Phillips:

Okay…let’s start with the basics. Can you give us a general guideline as to what the average protein requirement might be for a trained lifter? And does that requirement change if a person is in a calorie deficit versus being in a surplus?

I like to make an early distinction between protein requirement and optimal protein intake (OPI). I don’t think there’s any evidence to suggest that a lifter’s protein requirements are any greater (and perhaps even less) than the protein RDA. From an optimal standpoint, however, there are benefits of ingesting protein intakes as high as 1.6-1.8 g/kg/d [0.73-0.81 g/lb/d], which we further breakdown to ~4 meals of 0.4-0.45 g/kg/meal, in a day.

In an energy deficit higher intakes might be of benefit to protect muscle mass, but the exact number for what to eat when in energy deficit is a little hard to pin down, but I’d have no issues with 2-2.5 g/kg/d [0.91-1.14 g/lb/d] or 0.5k/kg/meal 4 times daily. Some people are advocates for higher intakes but I just don’t think that those intakes feed into any useful metabolic process – like muscle protein synthesis. You can certainly eat more protein, but it’s not doing anything too useful for you!

Oh and I like 4 meals per day as opposed to 5-6.

[Note: I asked him about this after the fact and he said that consuming 5 or 6 meals as opposed to four offers no additional benefit. However, if you prefer 5 or 6 meals in the interest of having to get in a lot of food in a day, that would be fine.]

Do you believe that there is any truth to the notion that there is a certain maximum amount of protein that can be digested and/or utilized in a single meal?

Well as I said above there’s a useful limit but I think that’s reflected in the intakes I’m talking about above. While our group has continually been tagged with the 20g/meal tag (which equates to ~0.25g/kg), you can certainly eat (and digest) a lot more protein. My point would be that your body can’t use the amino acids from protein when ingested beyond the immediate roles of those amino acids to build new proteins – in muscle and elsewhere – make neurotransmitters, or use the amino acids in intermediary metabolism.

After that the nitrogen (N) is fundamentally toxic in a mammalian system and you strip the amino acid off the nitrogen and eventually it ends up in urea and some ammonia. So beyond what your body can immediately (or within a few short hours) use metabolically, large ‘doses’ of protein simply aren’t metabolically useful. So If you eat 100g of protein, you digest it, absorb it and use some of it (I’d estimate ~25-35% for protein synthesis) and the rest has the N stripped off, and the metabolic carbon ‘skeletons’ are metabolized.

[Aristotelian]

While questions like this are interesting, it's a shame that more people don't read actual articles on the subject before posting:

"Based on the available evidence, it’s false to assume that the body can only use a certain amount of protein per meal. Studies examining short-term effects have provided hints towards what might be an optimal protein dose for maximizing anabolism, but trials drawn out over longer periods haven’t supported this idea. So, is there a limit to how much protein per meal can be effectively used? Yes there is, but this limit is likely similar to the amount that’s maximally effective in an entire day. What’s the most protein that the body can effectively use in an entire day? The short answer is, a lot more than 20-30 g. The long answer is, it depends on several factors. In most cases it’s not too far from a gram per pound in drug-free trainees, given that adequate total calories are provided."

and:

"In sum, view all information – especially gym folklore and short-term research – with caution. Don’t buy into the myth that protein won’t get used efficiently unless it’s dosed sparingly throughout the day."

Source: https://atlargenutrition.com/is-ther...a-single-meal/ (Alan Aragon wrote it - he's fantastic)

Edit: And ignore this guy VVVVVVV

Around 30 gm/meal and certainly no more the 40 gm. Anymore than that will most certainly just be shunted to fat or wasted. Your body can only process and absorb so much at a time.

He posted after me and didn't even have the courtesy to read a thread with less than 10 posts in it. He's sure to have provided you with a well researched response.

[401Delta]

So it's saying no? I thought it was a myth tbh

Now I have to eat 4 meals a day and spread my protein around?

Watch this...

[KRANE]

Around 30 gm/meal and certainly no more the 40 gm. Anymore than that will most certainly just be shunted to fat or wasted. Your body can only process and absorb so much at a time.

[janglingjack]

Why would you choose to eat just one massive shake a day?

[quadfecta]

In on broscience nutrition thread.

[ChrisSWE]

if you are a lion , then go for all of it at once. Human, i would spread it out.

[401Delta]

So it's saying no? I thought it was a myth tbh

Now I have to eat 4 meals a day and spread my protein around?

There is a limit to how much you can absorb in a short period of time, but as Aristotelian has pointed out, it's probably closer to your recommended daily intake, so while it may not be optimal to eat all your protein in one meal, you would still be able to absorb that amount.

[TappingTheZen]

Around 30 gm/meal and certainly no more the 40 gm. Anymore than that will most certainly just be shunted to fat or wasted. Your body can only process and absorb so much at a time.

This is inaccurate. You can consume all your protein in 1 meal if you want, the RATE of protein synthesis peaks at around 30-40g of protein, but protein synthesis will continue way past this, your body won't just discard protein. This is essentially the basis of IIFYM; given calories and macros are the same, meal timing does not matter.

Let's leave the broscience out pls.

It's certainly more enjoyable for many of us to spread our food out, but we are barely evolved from hunter-gatherer, and they would generally gorge on one large meal then not eat for a day or two. If we just discarded protein, our species would not be here today. IIFYM is why diet protocols like intermittent fasting work.

[KRANE]

Edit: And ignore this guy VVVVVVV



He posted after me and didn't even have the courtesy to read a thread with less than 10 posts in it. He's sure to have provided you with a well researched response.

The OP has the ability to heed or ignore whatever advice he chooses, but let that be his choice. Hopefully, his reading comprehension is a lot better than yours.

[ChrisSWE]

wanted in this thread: someone who actually is a scientist and can confirm their statements they found on the internet.

[401Delta]

Around 30 gm/meal and certainly no more the 40 gm. Anymore than that will most certainly just be shunted to fat or wasted. Your body can only process and absorb so much at a time.

The OP has the ability to heed or ignore whatever advice he chooses, but let that be his choice. Hopefully his reading comprehension is a lot better than yours.

Your post had incorrect information.

1. You can absorb much more than 40 grams of protein in a short period of time.

2. Excess protein is not stored as fat (while the biochemical pathways for the conversion of protein to fat do exist in humans, the likelihood of it ever happening in any but the most absurdly non-physiological circumstances are effectively nil).

https://www.bodyrecomposition.com/nu...orage-qa.html/

[TheFuarkingBoss]

If you’re natty I wouldn’t worry too much

[Aristotelian]

The OP has the ability to heed or ignore whatever advice he chooses, but let that be his choice. Hopefully, his reading comprehension is a lot better than yours.

Your post contained bro-science, and mine contained an article written by Alan Aragon. You ignored other posts in the thread, and I called you out on that, because your post flew in the face of at least one before yours that was well-researched. The OP's ability to read threads is not what I called into question - I called both your reading comprehension into question as well as the content of your post.

What were you saying about reading comprehension, Mr. I don't read threads but post anyway with bro-science? Please.

[Vastusaurus]

Listen to people like Alan Aragon, broseph

Also, what sort of protein are you drinking? unless intentionally short-term PSMFing then you probably have an eating disorder

[wildturkey]

if you butt funnel it you get 200% absorption

i prefer chocolate myself i dont wanna disrupt the color scheme down there

brb butt funnel strawberry and poo out pink beta turds no fukin thnx jeff

Legit lol’d

[brianmcg321]

I’m interested in this 200gm protein shake?

Does it have a couple of steaks in it?

[PenorBrahNoHomo]

The 'only 30g per meal' thing is obviously spin from supplement companies, just like the '30 minute anabolic window', '1g/lb bodyweight minimum' and other nutrition myths involving protein consumption.

[Junsuiakai]

I tried 70+ grams before and I smelled like ammonia and I burped ammonia, so I don't think it's a myth.

50g is a safe amount for me at least.

[wincel]

If the maximum intake possible at a time were 30, g, then there are only a few possibilities. 1) We only need at most 30 g/day to build muscle, or 2) the 30 g intake cap is bullchit because your body has some compensatory mechanisms to absorb more if you take in more.

I believe 2 is the correct answer, since there are a lot of people who do IF and only eat one meal a day, but do not lose muscle mass, and rather, have gained on it. This would be impossible if there were a hard limit of 30 g/day unless that is all we really need.

I eat meals with over 100 g protein daily with no problems. Still make decent gains.

[KRANE]

Your post had incorrect information.

1. You can absorb much more than 40 grams of protein in a short period of time.

2. Excess protein is not stored as fat (while the biochemical pathways for the conversion of protein to fat do exist in humans, the likelihood of it ever happening in any but the most absurdly non-physiological circumstances are effectively nil).

https://www.bodyrecomposition.com/nu...orage-qa.html/

OK, I went back and reviewed some of the material I used when I made my statement (see video) and can confirm that I used the term "absorb" which more accurately would have been utilization.

Since the focus here is muscle protein synthesis it should have been on the amount of protein that would be utilized towards muscle grow. With that in mind, the 30-40 gm would then be supported if not 100% accurate.

In addition, it should be noted that due to the limited testing and the wide variance of testing and/or test subjects, the research is inconclusive; and that there are currently no supported absolute numbers either way, only best practices or general guidelines, at this time.

This is similar to the practice of 8 hours of sleep, or the recommendation of 8 glasses of water/day. If the weather's hot outside you would need more, and if you're large and active you may need even more.

How Much Protein Can You Absorb In One Meal? (20g? 30g? 100g?)

Cliff note @ 9:15

I tried 70+ grams before and I smelled like ammonia and I burped ammonia, so I don't think it's a myth.

50g is a safe amount for me at least.

There is a lot of research on this as well. Some suggest that excess protein is carcinogenic and may damage kidney function. Still, research is ongoing and any of this can change at any time. I'm not making any claims here, just stating some research findings.

[TheJediBrah]

Wait you have 200g of protein at once? How can you do that and not get sick bro?

[AWillis]

rip toilet