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How much protein can the human body absorb in one sitting?

MAYO

MAYO

Bad Mother
Sep 27, 2010
2,159
675
To the OP....its going to vary with body type and activity level.
Usually when people ask this question, the user is referring to shakes or whey. Not too many guys wanna know just how much dry-ass chicken they can eat in one sitting. So lets take a closer look. The body absorbs nearly ALL the protein that you eat regardless of speed and quantity. However, the body utilizes only a fraction of the protein ingested for muscle synthesis. Protein is not used in whole form. Your body doesn't take a lactalbumin protein molecule from whey and splice it into your bicep. The protein undergoes hydolysis and is broken down into amino acids. Think of amino acids as the body's alphabet. The body can combine and arrange different sequences and quantities of amino acids to produce a nearly limitless number of proteins, the same way we make words from letters. BCAAs(branch chain amino acids) are like the vowels of this alphabet. BCAAs are used in a disproportionately larger number than the other amino acids, especially in muscle building. Whey, Egg, Meat, and even gay-ass Soy are all relatively rich in BCAAs and are thus good muscle building protein. Back to the topic...... So we have a large shake of protein and the small intestine sucks it all up. Hydrolysis breaks all the protein down to amino acid components. Then the body takes what it needs for maintenance and various tissue synthesis, including your precious muscles. What happens to the rest? Here comes the bad news...it turns into fat. Bullshit you say....no tub-tub, watch and learn. Excess aminos are difficult to store so the handy-dandy liver snatches them up and sends them through a complicated process called "gluconeogenesis." Literally, "to create new glucose." The body then takes the glucose produced and does this: glucose -> pyruvate -> acetyl~CoA ->(by Acetyl CoA carboxylase) -> malonyl~CoA -> fatty acids. And then those fatty acids go hang out behind your belly button or in your ass cheeks. The moral of the story, IMHO of course, whey is good for pre or post workout when a large influx of aminos is beneficial to the body. Unless you are way over your genetic limit in terms of muscle mass, I would restrict whey consumption to "as needed" and stick to whole food. "But, but, but I can't eat that much chicken." Ya, you can. Slow and steady is the name of the game. Eat small portions of high protein, low fat meats throughout the day. Lack of fat makes for speedy gastric emptying so you don't feel full for very long. The meats, being natural-state tissue are in different levels of protein structure ranging from primary(fast absorbing) to quarternary(slow absorbing). This gives the body a steady stream of aminos rather than large bursts that cannot be expedited quickly enough and are converted to glucose.
 
Last edited:
pux888

pux888

MuscleHead
Oct 1, 2010
1,256
65
Nice post Mayo, you are spot on brother.

Edit: Its also nice to see someone use some proper terminology!
 
Last edited:
pux888

pux888

MuscleHead
Oct 1, 2010
1,256
65
Just curious what kind of protein powder it is. I am assuming there is whey concentrate in there somewhere which is causing issues. i drink 50G 100% pure whey isolate shakes with no issues.

Your correct, I have been using GNC branded protein which has a concentrate and an isolate combined for years. I try my best to get the vast majority of my protein from food.
 
Right Hook

Right Hook

New Member
Feb 20, 2011
9
2
Check out the latest episode of Bodyrx (podcast) with Dr. Scott Connelly. They specifically talk about this topic, as a warning it is a bit dry in the first few minutes.
 
Spikykite

Spikykite

Senior Member
Feb 14, 2011
183
14
To the OP....its going to vary with body type and activity level.
Usually when people ask this question, the user is referring to shakes or whey. Not too many guys wanna know just how much dry-ass chicken they can eat in one sitting. So lets take a closer look. The body absorbs nearly ALL the protein that you eat regardless of speed and quantity. However, the body utilizes only a fraction of the protein ingested for muscle synthesis. Protein is not used in whole form. Your body doesn't take a lactalbumin protein molecule from whey and splice it into your bicep. The protein undergoes hydolysis and is broken down into amino acids. Think of amino acids as the body's alphabet. The body can combine and arrange different sequences and quantities of amino acids to produce a nearly limitless number of proteins, the same way we make words from letters. BCAAs(branch chain amino acids) are like the vowels of this alphabet. BCAAs are used in a disproportionately larger number than the other amino acids, especially in muscle building. Whey, Egg, Meat, and even gay-ass Soy are all relatively rich in BCAAs and are thus good muscle building protein. Back to the topic...... So we have a large shake of protein and the small intestine sucks it all up. Hydrolysis breaks all the protein down to amino acid components. Then the body takes what it needs for maintenance and various tissue synthesis, including your precious muscles. What happens to the rest? Here comes the bad news...it turns into fat. Bullshit you say....no tub-tub, watch and learn. Excess aminos are difficult to store so the handy-dandy liver snatches them up and sends them through a complicated process called "gluconeogenesis." Literally, "to create new glucose." The body then takes the glucose produced and does this: glucose -> pyruvate -> acetyl~CoA ->(by Acetyl CoA carboxylase) -> malonyl~CoA -> fatty acids. And then those fatty acids go hang out behind your belly button or in your ass cheeks. The moral of the story, IMHO of course, whey is good for pre or post workout when a large influx of aminos is beneficial to the body. Unless you are way over your genetic limit in terms of muscle mass, I would restrict whey consumption to "as needed" and stick to whole food. "But, but, but I can't eat that much chicken." Ya, you can. Slow and steady is the name of the game. Eat small portions of high protein, low fat meats throughout the day. Lack of fat makes for speedy gastric emptying so you don't feel full for very long. The meats, being natural-state tissue are in different levels of protein structure ranging from primary(fast absorbing) to quarternary(slow absorbing). This gives the body a steady stream of aminos rather than large bursts that cannot be expedited quickly enough and are converted to glucose.

nice piece of info MAYO
 
jdjack

jdjack

MuscleHead
Sep 22, 2010
568
33
What a geek lol. Nice post, and analogies bro.
 
J

Jeton

Member
Oct 6, 2010
23
0
To the OP....its going to vary with body type and activity level.
Usually when people ask this question, the user is referring to shakes or whey. Not too many guys wanna know just how much dry-ass chicken they can eat in one sitting. So lets take a closer look. The body absorbs nearly ALL the protein that you eat regardless of speed and quantity. However, the body utilizes only a fraction of the protein ingested for muscle synthesis. Protein is not used in whole form. Your body doesn't take a lactalbumin protein molecule from whey and splice it into your bicep. The protein undergoes hydolysis and is broken down into amino acids. Think of amino acids as the body's alphabet. The body can combine and arrange different sequences and quantities of amino acids to produce a nearly limitless number of proteins, the same way we make words from letters. BCAAs(branch chain amino acids) are like the vowels of this alphabet. BCAAs are used in a disproportionately larger number than the other amino acids, especially in muscle building. Whey, Egg, Meat, and even gay-ass Soy are all relatively rich in BCAAs and are thus good muscle building protein. Back to the topic...... So we have a large shake of protein and the small intestine sucks it all up. Hydrolysis breaks all the protein down to amino acid components. Then the body takes what it needs for maintenance and various tissue synthesis, including your precious muscles. What happens to the rest? Here comes the bad news...it turns into fat. Bullshit you say....no tub-tub, watch and learn. Excess aminos are difficult to store so the handy-dandy liver snatches them up and sends them through a complicated process called "gluconeogenesis." Literally, "to create new glucose." The body then takes the glucose produced and does this: glucose -> pyruvate -> acetyl~CoA ->(by Acetyl CoA carboxylase) -> malonyl~CoA -> fatty acids. And then those fatty acids go hang out behind your belly button or in your ass cheeks. The moral of the story, IMHO of course, whey is good for pre or post workout when a large influx of aminos is beneficial to the body. Unless you are way over your genetic limit in terms of muscle mass, I would restrict whey consumption to "as needed" and stick to whole food. "But, but, but I can't eat that much chicken." Ya, you can. Slow and steady is the name of the game. Eat small portions of high protein, low fat meats throughout the day. Lack of fat makes for speedy gastric emptying so you don't feel full for very long. The meats, being natural-state tissue are in different levels of protein structure ranging from primary(fast absorbing) to quarternary(slow absorbing). This gives the body a steady stream of aminos rather than large bursts that cannot be expedited quickly enough and are converted to glucose.

GREAT post, thank you Mayo!
 
Ms.Wetback

Ms.Wetback

VIP Lady Member
Sep 27, 2010
1,734
240
Interesting to note:

Some products have a suggested serving size as high as 50 g of protein. However, due to possible inhibition of endogenous digestive enzymes from over-processing and rapid small intestine transit time, the average amount of liquid WPC that is absorbed may be only 15 g.
 
biguglynewf

biguglynewf

VIP Member
Oct 11, 2010
699
142
To the OP....its going to vary with body type and activity level.
Usually when people ask this question, the user is referring to shakes or whey. Not too many guys wanna know just how much dry-ass chicken they can eat in one sitting. So lets take a closer look. The body absorbs nearly ALL the protein that you eat regardless of speed and quantity. However, the body utilizes only a fraction of the protein ingested for muscle synthesis. Protein is not used in whole form. Your body doesn't take a lactalbumin protein molecule from whey and splice it into your bicep. The protein undergoes hydolysis and is broken down into amino acids. Think of amino acids as the body's alphabet. The body can combine and arrange different sequences and quantities of amino acids to produce a nearly limitless number of proteins, the same way we make words from letters. BCAAs(branch chain amino acids) are like the vowels of this alphabet. BCAAs are used in a disproportionately larger number than the other amino acids, especially in muscle building. Whey, Egg, Meat, and even gay-ass Soy are all relatively rich in BCAAs and are thus good muscle building protein. Back to the topic...... So we have a large shake of protein and the small intestine sucks it all up. Hydrolysis breaks all the protein down to amino acid components. Then the body takes what it needs for maintenance and various tissue synthesis, including your precious muscles. What happens to the rest? Here comes the bad news...it turns into fat. Bullshit you say....no tub-tub, watch and learn. Excess aminos are difficult to store so the handy-dandy liver snatches them up and sends them through a complicated process called "gluconeogenesis." Literally, "to create new glucose." The body then takes the glucose produced and does this: glucose -> pyruvate -> acetyl~CoA ->(by Acetyl CoA carboxylase) -> malonyl~CoA -> fatty acids. And then those fatty acids go hang out behind your belly button or in your ass cheeks. The moral of the story, IMHO of course, whey is good for pre or post workout when a large influx of aminos is beneficial to the body. Unless you are way over your genetic limit in terms of muscle mass, I would restrict whey consumption to "as needed" and stick to whole food. "But, but, but I can't eat that much chicken." Ya, you can. Slow and steady is the name of the game. Eat small portions of high protein, low fat meats throughout the day. Lack of fat makes for speedy gastric emptying so you don't feel full for very long. The meats, being natural-state tissue are in different levels of protein structure ranging from primary(fast absorbing) to quarternary(slow absorbing). This gives the body a steady stream of aminos rather than large bursts that cannot be expedited quickly enough and are converted to glucose.


Very nice post. and nice simple explanation of gluconeogenesis.
 
huntlo

huntlo

Member
Apr 9, 2011
46
0
A lot of good information here. I do have a couple questions.

To MAYO's post:
When planning a diet, the main emphasis is placed on the timing
of carbohydrates. The majority of carbohydrates are ingested
before and after training to fill and refill muscle glycogen levels.
Protein is usually spread evenly throughout the day, with slightly
higher concentrations PWO to repair muscle tissue. My question
is: Do you spread your consumption of healthy fats evenly over
5-6 meals or is it more beneficial to consume higher/lower amounts
of fat at certain meals?


To Ms. Wetback's post:
With the absorption of PWC possibly being restricted to 15g, would
taking a digestive enzyme supplement aid in protein absorption or is
the transit time a bigger factor?


Lastly, the amount of carbohydrates is usually determined based on
the goal of the diet (fat loss, bulking, etc.). The amount of healthy
fats the body needs to function properly varies from person to person
based on different factors. When calculating the amount of protein to
optimize muscle growth and repair, is it accurate to say that the best
way to determine how much protein someone needs (when using a per
kg/lb factor) is to base the calculation on the individual's lbm and
not overall weight?


Sorry for all the questions, just trying to learn as much as I can! :D
 
SAD

SAD

TID Board Of Directors
Feb 3, 2011
3,673
2,293
A lot of good information here. I do have a couple questions.

To MAYO's post:
When planning a diet, the main emphasis is placed on the timing
of carbohydrates. The majority of carbohydrates are ingested
before and after training to fill and refill muscle glycogen levels.
Protein is usually spread evenly throughout the day, with slightly
higher concentrations PWO to repair muscle tissue. My question
is: Do you spread your consumption of healthy fats evenly over
5-6 meals or is it more beneficial to consume higher/lower amounts
of fat at certain meals?


When it is necessary to have quick absorption of whatever nutrients you are taking in, i.e. pre and post workout, you would want to keep fats to a minimum. Otherwise spread them out evenly, with perhaps slightly more good fats close to bedtime to help slowly feed your muscles at night (especially if combined with a casein protein).


To Ms. Wetback's post:
With the absorption of PWC possibly being restricted to 15g, would
taking a digestive enzyme supplement aid in protein absorption or is
the transit time a bigger factor?


I would guess that most if not all of these studies that are readily found are done on an average person, so for somebody who is on gear and has MUCH higher protein synthesis capabilities, the numbers are not totally relevant. I do believe that people overuse protein shakes in place of good food, and that 50g shakes are a waste, but I can't see 15g being the maximum we could absorb at once. To answer your question about an aminogen-type supplement aiding in protein absorption, I would vote YES, it would absolutely help both the speed and efficiency of absorption.


Lastly, the amount of carbohydrates is usually determined based on
the goal of the diet (fat loss, bulking, etc.). The amount of healthy
fats the body needs to function properly varies from person to person
based on different factors. When calculating the amount of protein to
optimize muscle growth and repair, is it accurate to say that the best
way to determine how much protein someone needs (when using a per
kg/lb factor) is to base the calculation on the individual's lbm and
not overall weight?


Simply put, yes, protein needs should be calculated based on LBM, and not total bodyweight.
 
huntlo

huntlo

Member
Apr 9, 2011
46
0
Thanks bro

I wasn't sure if the per kg protein calculations already contained
some sort of factor that compensated for an individual's body fat
by using an average healthy BF%. I've never once been directed
to determine my lean body mass before calculating my daily protein
intake, but now I will.

I did a little more research into the background of Ms. Wetback's
post. You can digest roughly 8-15 g of protein depending on what
article you read and other physical factors. The small amount of
time that is takes for WPC to travel through the small intestine to
the ceacum is the reason that it's fairly accurate to say that 15-25g
is probably what you absorb before dropping the kids off at the pool.
Note that the study that is cited with this is from '68 and used barium
sulfate as the indicator of transit time. The study determined that
transit time is affected primarily by the rate of gastric emptying and the
amount of barium (or in our case WPC) ingested. So basically you can
increase the efficiency of protein absorption by slowing the rate of gastric
emptying (include a reasonable amount of fat with high protein meals) or
avoid taking in a large amount of protein at any one time.

Then again, with digestive enzymes these numbers will probably change,
but only to a certain extent.
 
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