Joel, Good work, and thanks so much for including the reference for the research article; I like to read the research for myself when I can.
Research is good and research is bad.
Research is good because it can teach us a LOT.
Research is bad because most people don’t understand how to take the results of a study and analyze beyond the study to see how it fits in the big picture.
Fortunately, I will help do both with regards to the below study.
So, a team of researchers sought out to discover some stuff about protein:
J Am Diet Assoc. 2009 Sep;109(9):1582-6.
A moderate serving of high-quality protein maximally stimulates skeletal muscle protein synthesis in young and elderly subjects.
Basically, they wanted to see if a 90 gram serving of protein (about the equivalent of 12 oz of grilled chicken breast) would elicit a greater muscle building response when compared to a 30 gram serving (approximately 4 oz of grilled chicken, beef, etc).
The answer: No.
The conclusion: Your body can utilize approximately 30 grams of protein for muscle building purposes at a time. Elite athletes and bodybuilders, perhaps a bit more.
So, does this mean that you should only eat 30 grams of protein per meal regardless of your calorie needs?
No.
There are other factors that should be considered when determining your protein intake, independent of how much of that protein is able to fuel the muscle building process.
What we can, however, learn from this study is a very general rule:
It’s best to spread your protein intake out throughout the day, ala 6 meals with smaller protein portions than 3 meals with larger portions, because yes, there seems to be an upper limit to the amount of protein that the body can use toward rebuilding or building muscle at any one time.
Now, that number could certainly change based on whether the group was participating in regular, intense resistance training — I’m betting the amount would go up. Perhaps 40 grams on average…maybe more.
Either way, you’re probably going to get better results by splitting it up over the course of the day.
Later this week, I’ll be back to answer the question “How much protein do I actually need anyway?”
And I think you’ll be surprised by the answer.
If you’d like to see that article, do two things for me:
1) Hit the Facebook “Like” button below, then…
2) Leave a comment in the comments section
At least 100 comments and I’ll be back later in the week with the “How much protein do I really need?” article.
Talk to you in the comments section!
Joel
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143 comments - add yours
Are there dangers from taking in too much protein in one day…even if it is spread out?
Good post Joel. I have heard so many different numbers of the max amount our body can use in one sitting, so this is very good to know.
Thanks.
you always have good info.. I personally have yet to apply much of it to my own situation.. I am currently getting everything in my life ready for an all out assault on my belly fat and the rebuilding of muscle lost due to bad eating habits and not enough activity.. knowing the exact amount of protein that I need to be taking in to achieve my goals will be an enormous aid to the process. for this current info and for all you do to help us couch potatoes realize there is life other than in the little black box…I WILL BE LEAN BY THANKSGIVING! thank you Joel
Protein I like. I think it will be tough to start eating 6 times a day, though. Big change of habit. Will it be OK to just eat the protein these extra times?
Protein supplements can be very expensive. I’d love to know whether or not I’m using too much and am therefore wasting it. If I can reduce the amount of protein I’m taking, but still acheive the same results, I can stretch out the supplements I’m purchasing and hopefully save some money.
Makes me wonder why I’ve been ordering those 16 oz steak at my local steakhouse. That’s enough protein for 4 people!
Hi Joel.
Thank you for all the helpful information you have sent. This one, however, has a mistake in it. 1 oz = 28 grams. Therefore a 4 oz chicken breast would be equivelant to 112 gram.
Keep up the good work.
30g? Then why in the world do I need to have 264g for the whole day on the XFLD protein depletion day? That is well over 40g spread out over 6 meals! My read out chart basically says I need 53g per meal for a 5 meal day.
How much sense does that make?
Is the amount of protein needed in a day dependent on the person, and not just a static number? I’d say my teenage son needs more than I do, and we both need more than my 4 year old son, right? Whether to determine it by weight or muscle mass is another question in itself. Interesting study, though.
Joel,
Glad you covered this topic, and looking forward to hearing how many grams you think you should consume in the next post…
We need more fitness professionals to put out quality information like this to help combat all the nonsense you see in the fitness magazines and supplement stores.
Most people have the mentality that “more is better” and are really ignorant of the truth which leads to them wasting more money and putting their health at risk.
Seems that more and more protein supplements are coming with with “60grams of protein” etc…
As you pointed out above, 60 grams of protein in one serving isn’t going to do much for you, but costs a lot of money!
Chris
Its interesting that the study was performed on young and elderly subjects, these two groups do not accurately represent the average person. Due to physiological changes that occur with aging it is very unlikely that the 30 gram absorption stated here could actually by applied to a healthy adult, though the idea of having a maximal absorption level is interesting, it would be nice to see a properly conducted study to examine this using healthy, active adults, preferably with more than two intake levels. While this study raises a good question it doesn’t really give any answers that can be used by healthy adults.
Cool! Can’t wait for the next report
Always a good idea to look at the whole picture. Studies like statistics can be manipulated or stated in a many ways–not all of them are very accurate.
Don’t protein needs really depend on the individual? Men need more than women, athletes need more protein, people who lift weights 3-4x week need more. I think it would be hard to nail down one size fits all with protein needs.
This is very interesting and basically reinforces my impression that stuffing yourself with anything, even high-quality protein, is probably a bad idea.
Very nice man ;D
I’m following you and Isabel. Your advice is changing my life – all for the better.
Thanks Joel, always good stuff here. Looking forward to next article. I always learn something here on your blog.
Hey Joel,
Thanks for sharing another great reason to spread your meals throughout the day!
I do it because if I eat a few small meal throughout the day, I am less hungry and less likely to overeat.
It also helps me when I make each meal “balanced”…meaning a small portion of lean protein, complex carbs AND healthy fats (like olive oil or coconut oil).
Hope you had a great Holiday weekend!
~ Pete
Does this take into account the size of the person as well? Does a 300 pound power lifter need more amounts of protein overall or per sitting than a 150 pound lifter? And how much does gender play into all this?
Good stuff as usual, Joel. Looking forward to the next post as always. I’ve been wondering about the max protein uptake/day thing.
very insightful, thanx :)
Where can we sign up for these studies? I don’t mind being given free food! Just watch where you stick that probe! Haha
I’m interested in part 2!
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Hey, it’s Joel! So you want to know a little more about me, huh? Well, I’d be happy to oblige :-)
I guess it all started back in 2001 (my freshman year of college) when I was just a “skinny fat” 19-year old kid. At the time, I was spending close to 2 hours a day in the gym (now my workouts last about 30 minutes), and despite my efforts, you’d probably never guess I worked out a day in my life by looking at me...