How much protein can you digest in one sitting?

Rich wrote:

Joel, what is meant by *at a time* anyway? I have always wondered about this. Yes, I am sure that trying to absorb 90g of whey isolate in one go would be wasteful (and expensive), but if you ate 90g of protein from a large steak it would take so long to digest, would you still consider it to have been taken in at one time? With some protein sources could you still be digesting the protein from the previous meal when you have your next meal? I am interested in your thoughts on this.

This is a good question – the study actually used 90% lean beef (a 4oz portion vs an 12oz portion) and then measured protein synthesis for 5 hours post meal ingestion.

So, in this case, it is with a slower digestion protein source and no difference in protein synthesis was found.

Joel

Joe wrote:

Is how much you weigh a factor, or is that the general rule?

Yes, the 30 grams is a general figure, with the main take home message being that protei intake is better absorbed when spread out.

Joel

james wrote:

I have always been aware that there is some maximum level of protein that can be used utilized by the body & as you mentioned perhaps slightly more than the 30 grms if training hard. With this in mind, why do so many brands of protein shake supply higer levels than this?

There is probably some with the “more is better” mentality, however, as we’ll discuss tomorrow, there are other reasons a higher protein intake is beneficial beyond how much is used toward protein synthesis.

Joel

Fat Loss Chef wrote:

i would say in regards to that study that it was focused on young and elderly who are probably not the target group for this blog and it did not include any exercise component.

The study analyzed the difference between a group in the 30s and a group in their 60s and found no difference – you can probably deduce from that info that there would also be no difference in the 40-50 range, given that there was no difference at opposite ends of the spectrum (which is why they set the study up this way).

Joel

Helene wrote:

If you eat too much protein, does the excess turn into fat storage??? I have heard that it does…

Too much of any macronutrient is stored as fat, yes.

Joel

Nick wrote:

Isn’t the missing piece to this though the rate of digestion – our bodies will not waste energy. If amino’s are not needed in the blood stream doesn’t digestion alter such that the food is digested more slowly and thus the protein released when needed.
Therefore no requirement to split protein intake. Out digestive processes take care if it.

Incorrect – food just doesn’t sit in your stomach all day.

The above study used lean beef, which is by nature a slower digesting protein source, and no difference between a 4 oz and 12 oz serving was found.

Joel

Ivan Lazik wrote:

I think any person who trains with good intensity would have no problem digesting 40g per meal or even 50g.
I know when i do Squat , Bench , Deadlift in one workout i can eat a lot more and my metabolism is crazy for 1.5 days. So digestion will increase.
One of the things i think is important is to look at the quality of the protein.
You can eat PORK/BEEF/CHICKEN but it has 68% protein synthesis which means out of every 100g eaten your body only takes in 68g.
But FISH has 78% and EGGS have 88% protein synthesis so it may not be only HOW MUCH PROTEIN to eat per meal but FROM WHAT SOURCES so that more of it will stay in the body and less in the toilet.
Ivan out

Where are you getting your #s from?

mino wrote:

100 g chickenbreast equals 20 g protein. Therefore, to gain 1 kg of muscle you have accumulate ~200 g additional protein.
For example, if you want to gain 1 kg of muscle within 2 months (60 days), you could add 200 / 60 = ~3 g (!) protein to your daily protein need. You don’t need expensive loads of protein.

2.2 lbs of muscle in 2 months or 1 lb a month – I’m not sure that that’s anyone’s goal.

Regardless, you’re assuming that all the protein that is digested will get converted to muscle, and the turn over rate is 50% at best.

-Joel

squeaker wrote:

How does this article affect the xtreme fat loss program in terms of protein requirements? Or is the protein listed in that program more than just the muscle building purposes?

There are different reasons to do anything – we aren’t using the protein depletion days on the XFLD to build muscle.

Joel

Leah wrote:

Are there dangers from taking in too much protein in one day…even if it is spread out?

Not unless you have a pre-existing kidney disorder, no.

Joel

Marijke Stanley wrote:

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.

Of protein, not total weight.

1 oz of uncooked meat contains ~7-8 g of protein.

Joel

Darrell wrote:

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?

A lot, actually, because the reason for the high protein intake on a protein depletion day has zero to do with protein synthesis and muscle building :)

Joel

Muria wrote:

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.

Yes, it would vary by lean body mass.

Jason wrote:

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.

All of the study participants were healthy/active adults and the there were two groups, a group in their 30’s and a group in the 60’s to see if aging made a difference, which in this case, it did not make a statistical difference.

So yes, the study is actually set up in a way to make a quite accurate assertion about normal, healthy adults.

Joel

David wrote:

Hi Joel, I think this sort of thing only serves to confuse people, like u said this wasn’t in people who were working out….obviously when u go to the gym and hit the weights u r breaking the muscle down and increasing the bodys demands for protein for up to and maybe more than 72hrs, but especially the golden hr afterward. I have seen recommendations from bodybuilders who consume 100gms straight after they’re workout.
I believe each individual has different needs and also different capabilities to utilize varying amounts of protein and to generalise 30 – 40 is a BIG MISTAKE!!!
Age, gender, lean mass and level of activity NEED to be considered, not to mention variances in genetics lol… A 19yr male, 210lb bodybuilder who is training intensely 5days per wk with 3 HIIT sessions will have higher needs and also better digestive system and hormones, etc etc than say a 70yr old woman who weighs 120lbs and is sedentary.
I have to say this was the worst blog from u to date…I really like the stuff u have done before but this is poor in my opinion to try to put a figure on protein assimilation to suit ALL when as u know everyone is INDIVIDUAL.

Sorry you feel this way. The study was actually done on physically active adults, it just wasn’t done immediately following exercise.

Regardless, as I said in the post, the take home message is that protein intake should be spread out over the course of the day for max benefit, not that there is some absolute number that can be absorbed. Of course it will differ based on body size, lean body mass, and whether that individual is an athlete, etc. I mentioned that in the post.

Lastly, because some huge juiced up bodybuilder is taking in 100 grams post workout, doesn’t mean there is any science to back up that it actually is of any benefit over, say, 50 grams. In fact, studies like these show that it doesn’t.

Have a wonderful day,

Joel

Ivan Lazik wrote:

@ Joel Marion:
I am getting my numbers from Franco Columbu website :
http://www.columbu.com/protein-utilization.html
I also new some of this before from published studies in Muscular Development.

There is a lot of misinformation and bad advice on that page, and NPU is a rather outdated system. Basically, anything that’s meat is going to have a 90% or better rate.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PDCAAS

Also, Muscular Development isn’t anything close to a peer reviewed journal that publishes “studies”.