Protein absorption

[teirrah]

This is a protein 101 question but if you know the answer I'd love to hear from you!
Is there a limit to how much protein the body can absorb from one meal?
I am trying to gain and have increased my protein intake by drinking 2 whey protein shakes per day, in 300 mls of non fat milk as snacks. The bag suggests a serving of 20g of powder giving 13g protein but this is so wimpy looking that I use 2.5 times that amount to aim for @30g. I then drink a couple glasses of water.
Am I wasting this protein?
I eat between 5-6 times per day, lots of protein from real food but because it is real food none of my meals would contain more than 30g tops of protein.
One of the guys I work with said the body can only utilise about 20g at a time. Is he correct? I did a search but nothing came up so I'd appreciate some pointers.Thanks very much

 

[MS]

The body can ABSORB almost limitless amounts of protein. However it can only use a limited amount of that protein AS PROTEIN and the rest of it will get converted to glucose, fatty acids, or excreted. How much gets used as protein depends on many things including your size, gender, habituation (in other words how accustomed your body is to large protein intakes), age and, of course, protein 'needs' generated by muscle, connective tissue and enzyme turnover, growth, repair, illness etc....Everyone is different, but I would guess that abodybuilding female might be able to use 15-20g in one meal. This doesn't meant the rest of the protein is 'wasted' since protein can also supply calories without having a large impact on your pancreas (unlike many carb sources), and it's less easily stored as fat than dietary fats. It's also important (for muscle growth) to make sure that amino acids are never the limiting factor in your training/diet.

 

[teirrah]

Thank you for your reply MS.
Can I chuck another question out as a follow on, basically can I keep on with what I'm doing on the grounds that this way I'm not under funding? Or would you advise breaking up the shakes into smaller servings but greater frequency?

 

[MS]

There's prolly nothing wrong with what you're doing. That's how *most* bodybuilders eat. Personally I cycle my protein intake so my body doesn't become as accustomed to eating the same amount at the same time every day....makes it more efficient. Chronic "overfunding" as you call it, can cause your body to burn more protein as fuel compared to someone who varies their protein intake. But as long as there is enough protein, you shouldn't worry too much about the excess. I should have pointed out more clearly that the utilization question really depends on how often and how much protein you eat. If you only have significant amounts of protein once per day (or once every few days) then your body can use a lot more of the protein in that meal than if you eat protein 5-6 times per day. My rough guesstimate of 15g was based on your 5-6 meals per day. If you only ate 50g once every 2 days, I'd bet your body would use almost all of that 50g as protein rather than converting it. If you eat 50 every 2-3 hours, then your body will not use very much of that 50g protein as protein. Keep in mind that carbs also reduce your requirements for protein so if you are on a lower carb diet, you will need more protein intake.

 

[teirrah]

Thanks again for another information packed reply. Now that you have pointed it out I can see that the protein as protein take up would greatly vary accordng to how often and how much and how regularly it was consumed. At the moment I am following what I imagine is a pretty standard regime of eating 5-6 times a day, protein in 4 meals with 20-30g per meal. Carbs are fairly low except for Sundays when I eat pasta / bread / potato meals.
(This is not for any dietary reason, just that its my day off and I enjoy eating with my friends; 6 days of zen, 1 day of sin kind of thing.)
I am 5"9, weigh 68 kilos (err 150 lbs?) and have bf at 16.5%.
Since I started eating real clean food and eating more frequently my bf has dropped steadily from@22%. This was 6 months ago and I am delighted but now I am trying to gain more muscle without regaining the blub.
MS, you mentioned that you cycle your protein, if its not too much of a pain, could you tell me how you do this? And again, thank you for posting the replies.

 

[MS]

I'm happy to share my protein cycling as long as you keep reminding yourself that what works for me may or may not be ideal for you! My diet is also designed a lot around the 7 day week. From Monday morning until Friday afternoon I eat low carb, high protein (around 150-200g per day protein), and from Friday night through Sunday night I flop it around and eat high carb and low protein (protein varies from 40-60g per day). For the most part, I keep fat intake low (20% or under) with the occasional pizza meal sneaking in. This is pretty much my maintenance diet which is diet hard for 4-5 days then eat carbs for the weekend. I don't count or monitor my weekend carb intake...I let my body and circumstances dictate what is appropriate.

My Monday-Friday protein is in regular ~30g meals 5-6 times per day. My weekend protein intake is incidental and the foods I mainly eat are oats, pasta, beans, chick peas, fat-free ice cream and choc sauce.

 

[Drifter]

MS, do you know if it has been established yet whether ginger can increase the amount of protein absorbed or is it still speculative?

 

[MS]

Marinating meats with ginger can act as a tenderizer (in other words pre-digests the meat to a certain extent). It doesn't appear to have any benefits when used with legumes. Ginger may also increase gastric motility, so it may actually decrease protein digestion in the upper intestine?? I dunno. Ginger has a lot of other potential effects postabsorptively. Most folks have no problem digesting their protein, but tenderizers may have some benefit for the sick/elderly etc....

 

[teirrah]

Thank you for the info re what you eat, MS. As you say, what works for one person may not for another but as I am a total beginner at all this I think I need to experiment a bit to find what works for me. The idea of doing 5 days protein, 2 days carb appeals. I think I will put in another carb day til Christmas, but if it doesn't seem to be working and I'm blobbing up then do something else.

 

[Nelson Montana]

MS provided an excellent answer. I'd add just a couple of points, if I may.

Consider taking the protein shakes wih milk. Rheo Blair felt that lactose is the ultimate carb and helps is the assimilation of proteins. Although I can't provide any studies to back this up, I believe he was right. Besides, who am I to argue with a genius?

In regards to absorbing more protein, digestive enzymes may help. At one time Bromelain and Papaya enzyme were popular supplements to take along with protein since they aid in its break down and assimilation. For some reason they're no longer popular. Incidentally, it's papaya enzyme which is the active ingredient in meat tenderizers, not ginger.