http://www.abcbodybuilding.com/protein_size_&_frequency.pdf
ABC Bodybuilding
Optimal Protein
Meal
Size & Frequency
1
Protein: how much and how often?
Layne Norton, BS Biochemistry, PhD candidate
Published:
January 2009
To find the optimal level of protein intake at a meal we must determine what the
optimal level of protein at a meal for stimulating muscle protein synthesis is. It appears
that maximizing skeletal muscle protein synthesis requires
approximately
~15g of
essential
amino acids
1,
2
.
It has been postulated that the amino acid leucine is responsible for the
stimulatory effect of dietary protein on protein synthesis
3
and 15g of essential amino acids
would contain 3.2g of leucine.
Thus
,
in order to determine how much protein from a specific
source is required to elicit the maximal response it may be useful to
also calculate howv much leucine is contained in the source.
One could then determine how much of the source
must be consumed in order to reach the leucine threshold. For example,
whey protein is
approximately 12% leucine
;
therefore
,
about 27g of
whey
protein would need to be
consumed to reach the threshold for maximal anabolism, whereas a source like chicken,
which has a protein content of about 7.5% leucine would require 43g of p
rotein to reach the
leucine threshold required for maximal stimulation
(Table 1
.
).
So it appears that the
maximum benefit level for protein at a meal varies dependi
ng upon the source of protein.
It
is important to note that most of these studies were done
on individuals who weighed
approxi
mately 155
-
165 lbs on average.
So if you weigh less than this you might want to
aim for the lower end of the threshold
;
whereas
,
if you weigh more you may want to aim for
the higher end of the threshold.
amino acids
1,
2
.
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