Everyone has probably heard that the protien from protien bars is mostly useless because the body can not process majority of it. I have heard this from a number of different people and have seen it discussed many times on many different boards, however, I am still not sure if it is true. Nobody can ever cite a reputable source (book, research study, etc.) to prove that this theory is true.

I am interested in this because my schedule during the day is very hectic. In order for me to eat my 6-8 meals each day, I have to incorporate plenty of protien bars. Since I am always on the run, shakes are usually not an option. Most of the time, the only other possible option for me is fast-food, which has way too much fat for me at this point.

I am skeptical about this theory because most bars seem to contain the same exact protein that is in shakes and some foods. Lots of bars contain soy protien, and Met-Rx bars contain Metamyosin(sp) protien which is the same exact kind that is in all of their other products (MRPs, etc).

I have heard that Designer Protien bars are the only bars that have usable protein. Does anyone know if this is true? I am sure that anyone who stands to profit from the sale of these bars would say something like this, whether its true or not. If it is true, did you hear it from a reputable source (doctor, nutritionist, etc.) or did you just hear it from some guy at the gym, or a friend?

The question you should really be asking is what else is put into the protein bar. Many companies are still using aspartame, and one is even using saccharin.

Of all the protein bars I've looked at, these are the best-

MET-Rx. Yes, MET-Rx. Their protein is actually a spread spectrum of amino acids pulled from milk, casein and whey. This actually increases digestion. They also do not include aspartame or harsh artificial sweetners. Most of all the macro-nutrient profile is carbohydrate heavy, and fairly low in fat. Also look at their Krunch bars. Their Simply Protein bars are way to high in fat--though this might make them taste better.

Myoplex HP bars also have a more ideal macronutrient profile. Only one or two flavors are available, so they will become old quickly.

Promax bars--fairly decent macronutrient profile, a little higher in fat than I'd like but they have a good variety and I've found these taste the best.

Your stomach is hurting because of the undigestability of your protein source. Send me enough money to cover ship/hand and I will send you some protein that will not cause you any discomfort whatsoever. I guarantee it. It also has a digestability of 98%! That is super high and I do have documentation on that
Other foods can inhibit the absorbtion of protein. If you eat protein within a meal, you have fat, carbs, and protein being absorbed through the small intestinal linning. Once these foods reach the large intestine, absorbtion of macromolecules ceases. The foods that are eaten along with the protein will be the ultimate factor determining how much of the protein that is in that food will pass through the intestinal linning before it hits the colon (large intestine). Liquid proteins would be absorbed faster because they require less digestion before they can pass through the small pores in the intestinal walls.

Solid foods must pass through many feet of the intestine while undergoing digestion the whole way until they are finally digested enough to pass through.

Picture a piece of cheese sliding down a cheese grader. The block of cheese is too big to pass through the cheese grader's pores. As the cheese block passes along, it is digested by the sharp edges until eventually only a very small block of cheese is left. That small block of cheese is protein that didn't get absorbed.
The small intestine is virtually a long cheese grader. The intestines push the food along as digestive fluids and autonomic muscular contraction breaks down the large food particles into smaller and smaller particles until they are small enough to pass through the intestinal pores and enter the blood stream. The food that is left and isn't digested enough to enter the intestinal pores = that block of cheese at the end of the long grader.

Now picture pouring milk down that cheese grader. That is the equalivalent of partially digested protein. The more digested the proteins, you can imagine the thinner the liquid that is pored down the cheese grader. It doesn't have to go a long distance down the cheese grader (intestine) before its particles are small enough to pass through the intestinal pores (the grader's holes). Since its absorbtion begins as soon as it enters the intestine, you will find an extremely small lump of cheese (or lump of waste) at the end of it.
Protein in liquid form doesn't need to be broken down as much as much as a solid food. So you will find almost no solid food at the end of the tunnel (the large intestine). Amino acids would be absorbed extremely fast and would need virtually no digestion. They simply enter the intestine and pass into the blood stream. Partially digested proteins (peptides) have an absorbtion rate that lies in between that of amino acids and the protein.

Keep in mind, unless you have plenty of money to waste, buying amino acids for a protein supplement aren't economically efficient. You are paying a lab to do what you body is going to do anyway to an extent.

The digestability rating of a protein basically tells how hard the body will have to work to separate the proteins during digestion and the ease of down grading them into amino acids so they may pass through the intestinal lining.
Notice that I didn't say exactly how much protein you could absorb/digest/... at one time. This is because everyone is different. Intestinal contractions can be faster in some and move food along toward the colon at accelerated rates allowing less time for absorbtion. People would also differ in the number of enzymes present in their gut to help break the protien down.
I know that the intestinal pores can actually be widened by some chemicals. This adds super absorbtion of protein but it also allows bacteria an easier portal of entry into the bloodstream. Reasearch has been conducted on the effects of temperarily dialating the pores to allow extra absorbtion but the risks (of infection) out weighed the poteintial benefits.
On these grounds I would have to say that anabolic steroids can not have any factor on the absorbtion of protein. I may be wrong on that but I really don't think so. They only aid in nitrogen retention meaning more of those proteins that are absorbed will be put to good use.

As far as how much protein should be consumed per meal and how much can be consumed:
Lets say I weigh 200lbs.
1)Not on AS= 1-1.5g per day should be sufficient. This IS backed by reasearch:
A study was done by Dr. Lemon et al. where athletes were given specific amounts of protein per bodyweight per day. The bodyweights varied. The goal of the study was to produce a min. amount of protein that is needed to fight catabolism. The study proved that those athletes who consumed less than .7g of protein per pound of bodyweight did not loose muscle mass (exact details of this experiment can be provided to you if you want). That .7g/lb must be reached to avoid catabolism of EXISTING muscle. Therefore one must consume at least 1-1.5g/lb/day (depending on individual metabolisms) in order to see any benefit of added muscle.
No one knows how much protein one's body is capable of assimilating into protein. That area is still under reasearch. But you can be sure that you are playing a totally different ballgame if you are on gear.
I would suggest that one consume 1.5-3g/lb/day at least to take advantage of the anabolic environment. The reason I say this is because hormones tell the body to make muscle. They tell the body to heal and they tell it to make that muscle stronger than it was. The way I see it, if you are injecting twice the normal amount of these anabolic hormones, your body may utalize twice the amount of protein. If you are injecting 6x the amount... I believe that the normal test level in the body is about 200mg (again, this may not be exact). If this is the case, 400mg injections may allow twice the protein utilization. This is just my hypothesis. If correct, you could handle more protein with higher doses of gear. There in itself may lie the key to the effects of higher doses of anabolics. You may not be utilizing the all the protein in your diet on lower doses.

Here's some research I'd like to do if I were a biological reasearch scientist (stay with me on this):
If you gave 10 individuals 600g of protein and 200mg of test, how much protein would they utalize (found by measuring nitrogen content in urine).
If you gave the same 10 individuals 200g of protein and 600g of test, would they utalize more...
If you gave the 10 600g of protein and 1000g of test would they utalize more than the latter...
Ok, what if you gave this 10 600g of protein and 1500mg of test and these individuals had no more protein utalization than those that got 1000mg of test?
* If you then gave the 10 individuals 800g of protein and 1500mg of test and they did indeed show greater protein utilization than they did with 600, this would prove that protein utalization is a direct function of the amount of test that you inject.

In other words, those injecting 500mg of Sust. maybe could benefit from 3g/lb while those of 250mg of Sust. may not see more benefit.
If this trend was analyized, we could have a set amount of protein intake per mg of AS per bodyweight per person per day. It would not be that difficult. But hey, who wants to help us out...

Here's the way I see the amount of protein required per meal. If not on AS 1.5g/lb of a 200lb person would be 300g. At 6 meals per day, that would be 50g/meal.
If one of the group of 10 was on 1000mg of test and reaped benefits of 3g/lb of protein, that would be 600g per day or 100g per meal.
If that person weighed 300lbs, that would be 900g of protein per lb at 3g/lb or 150g of protein in one meal. Now, if this person was seeing greater benefits from 3g/lb than he was from 2.88g/lb, this would prove that the amount of protein consumed at one time was irrelevant. On the contrary, it would prove that the speed of absorbtion was the key in determining how many grams of protein could be consumed per meal, thus a solid food meal containing 100g of protein would take too long for all the protein contained therein to be absorbed through the intestional pores whereas a liquid protein such as a shake which would not need such an extent of digestion before it could be absorbed, would more redially pass through the intestional pores and absorbtion of 100g would be no problem. However, enzymatic activity would definately play a key role in the uptake of the protein.
A diet this high in protein can wreak havoc on your body. There has been lots of research to prove this (I would be happy to give refrences to the research if needed). It all started back in the 80's when some bodybuilder broke his collar bone while benchpressing. Broken bones from muscular contractions have been common in individuals that have elevated strength. It was very common arm wrestling matches for someone to get a broken elbow.
A study was done to find out why this happens. That bodybuilder with the broken collar bone was given an MRI. When they looked at the density of his bones, they found that he had the bone mass of a 70-80 year old woman! It was soon realized that high protein diets would cause bone disease.
Heres an explanation:
Have you ever heard the commercial for TUMS w/ calcium? Well TUMS works due to the buffering action of calcium carbonate on stomach acids.
The body also uses calcium carbonate as a buffer. Whenever the acidity of the blood increases, calcium carbonate is released. The storage site for calcium -the bones. In the same way that muscle is sacrificed for energy, bones are sacrificed for their calcium to buffer the acidity of the blood. Bone catabolism. This is especially prevalent with aging women leading to osteoperosis.
When ever protein is used to build muscle, enzymes, immune support, etc., the amino ACIDS cause the reaction of increased blood acidity. The more protein that the body utilizes, the higher the acidity of the blood and the more calcium must be used to buffer.
This is not a minute and isolated event. In fact, reasearch has proven that milk contains so much protein that its calcium content is not sufficient to offset the resulting blood acidity, thus the bones will still have to give up some calcium. Milk does not build strong bones! This effect is also due to the fact that calcium from milk has a low bioavailability.

Refrences:
Koop.E., The Surgeon General's Report. Wash.Pub. No. 88-50210. 1988
McDougall, J, M.D., Diet for a New America 1992
Kaplan S, M.D. Diet for a New America, Chapter 4, 1991
Erasmus, U. Ibid.
Barnard, N. M.D., Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, Conference 1995.
Should Humans Drink Milk? Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, Guide to Healthy Eating, Nov.-Dec. 1990, pp10
Alan Lamm, "Kinesiology," Homeopath, Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine.

Ok, I'm sick of writing refrences. If you want more email me. For all of them. The key is, make sure that you take a calcium supplement with additional protein consumption. Those on AS should definately take a calcium supplement to prevent catabilism of the bones.

The nitrogen that is released from the amino acids also posses a problem. Amonia's chemical formula is NH2. Water is H20. When you take the N from amino acids and combine it with H2 from water, you get amonia. This amonia can destroy your kidneys. That's why it is imperitive that you drink at least one gallon of water per day if you are on AS.
I originally posted this in another thread. Some guy in his own words said every bro on this board is an idiot that thinks you need more than 45g of protein per day. Here is my reply. I've never heard it spelled out this way but through my years as a biology major, this is the way I see it:
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Hey whacker,
What do you think that muscle is made of?
Mostly protein you say?

Lets look at your 45g/ day idea...

How much do you weigh?
What percent of that is BF?

Lets say that you weigh 150 (I say 150 because you probably don't weigh much as you're only getting 45g of protein a day) unless you are fat.
And you are working out and trying to put on some muscle.

You want to weigh 180lbs. Thirty lbs of muscle is equalivant to 12,750g. Let's say that 75% (probably a lot more!) of that muscle's weight is protien. That would make the muscle that you want to gain contain 9,560g of amino acids (protien)(9560g is 75% of 30lbs). You will need to consume at least 9560g of protein for that muscle. If you are going to put on 30lbs in 5 months, that would mean you consuming 63.75g of extra protein per day to gain that EXTRA muscle.

That is considering that all protein that you eat will be digested. The average digestability of protein is about 80%. That means we loose 20% making us need at least 76.5g of extra protein for that muscle.
Some of that protein is expended, unwound, and denatured therefore it's amino acids are unusable to the body. Some of the protein will not be broken down enough in time for it to be absorbed by the small intestine before it is passed on to the colon (where absorbtion of macronutrients stops). That's probably going to be at least 30%.
Now that leaves us needing 100g of EXTRA protein to support the additional muscle that you are seeking. Well some of that protein will also be burned as energy. Depending on the level of aerobic activity your body may burn up to 25% of those grams of protein as energy. Leaving us needing 125g.

Of that 125g of extra protein, not all of it will be allocated into muscle. Some will be needed to compose enzymes, some for immune function, some for reconstruction of skin, and various cellular repairs. At 140lbs, and low bodyfat, you are probably going to have to allocate 50% of your protein into intracellular maintenence and cellular repair due to natuarl aging of the tissues. Half of that protein intake will be taxed by tissue other than muscle.

So that means that we are going to have to consume at least twice as much to account for that leaving a defiency of 250g of protein.

Since you weigh 140lbs, 250/140=1.79g of protein per lb of body weight. I'd say that if you go below 2g per lb, you are shorting yourself. These figures will vary with individual metabolisms. Also, anabolics that increase nitrogen retention and encourage tissue growth will enable the individual to benefit from additional protein (2-4g/lb). If I were on a heavy cycle, I'd shoot for 3g/lb.

Now, Whacker (Newbie), don't come in here raising hell like you are the supreme supplemental steroid guru to the stars... You don't know your ass from your elbow if you think 45g (.2g/lb) per day of protein is going to get you anywhere in this world.
Actually protein is protein. It doesn't matter if it comes from a human, a cock roach, or a soy bean. The only thing that makes some protein sources perfereable to otheres is the amino acid profile. Some sources may contain higher concnetrations of specific amino acids than others.
I don't know what the amino acid profile for cooked human flesh would be but I'm sure that it wouldn't vary much from beef protein which is thought to be inferior to other protein sources. Whey is favored as having the best amino acid profile.

. It's easy to be fooled by supplement companies about the quality of their products. Just for the sake example, Optimum Nutrition sells a whey protein product that they claim is 100% whey protein or so it says on the label. That is meant to mislead people who don't know much about protein. What they mean by "100%" is that all the protein that is in there originates from whey, not eggs, beef, milk, etc; their 100% whey protein is far from one hundred percent.
They take a high quality protein such as the one I'm "selling" and mix in cheap fillers that degrade the quality and pull one over on unsuspecting customers. Look at their figures:
One scoop of 29.4g, which contains 22 grams of protein. If you do the math, you'll find that equals <75% protein! The other 1/4 of this is garbage that is put in there to take up room, screw you out of your money, and hinder your gains. But hey, look how cheap it is! At >75% protein, you are left with about 3.5 pounds of denatured, undigestable protein in that 5lb container that will cause "bloating, gas," and abdominal cramps (source: http://www.proteinfactory.com/wheyconrate.htm).
My protein is pure, unadulterated, raw, whey protein isolate derived from cross flow microfiltration of white cheese whey and dried cold to avoid denaturation and is 98% digestable (I have Certificate of Analysis to prove it). Do you want to pay over $7 a pound for the inactive protein thats in O.N.'s 100% protein, throw away your money and your potential muscular gains and ingest the rest of that garbage that makes up the rest of the 5lbs? Or do you want to invest in a quality product like Created Perfection's protein and get way more than you are paying for. Afterall, Optimum Nutrition is "cheaper," right??
All powder is unflavored. That's part of what makes this a great deal. It's very hard to find something pure and unflavored, unless you're ready to pay nearly $20 bucks per lb. This is because unflavored whey is made from white cheese which is expensive due to the small supply of this sweet smelling powder. Most whey is made from cheedar by-products which has a pungent, soured odor and tastes horrible unless it's sweetened. They can't produce an unflavored product from cheedar because its horrible taste would discourage any additional sales.
Created Perfection's protein is made from white cheese whey. It is very expensive as there aren't many labs that produce it. In fact the only one that I know of is the one where I get my shipments, and it's in France. Part of the reason that I'm shipping out free samples is becasue I want people to see for themselves the difference white cheese can make. Even though it's unflavored, it has a sweet, buttery aroma. Only because it's from white cheese, it will assume the taste of anything added to flavor it such as fruit or chocolate. It's not premixed that way because you want to pay for protein, not sweetners. If you want an awsome treat, try mixing it with pina colada mix and ice cream! It sure beats plain 'ol vanila. With a product that is already flavored, making up new tasty shakes is nearly impossible.

TOTAL CALORIES: 112 CALORIES FROM PROTIEN: 104 =93%!
Total Fat: 0g
Total Carb: 0g
Sugars: 0g
Sodium: 47g
Protein: 26g

I'm not selling anything right now, but I am offering free samples. I'm not scheduled to begin sales till later. All that I ask in return is that you help me promote my product if you like it (and I know you will!).

To request a free sample, it is important that you contact me via email and ask if I have enough protein in stock to send your free sample. If I ok it, send enough money to cover shipping and handleing ($6); Canadaian residents add $2, all others email me. The sample size will amount to about a pound of powder. My next shipment is due to arrive latter this month. If I have samples in stock, send funds to:

Created Perfections
851 Rowland Rd. #5
Monroe, LA 71203
Created Perfections is now accepting credit card, check, or automatic draft from your checking acccount. To pay for supplements or samples by these methods go to www.PayPal.com
I have an account set up with them. All you have to do is give them your credit card number or check information. Then, they will transfer the funds to my account. It's free. You first have to set up an account but that is free. You can use your PayPal account whenever you place orders with me too. They also give you a $5 startup bonus if you start your account with $100. But they will pay you 5.2% interest on that! Whatever amount you keep in your account, you will be paid the same interest. But you don't have to invest anything. If you start up a PayPal account with the account bonus, they will put $5 in your account for free. You can use that account bonus as payment for the shipping charges on the 1lb of Whey Protein Isolate sample (otherwise S/H is $6). I get $5 for everyone that mentions my email as a refrence and starts up an account w/ the bonus plan. This is by far the most super efficient method of internet payment.
"PayPal charges the money to your
credit card or bank account. It's faster, safer
and easier than mailing a check."

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"Using the service is actually safer than a check or money order."
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Cash or money orders only are accepted by mail unless you would like to send me a check and wait a week or so for it to clear. I would like to wait until I receive the funds and then ship out the sample. Paypal check/credit card orders will go out the day that I receive the funds transfered to my account. Please make sure that cash is enclosed in something (foil, another envelope, a card, etc.) so that it isn't visible through the envelope. The only other option of payment that I offer is by Western Union; however, WU orders could possibly be delayed for a day or two because I will have to drive to the WU place to pick up the cash. I would like to ask those who plan to use Western Union to use paypal instead. You will spend less money (WU is expensive/ paypal is free!), you will waste less time, you will get your order faster, and it's hassle free. It only takes a minute to set up an account.

Created Perfections is also offering an economy whey protein concentrate for $4.50 per lb. To receive a memo in the mail whenever $6/lb WPI sales begin as well as other products that Created Perfections will offer, send me an email including your mailing address to [email protected]. Thanks for your help.

Tell a bro you've found a new source for protein,

Jason Steward
Created Perfections
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"I got my sample, and it was just like everyone else said, GREAT. I can't wait to order alot of this stuff. With the amount of money people spend on bodybuilding supplies, this really helps us out alot. We are offered a great, possibly the best protein on the market, and we get it cheaper then dirt. Stew, you have saved the day, my friend. Good job."
-Loophole Genetics

"I received my sample in the mail today. Let me tell you guys, this stuff is the "real deal". I mixed it with milk = tasted great; mixed it with my normal chocolate flavored protein = tasted great; I mixed Stew's protein with my oatmeal this morning, and dang, you could hardly tell it was there. I'm telling you guys this stuff mixes great with everything. Even better, is that it really doesn't alter the taste of what you mix it with - my oatmeal actually tasted like oatmeal This quality alone makes Stew's proten far better than the others."
-Stones34

"I just got mine today and its great... By the way, thanks for getting the sample to me so quickly."
-Gord

"StewMeat,great protein,I have orders for 20LBS now,let me know thanks"
-Skip

"This is the best tasting protein I have tried and I am very picky. I mixed it with a little milk and could barely notice the difference. You are the man Stew! I hope all read this and realize how much money and hassle that stew is saving us"
-BigJay

"First of all, the protein tastes great...In fact, there is basically no taste or smell at all. I mixed it up with milk, a spoon and shaker. You could hardley even tell there was any protein once dissolved...pretty amazing. "
-Sbaset

"Excellent protien bro. I mixed it with various things after workout last night just trying different scenarios, I like that you can add it to other protien mixes and milk and it doesn't effect the taste in any way, which is great cause you can add in the protien when you need to and not worry about the carbs or fats."
-Schlong

"A great tasting product. Blended well with milk as well as fruit juice. I'll be attacking the oats as well in the morning.
Better have plenty in stock stew...."
-Hudson

This may sound strange, but if it is more difficult than usual to go to the bathroom, and the stool is darker than usual, this may suggest that the excess protein you have been consuming was not digested or absorbed. This would either mean you were taking in too much protein and your body didn't utilize it, or the protein you ate was not assimilated.

And yes, liquid protein is a hell of a lot more efficient. It's liquid so it doesn't require mechanical digestion. True, Enzymes help to separate the proteins into their individual amino acids before they can transport through the intestinal linning. The enzymes are needed to break the peptide bonds between the amino acids. The enzymes simply speed up the natural process, they are not the only means of digestion. Before the enzymes can bind with thier substrates, the protein must undergo mechanical and chemal digestion. If the protein is in liquid form, the enzymes easily locate thier substrate and the liquid protein redially binds to the enzymatic active sites. Solid proteins take longer to digest; hence, some will not be digested in time before it is moved into the large intestine. Virtually all liquid protein is digested. If you don't believe me, just live off maltodextrin and liquid protein for a while and see how long it takes you before you have to take a dump. I tried it. 2 days! That's proof in itself.
But if you don't eat solid foods, you're missing out on vital minirals, vitamins, isoflavones... etc. Plus you need a constant feed of protein. Liquid proteins are digested and absorbed fast.