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Protein intake question
- Thread starter Jeus
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Blood&Iron
New member
No, it can't. There is absolutely no evidence that in those without preexisting hepatic or renal dysfunction the overconsumption of protein will cause any sort of problem.chaste said:
Jeus, as far as I know, the only reason to eat LOTS of protein is as 'insurance'. Kinda like taking a multi-vitamin even though in theory you're getting enough vitamins from your diet. The vast majority of bodybuilders take in grossly more protein than they need. But protein can be converted to carbs or fat if the body is in short supply. The reverse is not true. Neither carbs nor fat can be converted to protein, so it is better to err on the side of too much protein.
Now here's some food for thought.....you only need around 200 grams of extra protein to add a pound of muscle. So an excess of a mere 25 grams per day above what you burn and excrete is theoretically enough to add a pound of muscle per week. However the body is not a perfect machine, and the balance, timing and absorption/deposition of protein is critical. If your a little short of even one minor amino acid, or if you eat a lot of fiber (which reduces protein absorption from the gut), or if all the aminos are not at the muscle cell at the exact moment everything else is anabolic, if vitamins/minerals are not optimal, etc.... then that protein will be used for other things, or excreted. You will find no hard science that will tell you exactly how much protein you need to eat each day. It will change from day to day, and person to person. The best thing you can do is eat enough and then a little extra!
I think the jury is still out on liver and kidney damage. Short and medium term studies support the safety of high protein diets, but if you eat like that for 80 years straight, well no one can say. The main cause of death in old cats (who are nearly perfect carnivores) is kidney failure, and that's after only 12-16 years on average. Now humans are not cats, but it's just something to consider.
Personally I eat high protein when I'm dieting (carbs are restricted) and moderate protein the rest of the time. I find it cheaper and more palatable to burn carbs and fat for my fuel, and leave the protein free for maintenance and muscle building.
Now here's some food for thought.....you only need around 200 grams of extra protein to add a pound of muscle. So an excess of a mere 25 grams per day above what you burn and excrete is theoretically enough to add a pound of muscle per week. However the body is not a perfect machine, and the balance, timing and absorption/deposition of protein is critical. If your a little short of even one minor amino acid, or if you eat a lot of fiber (which reduces protein absorption from the gut), or if all the aminos are not at the muscle cell at the exact moment everything else is anabolic, if vitamins/minerals are not optimal, etc.... then that protein will be used for other things, or excreted. You will find no hard science that will tell you exactly how much protein you need to eat each day. It will change from day to day, and person to person. The best thing you can do is eat enough and then a little extra!
I think the jury is still out on liver and kidney damage. Short and medium term studies support the safety of high protein diets, but if you eat like that for 80 years straight, well no one can say. The main cause of death in old cats (who are nearly perfect carnivores) is kidney failure, and that's after only 12-16 years on average. Now humans are not cats, but it's just something to consider.
Personally I eat high protein when I'm dieting (carbs are restricted) and moderate protein the rest of the time. I find it cheaper and more palatable to burn carbs and fat for my fuel, and leave the protein free for maintenance and muscle building.
Stryc-9
New member
Another thing to consider regarding this debate (as if there weren't enough variables already!!) is the fundamental difference between the amount of protein you put INTO your body and the amount of protein that your body ACTUALLY absorbs....
...just because you drink a shake with 30g of protein - doesn't necessarily mean that your body will metabolize and make use of 30g of protein....there are a myriad of factors that will influence the rate and degree of absorption....
...I guess I would consider this yet another reason to err on the side of "too much" protein - rather than "not enough"....
...just because you drink a shake with 30g of protein - doesn't necessarily mean that your body will metabolize and make use of 30g of protein....there are a myriad of factors that will influence the rate and degree of absorption....
...I guess I would consider this yet another reason to err on the side of "too much" protein - rather than "not enough"....
Blood&Iron
New member
I, for one, don't plan on eating super high protein for the next 80 years. I will only do so until I've reached my final physique goals, which I think will happen in the next 2-3 years. After that I'll drop the amount considerably and I very much doubt 200-250g a day will cause damage in the long term, and it is certainly sufficient to maintain the 235 or so I plan to weigh. I would also venture that relative to their body weight cats still eat far more protein than even the most extreme bodybuilders I would guess for a human this would be akin to a 200lb person eating somewhere in the vicinity of 800g of protein a day(Of course this is pure conjecture on my part.)MS said:
My End Over Mad her
New member
I was wondering, exactly why if someone doesn't consume 1,5-2,0 grams/lb. of protein, protein every two hours etc. will lose muscle - Jeus
This question I don't think became answered, if it did please bare with me, but I was curious as well as Jeus when exactly will muscle become burned for energy? If i don't eat every 2 hours or 3 hours will it resort to using muscle?
This question I don't think became answered, if it did please bare with me, but I was curious as well as Jeus when exactly will muscle become burned for energy? If i don't eat every 2 hours or 3 hours will it resort to using muscle?
My End Over Mad her said:
I don't think it's so much to prevent the body from starting to eat away at muscle, although, when not consuming enough food frequently enough your body will become catabolic. I think the main reason is so that the body has enough readily available amino acids to assimilate new muscle tissue.
Stryc-9 said:
everybody made some good points,
regarding this quote, depending on what you are referring to ...
how much protein you put INTO your body equates the amount that is ACTUALLY absorbed.
Because regardless, all the Protein you take still has to pass through the kidneys and the kidneys have to decide what to do with it. so essentially your kidneys have to deal with whatever amount of Protein you take in.
the kidneys can become overburdened by too much protein simple and plain.
now also dont get me wrong, the body can take a large amount of protein certainly, we're talking about very excessive amounts. I would speak with a real physiologist if you think that you need to take 600+ grams.
sometimes weight lifters don't take into account real science, because they are only concentrating that whatever they are doing is working for them, but I am talking about real health not whether you have larger biceps then the next guy due to excessive protein or whatever else.
If you mean the difference between intake and how much the Muscles actually absorb then I see the point
My End Over Mad her
New member
So ultimately if you eat every 2-3 hours or whatever, its the nutrients that are used instead of muscle tissue, so as long as you are eating carbs or fat you shouldn't not be burning muscle,
and in an anabolic state. So as long as you get your protein requirements for the day you should be fine wether you eat it in one meal or spread out over meals.. is the only benefit from spreading out insurance that you can assimilate the right amount?
i would think that consuming all of it in one sitting wouldn't be optimal since you want to keep feeding your muscles throughout the day, naturally. But, I'm still wondering if IT is that much better every 2-3 hours instead of every 5 hours even if you meet your requirements in the fewer meals...
and in an anabolic state. So as long as you get your protein requirements for the day you should be fine wether you eat it in one meal or spread out over meals.. is the only benefit from spreading out insurance that you can assimilate the right amount?
i would think that consuming all of it in one sitting wouldn't be optimal since you want to keep feeding your muscles throughout the day, naturally. But, I'm still wondering if IT is that much better every 2-3 hours instead of every 5 hours even if you meet your requirements in the fewer meals...
