another protein question-

goochinator

If the body can only handle 20 g protein at a time, how long is that for?
In other words, if I eat a snack with 20 g. protien, can I have more protein like 2-3 hrs later?

goochinator

If the body can only handle 20 g protein at a time, how long is that for?
In other words, if I eat a snack with 20 g. protien, can I have more protein like 2-3 hrs later?

Dave198lbs

If the body can only handle 20 g protein at a time, how long is that for?
In other words, if I eat a snack with 20 g. protien, can I have more protein like 2-3 hrs later?

great question...

CALLING SONGBIRD!!!! WHERE ARE YOU?????

neeterskeeter

I don't know... I didn't even know the body could only handle 20g of protein at a time? I try to eat at least 25g with each meal. Even a scoop of my weigh protein, which I add to stuff that already has some protein, contains 26g. So I am at a loss. Wish I could be of more help but I 'd like to know where you get the "can't handle more than 25g of protein" fact from? Because it confuses me. Thanks!

stillkristi

Its kind of complicated. It depends on your overall body weight, and your activity level and is this a lean protein, or a protein with a lot of calories? According to the protein gurus, like Atkins, Eades, the caveman diet guy (can't remember his name) we tend to be protein deprived thanks to years of low fat diets, which happen to be high carb diets. According to the Eades (Protein Power) for every one pound of lean body mass you have, you need .6 gram of protein every day. That translates into 60 grams of protein for a person with 100 lbs of lean body mass. Your lean body mass is the metabolically active part of you. So, you subtract your fat weight from your total body weight and that is your lean body mass. If you know your percentage of body fat, you can calculate your total fat weight by multiplying your total weight by your body fat percentage and subtracting that amount from your total body weight to get your lean body weight. SO - if you are a 130 lb woman, and your % of body fat is 23% then 130 * .23 = 29.9. Now, subtract - 130 - 29.9 = 99.9 SO, this person has a lean body mass of 100 lbs, and needs 60 grams of protein every day. That is according to the Drs Eades who wrote the book, "Protein Power." Is that any help?

MattySparky

If the body can only handle 20 g protein at a time, how long is that for?
In other words, if I eat a snack with 20 g. protien, can I have more protein like 2-3 hrs later?

I've never heard anything like that before, I would ask the person that gave you that information.

goochinator

Actually the 20 G @ a time I learned here- From what I can remember, its something like anything over 20 (25?) grams of protein eaten at a time cannot be digested, so it turns to fat. Did I read that right?

stillkristi

Again, there is no single right answer. If you are quite active, you will burn more protein than you will if you are sedentary. Anyone who says anything over 20 or even 25 grams of protein eaten at a time can not be digested so it turns to fat. is misinformed. In fact, overeating carbs is much more likely to go to fat (again, from the protein gurus, Drs Eades)

songbyrdsweet

Ah, the 'how much _____ can we absorb at once?" question.

It's a topic of much controversy. Some protein pushers will force a chicken breast down your throat at every meal. I've seen numbers like 30-35 grams, and up to 75 g, and everything in between. Because we all have different physiology, there's really no number that fits everyone. Maybe someone with 100 lbs of lean muscle mass and some GH on hand can absorb inordinate amounts. Maybe some small lady who weighs 95 lbs needs 10 or so at a time.

Here's how things work-

Digestion takes a looooooonnnnng time. Hours and hours. What you eat for breakfast at 8am isn't entering your intestines until around 11am, and then it travels for a good part of the day, being mixed and mashed so the max amount of surface area will come into contact with the intestinal wall. Your meal is also broken into little pieces for easier mixing. It doesn't travel as one huge chunk. Each little piece will be in there for a long time, and nutrients will be absorbed along the way. If you were to eat 75g of protein, it might be in there longer, and you might not absorb all of it, but unless you're overeating, it's not going to turn to fat at a certain number of grams. It'll be used for energy, just like the rest of your calories in a deficit. It'll also be used for tissue repair and maybe for glucose production if necessary.

So, what's 20 g "at a time"? What's 'a time'? One meal? 15 minutes? An hour? It's going to be in your intestines for about 6 hours. Is that 'at a time'? This statement really doesn't say anything, so that's the first clue that it's probably not right.

yellow_pepper

I think this (the original 20g issue, not SBS's response) is bogus. The more protein you eat, the longer it will take to digest. But that's a GOOD thing!

If you go ahead and eat a whole chicken, you may eat too much food mass for your body to digest at all, and more than usual may just pass through you, undigested.

But a single chicken breast (at least the ones I eat) has about 35 grams of protein. And I would not be better off cutting it in half and substituting in a slice of bread.