Is too much whey protein hazardous?

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  • TriShamelessly
    TriShamelessly Posts: 905 Member
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    Hi,

    I am trying to gain weight and added 2 daily scoops of whey protein to my diet. 2 scoops of whey protein is approximately 60g. I was wondering if too much protein can be hazardous for my health? Do you recommend me to reduce the whey protein?

    For the training program, I am trying to do two session of weight lifting per week and the rest of cardio session (between 3 and 4). I am preparing for a triathlon end of july. I also noticed the whey protein helps me a lot for the recovery.

    Jamal

    If you are trying to gain weight, why are you only lifting twice per week and doing a bunch of cardio. I would suggest weights 3-4 times/week and either no, or only 1-2 cardio days at most, as cardio takes cals away from repairing and building muscles and makes you have to eat even more to bulk.

    Me thinks you missed the part of he is training for a triathlon. Resistance training will supplement, but cannot supplant cardio conditioning for a triathlon.
  • Hornsby
    Hornsby Posts: 10,322 Member
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    subscribing.
  • oddzki
    oddzki Posts: 10
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    I got kidney stones from too much protein - I had a shake a day in addition to my normally high in protein meals.
    just eat a healthy balance...

    How many grams per day did you eat, and at what bodyweight? This is really interesting. Do you have hospital journals to back it up? This might be the first confirmed case of kidney stone due to protein intake ever.
  • cwoyto123
    cwoyto123 Posts: 308
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    Whey protein is FOOD.

    You can have 20 scoops a day if you wanted (but drink enough water!).
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
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    Hi,

    I am trying to gain weight and added 2 daily scoops of whey protein to my diet. 2 scoops of whey protein is approximately 60g. I was wondering if too much protein can be hazardous for my health? Do you recommend me to reduce the whey protein?

    For the training program, I am trying to do two session of weight lifting per week and the rest of cardio session (between 3 and 4). I am preparing for a triathlon end of july. I also noticed the whey protein helps me a lot for the recovery.

    Jamal

    If you are trying to gain weight, why are you only lifting twice per week and doing a bunch of cardio. I would suggest weights 3-4 times/week and either no, or only 1-2 cardio days at most, as cardio takes cals away from repairing and building muscles and makes you have to eat even more to bulk.

    Me thinks you missed the part of he is training for a triathlon. Resistance training will supplement, but cannot supplant cardio conditioning for a triathlon.

    Then why is he trying to gain weight? 2 very conflicting activities, trying to bulk while in training for an endurance event.... OP needs to figure out what he wants more and focus training and diet around that.
  • chilledbeast
    chilledbeast Posts: 15 Member
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    Protein at high levels can cause some kidney issues, but at 60g, you're 101% fine. Heck, you'd probably be fine at 120g. Remember that protein uptake and utilization is maximized during the 30-45min post workout. This is a time when your body will process and absorb the protein and associated amino acids instead of converting them to waste. This being said, you should not take all 60g in one shot. Ideally, take one immediately post workout and one post bedtime. Sleep is when your body rebuilds from the workout and the extra protein will help to prevent your body from entering a catabolic state.

    Do you understand what you just said?

    its just so incorrect its embaressing
  • perseverance14
    perseverance14 Posts: 1,364 Member
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    I have been having a lot of (lean) protein and planned to do it until I reach my goal (another 20-25 lbs., depends). I drink a lot of water, about a gallon a day, and I have not had any problems even though most days, my protein is above 150 about 45% of my intake.

    It seems to agree with me and I don't see any reason why I should stop this? I can see taking it down to 40% of lean body mass after I get to maintenance...maybe I am a little enthusiastic about not losing muscle, but seriously, I like eating like this.

    I think I may have gained some newbie muscle in my triceps, only because I never had that much muscle there before I lifted weights, I was always strong, but if I flexed it didn't look like it looks now. Can having higher protein in a deficit encourage that?
  • NRBreit
    NRBreit Posts: 319 Member
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    I'm sure everyone is different, but 2 side effects I have experienced using whey products is excessive plaque buildup on my teeth and 'gas' in the evening hours. I experienced this using 1 to 2 shakes per day (30-60g protein) as part of a 180-200g daily Protein goal.
  • Jamal_Guildford
    Jamal_Guildford Posts: 214 Member
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    Hi,

    I am trying to gain weight and added 2 daily scoops of whey protein to my diet. 2 scoops of whey protein is approximately 60g. I was wondering if too much protein can be hazardous for my health? Do you recommend me to reduce the whey protein?

    For the training program, I am trying to do two session of weight lifting per week and the rest of cardio session (between 3 and 4). I am preparing for a triathlon end of july. I also noticed the whey protein helps me a lot for the recovery.

    Jamal

    If you are trying to gain weight, why are you only lifting twice per week and doing a bunch of cardio. I would suggest weights 3-4 times/week and either no, or only 1-2 cardio days at most, as cardio takes cals away from repairing and building muscles and makes you have to eat even more to bulk.

    Me thinks you missed the part of he is training for a triathlon. Resistance training will supplement, but cannot supplant cardio conditioning for a triathlon.

    Then why is he trying to gain weight? 2 very conflicting activities, trying to bulk while in training for an endurance event.... OP needs to figure out what he wants more and focus training and diet around that.

    I agree with you, it's 2 conflicting activities. I am planning to train with a bodybuilder after the triathlon. I am quite confident for my weight gain. I have a slow metabolism and gain weight easily. The hardest thing is to gain muscle.
  • shmerek
    shmerek Posts: 963 Member
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    Some seriously awesome replies in this thread. hahaha
  • Hazelnut79
    Hazelnut79 Posts: 27 Member
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    Protein at high levels can cause some kidney issues, but at 60g, you're 101% fine. Heck, you'd probably be fine at 120g. Remember that protein uptake and utilization is maximized during the 30-45min post workout. This is a time when your body will process and absorb the protein and associated amino acids instead of converting them to waste. This being said, you should not take all 60g in one shot. Ideally, take one immediately post workout and one post bedtime. Sleep is when your body rebuilds from the workout and the extra protein will help to prevent your body from entering a catabolic state.

    There is no "magic window" to consume your protein....or anything else for that matter. Please refrain from passing on misinformation. There's enough of it going around as it is.

    Results of research on this is actually mixed - there are definitely studies that suggest that timing of supplementation is important to muscle protein synthesis, but there are also a few that have found no differences. I don't study protein synthesis, but I am an exercise physiologist, and I made a jerk of myself arguing with a non-scientist about this (I claimed timing doesn't make a difference) and finding out that things aren't as black and white as I thought once I looked it up later.

    Turns out, as with many areas of research, there is a lot of nuance and gray areas that need to be examined more. I've posted a few studies/reviews below where the full text is available without a subscription, for anyone who is interested. Methods and designs vary (some are looking at elderly, some young, some men, some at hypertrophy or strength, others at actual molecular indicators of synthesis), which probably has some part in explaining why they are not all coming to the same conclusion.

    The first few links are to articles that have found some sort of an effect of timing of protein ingestion, but the last link is pretty interesting because it is a meta-analysis and finds that once potential confounding factors are taken into account, there is not a significant effect of the "treatment" (e.g. consuming protein right before/after working out) on the variables they're looking at, but if you look at the figures 1-3, you can see that there is a bit of a trend, but the variation between the studies swamps it out. I guess what I'm reading from these is that the answer to the question "Does timing of protein ingestion matter?" is "Sometimes." Not particularly satisfying as it makes it hard apply the results to real life.

    If anybody has knows of any other peer-reviewed research that helps explain the variation we see in these studies, I'd be interested in links!


    http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1469-7793.2001.00301.x/full

    http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayFulltext?type=1&fid=8001846&jid=PNS&volumeId=70&issueId=01&aid=8001844

    http://jp.physoc.org/content/591/9/2319.full.pdf#page=1&view=FitH

    http://classic.ajpendo.physiology.org/content/281/2/E197.full

    http://www.jissn.com/content/pdf/1550-2783-10-53.pdf
  • EvgeniZyntx
    EvgeniZyntx Posts: 24,208 Member
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    Protein at high levels can cause some kidney issues, but at 60g, you're 101% fine. Heck, you'd probably be fine at 120g. Remember that protein uptake and utilization is maximized during the 30-45min post workout. This is a time when your body will process and absorb the protein and associated amino acids instead of converting them to waste. This being said, you should not take all 60g in one shot. Ideally, take one immediately post workout and one post bedtime. Sleep is when your body rebuilds from the workout and the extra protein will help to prevent your body from entering a catabolic state.

    There is no "magic window" to consume your protein....or anything else for that matter. Please refrain from passing on misinformation. There's enough of it going around as it is.

    Results of research on this is actually mixed - there are definitely studies that suggest that timing of supplementation is important to muscle protein synthesis, but there are also a few that have found no differences. I don't study protein synthesis, but I am an exercise physiologist, and I made a jerk of myself arguing with a non-scientist about this (I claimed timing doesn't make a difference) and finding out that things aren't as black and white as I thought once I looked it up later.

    Turns out, as with many areas of research, there is a lot of nuance and gray areas that need to be examined more. I've posted a few studies/reviews below where the full text is available without a subscription, for anyone who is interested. Methods and designs vary (some are looking at elderly, some young, some men, some at hypertrophy or strength, others at actual molecular indicators of synthesis), which probably has some part in explaining why they are not all coming to the same conclusion.

    The first few links are to articles that have found some sort of an effect of timing of protein ingestion, but the last link is pretty interesting because it is a meta-analysis and finds that once potential confounding factors are taken into account, there is not a significant effect of the "treatment" (e.g. consuming protein right before/after working out) on the variables they're looking at, but if you look at the figures 1-3, you can see that there is a bit of a trend, but the variation between the studies swamps it out. I guess what I'm reading from these is that the answer to the question "Does timing of protein ingestion matter?" is "Sometimes." Not particularly satisfying as it makes it hard apply the results to real life.

    If anybody has knows of any other peer-reviewed research that helps explain the variation we see in these studies, I'd be interested in links!


    http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1469-7793.2001.00301.x/full

    http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayFulltext?type=1&fid=8001846&jid=PNS&volumeId=70&issueId=01&aid=8001844

    http://jp.physoc.org/content/591/9/2319.full.pdf#page=1&view=FitH

    http://classic.ajpendo.physiology.org/content/281/2/E197.full

    http://www.jissn.com/content/pdf/1550-2783-10-53.pdf

    After review of a lot of articles, I have the impression that while there might be a timing window in maximizing protein uptake, in reality those pesky longer studies show no real significant impact.

    In other words, unless you are an elite athelete trying to squeeze every drop out of your protocol, the most important element is to get enough protein and focus on the important factors like a solid exercise plan, sleep and consistency.
  • ImaWaterBender
    ImaWaterBender Posts: 516 Member
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    I was consuming a lot of muscle milk along with taking creatine. I ended up with a horrific case of diverticulitis. Now I'm also sensitive to milk. I don't know which it was that caused a huge amount of problems but I try to be more moderate with my protein intake now I don't take creatine and I don't consume any dairy anymore.
  • davidgore88
    davidgore88 Posts: 1 Member
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    Say for example you weigh 180. Then eat 180g of protein to gain weight and build musle
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
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    Say for example you weigh 180. Then eat 180g of protein to gain weight and build musle

    Way overkill, studies posted above already that show amount of protein being consumed was plenty, or they reference other studies.

    You actually need less protein when gaining, then when dieting and trying to retain.
  • FromHereOnOut
    FromHereOnOut Posts: 3,237 Member
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    I think your questions been answered already, but just wanted to add some info. Whey has been found to help improve immune function. I consider that to be an extra bonus and I have found it to help with immunity in my own case. I would expect this is especially helpful for people who are dieting or may be in a phase of high training.
  • emtjmac
    emtjmac Posts: 1,320 Member
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    Kidneys. Don't take more than recommended.
  • supertracylynn
    supertracylynn Posts: 1,338 Member
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    Deadly farts.
  • mjudd1990
    mjudd1990 Posts: 219 Member
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    Doctors are trained to look at creatinine and BUN as indicators of kidney function because it is your kidney that gets rid of these substances. BUN is blood urea nitrogen and comes from the breakdown of amino acids, and creatinine is waste product of muscle. Years ago, before weightlifting was so mainstream and people ate a much lower amount of protein these levels tended to stay lower and thus the only way they became elevated was due to renal failure.

    However, people that workout, lift weights, and eat more protein will have a higher BUN (increased protein intake=increased amino acids that need to be metabolized) and a higher creatinine (more muscle mass=more muscular waste products). I think the whole stigma of protein hurting your kidneys came from doctors simply following protocols they have always been taught and not taking factors like this into account. So in essence, excess protein and muscle makes it "look" like your kidney function may be worse but in actuality it's more likely that they are just dealing with a higher load of metabolites. I'd be much more concerned about hypertension, hyperlipidemia, hyperglycemia causing kidney problems than I would be about protein intake.

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