HOW MUCH PROTEIN? Cells constantly turn over proteins. This is a normal process that is balanced by protein intake. Proteins can be degraded if they are: damaged by free radicals, get oxidative damage, and no longer needed. "Nitrogen Balance" states the balance between anabolism and catabolism. This is measured by assessing dietary Nitrogen intake vs urinary Nitrogen output (as urea). A "positive" nitrogen balance which is a net storage of nitrogen is found in childhood growth, pregnancy, muscle building and healing. A "Negative" nitrogen balance which is a net breakdown of stored nitrogen is produced in illness, starvation, amino acid deficiency and wounding. In negative nitrogen balance, the liver may be challenged in handling excess nitrogenous waste. Did you know that the more protein you eat, the better you are able to digest it? If you eat large amounts of protein at every meal, your body becomes used to it and has an easier time absorbing it. If your body is accustomed to eating smaller amounts of protein, then a high protein meal will make your stomach upset because your gastrointestinal system won’t be able to digest it all. Most people associate being able to digest more protein with building more muscle, but it is more complicated than that. Just because you consume ten times more protein than you normally would doesn’t automatically mean you will build ten times more muscle. THERE IS A CRITICAL PATH TO FOLLOW! Research has demonstrated that the more protein your body consumes, the more likely it is to convert amino acids to fuel instead of fat and carbohydrates. Depending on what goes into your system, your body adjusts its fuel burning needs to output energy. So there is a certain level beyond which more protein just won’t make a difference – so how do you determine how much is right for your body building diet? There is a degree of truth in the fact that an excessive amount of protein per meal some will be converted to blood sugar. So for optimum absorption it is more efficient to eat six times a day, or it will get difficult to consume 300g of protein and not have it converted to excess blood sugar and possibly to fat. The figures of the RDA of 75g a day for protein are based on the minimum figures required to survive by an average person. Clearly, a very far-fetch scenario for someone who exercises and wants to grow lean tissue. I personally consume around 3gr per Kg of my total body weight (64KG) a day which makes it 192gr of protein and I spread it out into meals of around 50gr each. As for carbs, what I consume goes predominantly to spare protein during the growing process, but it is a marginal figure as I personally believe that the only glucose you truly need is about 25 g per day to fuel your brain because your entire body could pretty much fuel its energy needs with ketones from fat. I must stress that I am highly adapted to ketosis after years of a specific type of nutrition therefore I don’t completely deplete my glycogen stores and I don’t struggle to refill them. Your body does need protein to rebuild itself in a constant manner, the 75g a day RDA comes from that minimum requirement for SURVIVAL! In order to fuel better health and growth, it is pretty evident that you need to consume more protein than that!! However your body can only utilize something between 25-50g of protein in a meal, any excess will likely be converted to blood sugar. Many nutritionists will advise you NOT to eat too much protein, that it will harm your kidneys. This is false and there is no scientific evidence to back this up unless you have failing kidneys. I am a big believer in protein sparing diets, and that you need to keep your protein up well above minimum levels ESPECIALLY when doing calorie restricted diets, otherwise you will catabolize your muscles. If you want to build up your lean body mass, and your muscles in particular, you definitely want a protein surplus, that is what fuels muscle growth
Posted on: Thu, 11 Jul 2013 13:48:33 +0000