I've gotten quite a few questions lately on my protein recommendations and protein recommendations in general. Here are some thoughts... ---------For a synopsis of my thoughts on protein intake, check out these 2 articles: http://www.johnberardi.com/articles/nutrition/proprejudice.htm http://www.johnberardi.com/articles/nutrition/protein_debate.htm ---------One thing that I haven't covered is the difference between digestion, absorption, and utilization. So I figured I'd give them a quick and dirty treatment here. They're the most often confused aspects of protein intake. And if you don't know the difference, it's likely you are making some mistakes in your discussion of protein intake. PROTEIN DIGESTION: For starters, nearly all the protein you eat is digested. If it wasn't, your toilet bowl would look like it does a day after eating corn - but you'd see chicken breasts instead of kernels. PROTEIN ABSORPTION: As far as absorption, about 90-95% of all the food we eat is absorbed. So any talk of protein digestion/absorption being limited is not accurate. (Unless you have some sort of GI disorder). Nearly all of it is digested and absorbed. PROTEIN UTILIZATION: However, utilization is another thing. To give a definition, the amount of protein utilized is the amount used for protein-energy needs. Any additional protein beyond your utilization needs is either converted to glucose, with the nitrogen groups (unique to proteins) being converted to urea, and excreted via the urine. Unfortunately, utilization is based on a ton of factors so I can't give an exact number as to what absolute absorption of protein is. However, I don't think it matters. Here's why... WASTED PROTEIN: Yes, if you eat more protein than you utilize, then technically, it will be "wasted" in one sense. However, using "wasted" as a word isn't necessarily a good choice. For our intents and purposes, after all, it's only "wasted" for producing muscle growth. Any additional protein that's not used for muscle growth (i.e. "wasted" in most llifters'
useage) can be converted to ccarbohydrate - so it's not 100% wasted - it's used for energy. Sure, carbs are cheaper - but to take a protein to a carb is very calorie-expensive, thus ramping up metabolic rate. This is a good thing and means that even if you "overeat" protein, you'll get a metabolism boost. Secondly, as I said in the post above - additional protein (even above utilization needs) can provide a ton of benefits including those discussed in the first article. PROTEIN OVEREATING: In the end, you've gotta stop thinking of protein as "something I need to get the bare minimum of without going into deficiency" OR "something that I have to take enough of to build muscle - and no more." You need to start thinking of as "the nutrient that stimulates the metabolism, increases rate of turnover and adaptation, and can displace some dietary carbs and fats that might lead to fat gain." If you were to overeat any nutritient, it should be protein (assuming you've got fully functional kidneys).