I’ve lost about 150lbs doing IF and CICO since last summer. I’ve recently started going to the gym and along with that have prioritized increasing my protein intake.. I was taught in nursing school many moons ago that the body can only absorb 20-30g of protein in a 2hr period.. it seems like this research is now debated in the medical community as being inaccurate? Does anyone have any insight into the current recommendations? I’m finding it hard to get in my protein in my eating window if it’s true that I need to space my meals out for max absorption.. or am I overthinking this?
From food consumed at one sitting (exactly how long is a bit squiffy) anything over about 55g of protein is probably not useful for muscle development.
One of the main triggers of muscle protein synthesis (MPS) in the body is the amino acid Leucine (C6H13NO2). It takes 2.5-3g of Leucine in a meal to trigger MPS. The best protein sources only have \~10% of their amino acids as Leucine so you actually need at least 25-30g of quality protein in a sitting for optimum muscle growth. Smaller proteins servings won’t get you over the Leucine threshold so even though your daily total protein may be high enough you won’t maximize MPS.
The best you can do is probably 3 or 4 times a day getting a 30-40g serving of high quality protein with enough Leucine and the other essential amino acids.
There’s quite a few Carnivores that do OMAD that have no issues eating everything in an hour window. The body also has a protein sparing effect active when doing IF. My understanding is that your body won’t waste protein as well. The only evidence I have is personal in that when I did OMAD carnivore for a few months my waste was very very minimal. Like once a day and it was half size hot dog if that. Haha
I’ve actually heard this as well. My only thought is that they weren’t likely testing protien absorption on fasted individuals. I wouldn’t give up your high protein diet. There’s typically other good nutrients that come along with protein as well such as iron and magnesium.