how much protien is taking in when eating?

[jurewix]

How much protien is takin in when u eat protein, lets say i eat 3 pieces of grilled chicken each chicken has 30 grams of protien in it , so if I eat all three then i will have injested 90 grams of protien, also when you eat that much to you keep all of it , or do u only keep a certain amount and the rest of it is wasted. My friend told me that when you eat protein your body can only take in 60 grams of it at one time , is that true?

[yellows2k]

Don't know for sure but how much you take in I think depends on genetics and your body....

Please by all means, someone more knowledgable correct me if I am wrong as I am curious to know as well...

[painintheazz]

I think it is all genetics, I have seen tons of studies done and nothing definite has really come from it. I think personally there is a upper limit on how much your body will absorb in one meal, mine is personally lower than 60g.

Pain

[JP1]

Here is a Cut and Paste from another board I found it to be useful for your question!

‘How much
protein can I absorb in one sitting?’ Unfortunately this is another ‘How
long is a piece of string?’ question, as there are so many factors to
consider, and in reality, there is no maximum amount. Often the poster
is referring to how much protein can be utilised in a time period I
guess, but this again depends on a multitude of factors and I would never
like to put a figure on it.

This article sets out to give readers some basic background as to how
proteins and carbohydrates are digested and absorbed, as being armed
with this information will help you plan your nutrition in order to
maximise gains. I am not going to name all the chemicals, enzymes and
substrates involved in the processes as this is beyond the scope of this
article; if you want to know this any basic physiology textbook will give
you the information. Also this article will not debate the fate of
these nutrients post absorption.

Digestion of food begins in the mouth and continues until all nutrients
have been absorbed in the intestines. A number of digestive enzymes
are involved in protein and carbohydrate digestion which result in short
chain structures of the nutrients (oligomers) or the basic unit of
each (monomers). The simplest unit of proteins are amino acids of which
there are 20-odd different types. Two amino acids linked together are
called dipeptides, three are called tripeptides, a few amino acids in a
chain are called oligopeptides and long chains of them are called
polypeptides.

The simplest units of carbohydrates are monosaccharides, two of which
together are called disaccharides, a few in a chain are oligosaccharides
and long chains of monosaccharides are called polysaccharides.

Many articles will have you believe that proteins and carbohydrates can
only be absorbed from the intestinal lumen in their simplest form, i.e.
as amino acids and monosaccharides, but this is not the case. Amino
acids and monosaccharides are absorbed in their basic monomer form by an
active sodium dependant transport process, however di- and
oligopeptides and di- and oligosaccharides can be taken up in their short chain
form and then further broken down to free amino acids and monosaccharides
when inside the cells of the intestine rather than in the lumen. The
process of this is not precisely known but is definitely unrelated to a
sodium transport system and thought to be either cell enzyme-related or
dependent on an ion gradient. Thus there are two unrelated systems in
operation to absorb protein and carbohydrates.

OK, I can hear you saying: ‘Enough boring science, James, how does this
affect my bodybuilding nutrition in practical terms?’ You may be aware
of the concept of amino acids competing for receptor uptake when being
absorbed. If the protein available at intestinal level is both monomer
and oligomer forms then absorption will be maximised. If you are
eating a combination of food sources then both processes will be optimised
naturally due to digestion processes. Also ‘peptide’ supplement
formulas using proteins from different sources will have an advantage here as
some of the peptides will be fully digested to amino acids before
absorption and some will still be peptides.

Whey protein is semi-elemental, i.e. it is naturally partially
digested, and made up of amino acids and short chain peptides. So, whey
consumed with nothing else except water, will be digested and absorbed very
quickly, which can be advantageous when demand is high (post workout and
first thing in the morning). However, at other times whey on its own
may pass through the digestive system too quickly and be fully broken
down to amino acids by the time it reaches the intestines level hence
absorption will not be maximised. For this reason other protein blends
are preferred (such as those containing casein or egg) or, even better,
eat protein from food sources and maybe compliment the meal/snack with
just 10g of whey to bump this up.

As explained above, protein and carbohydrate are absorbed by the same
two methods, but also there is a degree of synergy of absorption, i.e.
the presence of both in the small intestine compliments each other’s
absorption.

For optimal results I would suggest only whey in water first thing in
the morning and post workout, and at other times a combination of food
sources of protein or a mixed protein formula consumed with
carbohydrates.