Protein Timing

 Protein Timing

You probably heard the age-old advice that you should eat six meals throughout the day to constantly supply your muscle with enough protein that it doesn't break down. The idea is that while our body can store dietary fat (adipose tissue) and carbohydrate (liver and muscle glycogen), it cannot store excess protein.

That's why for years bodybuilders religiously planned their meals and always had a protein shake or protein bar with them. to avoid going into a catabolic state where your body breaks down muscle tissue.

However, today we know that even though the body cannot store excess protein, it's a lot smarter than many people think and you don't have to eat six meals to grow and maintain muscle tissue, nor do you have to time them exactly three hours apart. Let me explain.

When it comes to protein timing our one and only goal is to create a continual supply of amino acids (from digested protein) into the bloodstream to avoid muscle breakdown. The one important variable we have to look at here is protein digestion.

Protein digestion describes how fast the consumed food is actually broken down into amino acids and absorbed by the gastrointestinal tract.

 How long this process takes depends on three factors: 

(1) protein type

 (2) meal size 

 (3) fat and fiber content.

Protein Type:

The fastest digesting protein is whey, which can clear the GI tract in within one hour. Whole food proteins (e.g. chicken breast, lean beef and fish) come next. These proteins can take a few hours to be absorbed from the GI tract. Last on the list are dairy products. This is because of their casein content, which can take up to seven hours to be absorbed.

Meal Size:

Because our stomach requires a certain time to break down and absorb food simply adding more food will prolong the digestion time of protein. The protein in a normal whey protein shake will usually be digested fairly quickly. But, if you add to that shake some oatmeal the same protein will be digested a lot slower. Even more protein itself can bring down absorption times.

Fat & Fiber Content:

Both fat and fiber will also prolong the digestion of proteins. That's why a big and fatty steak can take as long to be digested as a casein source.

With this in mind there are different strategies to achieve a consistent supply of amino acids in the body. You can eat six small meals and simply follow the old bodybuilder advice. But you can also just eat three meals as long as they are large enough to cover both your daily protein needs and are slowly digested.