Make the most of your protein

The debate about how much protein you should consume has gone on for years. Some rigidly push the approach that it should be 1–2 grams per pound of body weight, others follow the 0.3–0.8 gram rule.

The most important thing, though, isn't how much protein you can eat. It's actually about how much you can absorb and digest.

Protein is the most important macronutrient — whether it's about building muscle, burning fat or improving your performance.

Thanks to scientific studies, we now know it isn't true that a person can only absorb 20–25 grams of protein per meal. In a recently published article, researchers Schoenfeld and Aragon recommend that the amount of protein per meal should actually be closer to 31–55 grams across four meals (1).

Scientists also theorise that there's likely no upper limit to the anabolic response to protein consumed in a single meal (2, 3). Eating more protein simply leads to higher protein synthesis (limited, of course), in addition to a reduction in the breakdown of muscle tissue.

That's good news to start with. But how can we maximise the benefits of the protein we eat? Beyond just adding more protein shakes?

The most important factor here is digestion. If you can't digest the protein, it can't help you build muscle either. It can even damage your gut lining, reduce your overall ability to absorb nutrients, and lead to chronic inflammation.
These tips will help you optimise your protein intake:

1. Be careful what you eat with your protein!

Your body's ability to absorb and digest the protein you eat is heavily influenced by what else you eat alongside it.

Unfortunately, many supposedly healthy eating plans contain foods with anti-nutrients called phytates — like oatmeal, brown rice and quinoa.

These phytates bind to macronutrients and minerals, preventing their absorption. As a result, important nutrients like iron, magnesium and zinc can't be used by the body. They can do the same thing with protein, making digestive enzymes like trypsin less effective (4). As a result, the protein can't be absorbed as well as it should be.

Here are a few tips I give my clients as a personal trainer in Zurich:

• Choose white rice instead of brown. Removing the outer layer of the rice grain also removes the phytates. What's left is just the starch-rich core.
• Prepare your grains, seeds, beans and nuts properly. They all contain valuable nutrients, but the phytates they contain destroy their bioavailability. You can avoid this, for example, by soaking your oats and nuts overnight.
• If you let unprocessed grains, seeds and beans sprout and ferment, you can actually increase their nutritional value even further. This produces vitamin C, vitamin B and carotene. Quinoa is especially well suited to sprouting — it then contains a complete amino acid profile.
• Don't eat soy unless it's fermented. Soy has the highest concentration of phytates, and is often used as a filler in protein bars — so always check the ingredients of prepared foods.
• Vitamin C can make phytates less effective and improve nutrient absorption (5). If you've eaten a larger portion of phytates, you can try to balance this out with fruits, vegetables or supplements containing vitamin C.

2. Chew your food

Digestion begins in the mouth. The longer you chew your food, the more you expose it to the enzymes in your saliva, which help digest it even before it reaches your stomach. This means fewer undigested food particles reach your digestive tract, and your gut lining suffers less damage. That damage can lead to inflammation, which in turn can cause joint pain, low testosterone and an increased risk of chronic inflammation.

Eat your meals sitting at a table, properly, with knife and fork, instead of on the go or while working. Ideally, put your knife and fork down after every bite and only keep eating once you've thoroughly chewed and swallowed. Try chewing each bite 40 times.

3. More stomach acid!

Stomach acid has a bad reputation because advertising, among other things, blames it for heartburn. But actually, the opposite is true — most people suffer from heartburn because they generally produce too little stomach acid. This causes the body to produce an excessive amount of stomach acid when starchy foods are eaten.

So don't try to reduce your stomach acid production. Hydrochloric acid plays an important role in preparing the protein waiting in your stomach to move on into your duodenum and small intestine.

This matters so much because 90% of nutrient absorption happens in your small intestine. And it can't do its job properly if the hydrochloric acid hasn't already done its part beforehand. Without this hydrochloric acid, large amounts of the protein you eat simply wouldn't be usable at all. On top of that, it could even damage your gut lining.

So avoid acid-neutralising things. If possible, wait 15 minutes after a meal and then go for a 20-minute walk. Studies have shown that this can improve gastric emptying, which also helps with heartburn (6).

4 – Supplement with probiotics and eat fermented foods

Probiotics are the friendly bacteria that live in your digestive tract. They help with digestion, and also with optimising protein absorption. It turns out that L-leucine absorption increased by 20% when protein was consumed together with 100 billion colony-forming units (7).

Studies have also shown that the combination of protein and probiotic supplementation reduces muscle damage, improves recovery and generally increases physical performance (8).

To feel the benefits, try consuming at least 100 billion colony-forming units twice a day. Make sure the products are delivered refrigerated, because dead bacteria won't help you.

Ideally, you should also add a portion of fermented food to every meal. This way you'll consistently maintain a colony of good bacteria inside you. Sauerkraut, kimchi, kefir or kombucha contain especially large amounts of live bacteria.

If you're ever unsure what's actually healthy and what's a myth, feel free to send me an email. As part of my personal training in Zurich, I create an individual training and nutrition plan for you and answer all your questions.

Sources

1. Brad Jon Schoenfeld and Alan Albert Aragon, "How much protein can the body use in a single meal for muscle-building? Implications for daily protein distribution."
2. Deutz, Nicholas, and Robert Wolfe, "Is there a maximal anabolic response to protein intake with a meal?"
3. Kim, Iy, Nicholas Deutz, and Robert Wolfe, "Update on maximal anabolic response to dietary protein."
4. Tong Wang "Minor Constituents and Phytochemicals of Soybeans."
5. Hallberg, L., M. Brune, and L. Rossander "The Role of Vitamin C in Iron Absorption."
6. Franke et al. "Postprandial walking but not consumption of alcoholic digestifs or espresso accelerates gastric emptying in healthy volunteers."
7. Jager et al. "Probiotic Bacillus coagulans GBI-30, 6086 Improves Protein Absorption and Utilization."
8. Jager et al. "Probiotic Bacillus coagulans GBI-30, 6086 reduces exercise-induced muscle damage and increases recovery."