When it comes to protein powder, it's essential to maintain a balance of macro and micronutrients, vitamins and minerals to ensure your body functions at its best. Protein is key for maximizing muscle growth and minimizing cravings that can harm your diet. But, can you really have too much of a good thing? To understand why protein is so important, it's important to know that proteins and their amino acids are the main components of muscles and bones, and are crucial for healthy hormone production. Skepticism about high-protein diets stems from the question of how the body processes excess nutrients and potentially dangerous amino acids.
To answer this question, let's take a look at five commonly mentioned risks associated with consuming too much protein. The first risk is weight gain. If your high-protein diet is based on lots of fatty meats, that can cause you to gain weight, says David Heber, MD. In fact, red meat is often the only way for burly men to stay obese, he adds.
However, these results were only seen in people who consumed a diet rich in animal proteins. The risk almost disappeared when the researchers focused on participants whose protein came mainly from plants, such as beans. The second risk is not considering the other macro and micronutrients involved in a food. Many people make the mistake of considering only the protein content of a food and not the other macro and micronutrients involved. This can be dangerous because processed meats have already been officially declared carcinogenic by the USDA and red meat is considered very likely to be the same. The third risk is not consuming lean meats or complete plant-based proteins.
To get protein and avoid any harmful side effects, it's best to try to consume lean meats (such as chicken and turkey) and complete plant-based proteins, such as soy, beans, rice and quinoa. The fourth risk is not taking into account your goals when determining your total protein intake. If you are trying to gain weight and build muscle, a protein intake of 1.6 grams per kg of body weight will suffice, which would be around 130 grams per day. Since you are taking 50 grams of whey protein, if you add it to your diet protein, the total should be around 130 grams per day. The fifth risk is not taking into account how quickly the body can absorb proteins. There is a limit to how quickly the body can absorb proteins, but any excess protein will simply reside in the intestine.
The notion of “maximum protein intake limit” is also derived from studies on the body's response of muscle protein synthesis (MPS) to different protein intakes. Oroiyal digestibility (a measure of total protein consumption) is usually between 91 and 95%, depending on the source and assuming a reasonable acute dose (10 to 50 g at one time), animal sources being slightly higher than vegetable sources. That's because proteins fill you up much more than carbohydrates, so you eat fewer snacks throughout the day, and focusing on increasing protein means you're probably cutting back on refined carbohydrates, even if you don't want to. When you eat proteins, your body doesn't use them directly but instead breaks them down into their constituent amino acids and uses them to produce its own proteins. The protein powder I eat is optimal nutrition; it is a source of benefits for the complex and has 60 grams of protein per serving. I have been taking whey protein (50 g per day) for the past six months and have seen great benefits thanks to it. An example of this is the digestive hormone CCK which, in addition to regulating appetite and satiety in response to food, can also slow down intestinal contractions and accelerate the response to proteins.
When you eat more protein, your body can afford to replace more damaged or oxidized proteins so that protein synthesis and breakdown increase. The small intestine is where approximately 95% of dietary proteins are absorbed under standard conditions; any unabsorbed fragment goes to the colon to be fermented by bacteria. In other words, you're not putting your muscles at risk but you're wasting precious protein powder. This notion of “maximum protein intake limit” derives in part from the first studies that observed an increase in nitrogen losses in the urine with an increase in protein intake. Therefore, as long as you are healthy and have no kidney problems, you can take 130 grams of protein without any problem. In conclusion, it's important to remember that consuming more than 50 grams of protein powder in a day can cause health problems due to potentially dangerous amino acids present in the powder. To get maximum benefit from your high-protein diet without risking any health issues, focus on consuming lean meats (such as chicken and turkey) and complete plant-based proteins such as soy, beans, rice and quinoa.
