Protein is one of the most essential nutrients for the body, which performs the most important functions of the body to maintain health and growth. In order to maintain health, consuming enough protein is necessary for the body.

Our daily meals are varied. This variety of food causes the amount of nutrients and proteins to be different.
The big concern of people in this case is that, can the amount of protein needed by the body for a day be consumed in one meal and have less protein in the following meals?
Does the body have the ability to receive all the protein it needs daily and use it for one day?

Common belief for Protein Consumption

There are different beliefs about the absorption of proteins in the body. These beliefs are so different that they change eating habits. What do different people believe about protein absorption for their body?

1. The first group of people believe that the amount of protein sufficient for absorption in the body can reach up to 55 grams per meal. These people consider this amount of protein in 4 meals with 220 grams of protein per day enough for the body

2. These people believe that the maximum amount of protein that can be absorbed by the body is 25 to 30 grams per meal. This amount is sufficient and provides the necessary energy for the body.

3. The third group of people believe that there is no exact amount of the body’s ability to absorb protein. Proteins can be absorbed in the body at different times. For example, in the morning or after sports, the body has more power to absorb

4. The fourth category of people believe that the higher the amount of protein, the higher the body’s ability to absorb protein and it helps the body to increase its synthesis ability.

Now we can see more closely which view is wrong and which view is closer to reality

How much Protein can Body digest in one Meal

Extensive scientific research has been done to find out the maximum amount of protein that the human body can absorb.
The human digestive system (absorptive wall cells in the small intestine) has a certain capacity for itself. As a raw material enters a factory and becomes a product during the processes. By entering the body at a slow speed in the absorption process, protein can be digested and absorbed by the body to a certain extent every hour.
In the article of the International Association of Sports Nutrition, it is stated that the human body absorbs 10 grams of protein every hour. But with a general and specific difference, this time can be very different depending on the type of protein input.
For example, small isolated whey protein molecules are quickly broken down in the stomach and absorbed by the body due to their small and broken structure. But to break the protein molecules of cooked red meat, the body works slower and needs more time to absorb the protein. In this article, it is reminded that this time reaches 3 grams per hour for cooked meats such as chicken.
Although this does not mean that we should avoid eating meat or eggs, which have a slower rate of release and absorption, but we can consume slow-absorbing proteins in a correct food plan for longer periods so that the body has enough time to digest them.

Another study reminds that in a meal containing 30 grams of protein, muscle protein synthesis increased by 50% for those who participated in this experiment. But by increasing this amount of protein to three times the initial amount, protein synthesis did not change much and remained unchanged.

Researches have been conducted to investigate the amount of protein absorption for the body of elderly people, which has been done to investigate the effect of protein consumption and amino acid absorption for protein synthesis.

This research comes to the conclusion that people who get older and consume 35 grams of protein in one meal leads to an increase in amino acid absorption and better protein synthesis, which shows that increasing the amount of protein from 30 grams to 35 grams per meal at least for The elderly cause an increase in protein synthesis.

How much Protein can Body digest in one Meal after Workout

There are different speculations among athletes, some of whom believe that protein absorption increases immediately after exercise and the body’s capacity to receive proteins increases.

But in reality, the human body gets the most benefit from receiving proteins when this amount remains in the range of 20 to 30 grams. But for athletes, a meal containing proteins with 9 essential amino acids for the body has the best results for muscle synthesis.

This is exactly why protein supplements contain essential amino acids to increase protein synthesis.
Therefore, it is recommended to consider a protein shake after exercise, because protein supplements have a faster rate of absorption of the protein needed by the body than normal proteins.
And it helps the body to start the recovery process quickly while increasing muscle strength and muscle growth.

what happens when you eat protein everyday

When food enters the stomach, it immediately encounters stomach acid. Stomach acid breaks down the building blocks of proteins using enzymes and its acidic property. Nutrients are ready to be absorbed after breaking down.
After crushing, the protein is converted into its small components, amino acids, in a reverse process, in contrast to the process of protein synthesis, which consists of amino acids. By moving towards the small intestine, the cells in the wall of the small intestine receive the nutrients and give them to the blood stream so that they can be delivered to the different parts of the body that are needed.
This time is the most important time in this process that makes the difference. In principle, the speed of absorption of proteins depends on the speed of functioning of the cells of the small intestine.

How can I make Protein absorption faster?

Professional athletes use multiple food plans to get a higher amount of protein throughout the day. In this way, they divide their meals according to their body’s needs and consume them in three to four hour intervals.

Be careful in your diet to reduce the amount of food containing phytic acid. Food compounds containing phytic cause food to stay in the intestine for a longer period of time and reduce the absorption of glucose and cholesterol, while it binds itself to proteins and prevents the work of enzymes that digest proteins.
For example, it is better to use white rice instead of brown rice so that there is no problem in the absorption of proteins.

How much Protein to build Muscle

The amount of protein needed by the body is different. The human body needs different amounts of protein according to body mass, age and even gender.
For example, as the amount of muscle mass in your body increases, the need of your body to maintain the amount of muscle mass increases.
Because the body is forced to break the muscles to supply the materials it needs in the conditions of providing enough energy and lack of protein.

On the other hand, the need for proteins increases for active athletes whose physical activities are high. Therefore, a targeted plan for protein consumption should be considered for them. For a better understanding of the body’s need for proteins and how much protein the body needs for different people, please refer to another article on the site that specifies this amount in detail.

how much protein should we consume in a day ?

How to increase the protein consumption of our meals?

In order to increase the amount of protein consumed in our meal, we can first modify our meal plan. In order to use the speed of absorption in the most optimal way.
Increase the number of meals in such a way that we consume up to 30 grams of protein in each meal with a time interval of 3 hours.
Use the most important protein sources such as red meat, chicken, fish, eggs and dairy products in our diet to include enough protein in each serving.

Sufficient amount of fiber in the meal helps the health of the digestive system and better digestion of proteins in the body. Therefore, include the right amount of fiber in your meal to help digestion.

By chewing food better, you help increase the rate of absorption to include more meals to get more protein.

Avoid alcoholic drinks and smoking, which cause a decrease in the absorption of nutrients in the body. Because of this, you help better absorption of materials

With the help of protein supplements with fast-absorbing proteins between meals, you can easily increase your daily protein intake. Most protein supplements contain about 20 to 30 grams, which is enough for a protein serving.

Conclusion

As mentioned, the human body can normally absorb 20 to 30 grams of protein per meal for a period of 2 to 3 hours. This time is important for meal plans. The importance of this time is important for the health of the body.

Timely supply of proteins helps the body to avoid catabolic conditions. This amount is much more important for athletes and active people, because the lack of protein in necessary conditions, especially after sports training, leads to damage to muscles and their volume. So the decision is now yours how to adjust your diet to have a healthier body.