20 grams of protein enough?

Apparently so. Well according to this study which suggests anything over 20 grams is oxidised. Interesting for all us high protein eaters, are we just holding onto fat by overdoing the protein? Technically this is suggesting you are burning the excess protein, so theoretically we could be burning fat at that moment? Tough call to decide this one. It's only one study, I'm not sure I'd be happy suggesting an upper limit of 20grams of protein per meal (that's not much if you include the protein in any 'carb sources'. Infact many would be hard pushed to get enough calories to grow with that limit? It would be a major shake-up in the strength training world if this turned out to be a fact & most strength athletes would have to consider dietary changes to fit that kind of plan!

Quote :

Am J Clin Nutr. 2009 Jan;89(1):161-8. Epub 2008 Dec 3. Links
Ingested protein dose response of muscle and albumin protein synthesis after resistance exercise in young men.

Moore DR, Robinson MJ, Fry JL, Tang JE, Glover EI, Wilkinson SB, Prior T, Tarnopolsky MA, Phillips SM.
Exercise Metabolism Research Group, Department of Kinesiology, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada.
BACKGROUND: The anabolic effect of resistance exercise is enhanced by the provision of dietary protein. OBJECTIVES: We aimed to determine the ingested protein dose response of muscle (MPS) and albumin protein synthesis (APS) after resistance exercise. In addition, we measured the phosphorylation of candidate signaling proteins thought to regulate acute changes in MPS. DESIGN: Six healthy young men reported to the laboratory on 5 separate occasions to perform an intense bout of leg-based resistance exercise. After exercise, participants consumed, in a randomized order, drinks containing 0, 5, 10, 20, or 40 g whole egg protein. Protein synthesis and whole-body leucine oxidation were measured over 4 h after exercise by a primed constant infusion of [1-(13)C]leucine. RESULTS: MPS displayed a dose response to dietary protein ingestion and was maximally stimulated at 20 g. The phosphorylation of ribosomal protein S6 kinase (Thr(389)), ribosomal protein S6 (Ser(240/244)), and the epsilon-subunit of eukaryotic initiation factor 2B (Ser(539)) were unaffected by protein ingestion. APS increased in a dose-dependent manner and also reached a plateau at 20 g ingested protein. Leucine oxidation was significantly increased after 20 and 40 g protein were ingested. CONCLUSIONS: Ingestion of 20 g intact protein is sufficient to maximally stimulate MPS and APS after resistance exercise. Phosphorylation of candidate signaling proteins was not enhanced with any dose of protein ingested, which suggested that the stimulation of MPS after resistance exercise may be related to amino acid availability. Finally, dietary protein consumed after exercise in excess of the rate at which it can be incorporated into tissue protein stimulates irreversible oxidation.

Interesting for all us high protein eaters, are we just holding onto fat by overdoing the protein? Technically this is suggesting you are burning the excess protein, so theoretically we could be burning fat at that moment? Tough call to decide this one. It's only one study, I'm not sure I'd be happy suggesting an upper limit of 20grams of protein per meal (that's not much if you include the protein in any 'carb sources'. Infact many would be hard pushed to get enough calories to grow with that limit? It would be a major shake-up in the strength training world if this turned out to be a fact & most strength athletes would have to consider dietary changes to fit that kind of plan!

First and foremost - it's calories in vs calories out. Even if you eat nothing but protein, if your calories are below your maintenance level, you will burn fat. Now that's NOT a healthy balanced diet, but just making a point. I have always been on the side of lower protein amounts - along the lines of Mike Mentzer. He did 90g Protein per day when training for the Olympia one time and he was over 200lbs. Everyone thinks carbs are evil, but God designed us to use good carbs for our main source of energy.