How Much Protein is Optimal?
For maximum muscle, strength, & recovery
How much protein is optimal for health, hypertrophy, and performance?
This question is long debated.
In this article we will investigate the optimal protein intake for maximum muscle growth and strength gains.
We must first understand that it’s not the protein itself that’s essential; certain amino acids that form the proteins are essential.
In order to maximize muscle and strength, we need to consume adequate quantities of all 9 essential amino acids in bioavailable forms and satisfy a threshold level of leucine.
All 9 EAAs
Bioavailable
Leucine Threshold
Then we consider protein quantity.
Without all 9 essential amino acids, we do not synthesize muscle tissue. Without a threshold level of leucine, we do not stimulate the synthesis of muscle tissue. And if the amino acids are bound to certain fibers in plant sources for example, they may be rendered indigestible.
Maximizing Hypertrophy
Assuming we have fulfilled essential amino acid requirements, it does become relevant to discuss general protein intake.
We care about 2 things:
muscle protein synthesis
net protein balance
Leucine maximally stimulates muscle protein synthesis at 2-5g depending on several factors such as age, other constituents in the meal, and bioavailability.
Maximal stimulation occurs quickly once we surpass the leucine threshold; we don’t continually increase the stimulus by increasing leucine.
That does not mean there is no benefit to increasing intake beyond the threshold. Importantly, it does not mean we don’t continue to increase anabolism or net protein balance by increasing protein intake.
Net protein balance is the balance between how much protein is broken down and how much protein is synthesized. When you synthesize more than you oxidize, you have a positive net protein balance.
Increasing net protein balance, then, is a primary concern for building muscle and strength.
By increasing protein intake at a meal, we may linearly increase net protein balance with no practical limit because we don’t only maximize muscle protein synthesis, we continue to decrease protein breakdown. (1,2)
Recent research has also found that the anabolic hormone signals also do not have a practical limit with regard to protein intake. As we increase protein intake, we increase hormone signals that upregulate muscle growth. (3)
The belief that we can only utilize 25-30g of protein in a meal is refuted by these data.
We also need energy to build muscle and strength. Ultimately, energy balance will determine changes in weight.
But by replacing carbohydrates with protein, we can dramatically improve body composition by stimulating and preserving muscle tissue during periods of weight loss or weight gain. (4)
It sounds like we should just eat as much protein as humanly possible; there is not a “practical limit”. Meaning, if there are benefits to eating more and more protein, we wouldn’t know because the stomach literally can’t fit that much food.
Still, this doesn’t necessarily mean we want to maximize protein intake at a single meal - or even in general.
Obviously, we can’t eat only protein because there are other essential nutrients including fatty acids. There is also evidence of benefit from including fiber, plant foods, and carbohydrates in the diet for health, hypertrophy, and performance.
That aside, even if we maximize the amount of protein at a single meal, this only stimulates muscle protein synthesis for a period of time.
These are reasons to distribute protein intake to 4 hour intervals to maximize muscle protein synthesis and anabolism throughout the day. If we eat as much protein as we can stand at one meal, we might be unable to eat another substantial meal 4 hours later, and then 4 hours after that.
While I recall some elite bodybuilders such as Milos Sarcev reporting high protein intakes, upwards of 2g per pound, there appears to be an optimal level at which the vast majority of muscle growth is realized at about a gram per pound.
To push the envelope, nothing beats first hand experience and it’s important to recognize the remarkable individuality when it comes to nutrition.
According to the position stand of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, exceeding 1.3g per pound of protein “may have positive effects on body composition in resistance trained individuals.” (5)
Summary
There may be no practical limit to increasing hypertrophy benefits from increasing protein intake, but there are also potential benefits to distributing protein over several meals to maximize muscle protein synthesis throughout the day.
There also may be a point of diminishing returns where going from 300g of protein per day to 400g makes a negligible difference and becomes impractical.
On the other hand, for body composition purposes and ensuring optimal intake of all essential amino acids, 1g per pound of body weight appears to be effective.
I personally use no less than 200g per day, slightly over 1g per pound of body weight.
Similarly, with transformations we’ve produced, 1g per pound has been a baseline.
For maximizing fat loss during weight loss (calorie deficit), even higher quantities of quality protein may be effective by stimulating and protecting muscle tissue.
In strength,
Daniel J. Furtado, CPT, LMT, Owner of Honor Strength
www.honorstrength.com
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References