How much protein can your body absorb per day at most?

Protein is often seen as the building block of your body. When you train, it helps your muscles grow. It does this by staying at the spots where tiny tears form in your muscles. Growing your muscles by eating enough protein sounds great, especially if that is your sports goal. But can you keep eating protein all day long for the best result? Or is too much protein actually bad for you? In this blog article, we tell you everything about the maximum amount of protein your body can absorb per day and what it does to your body.

HOW YOUR BODY PROCESSES PROTEIN

In the SportMeals article about the digestion of protein, we explained what happens in your body after you eat protein. There you could read that protein is first digested in the stomach. After that, it is broken down into amino acids in the intestines. Some people claim that, especially athletes, should eat a new meal with protein every three hours. Otherwise, the body would run short of protein. But this is not entirely true. The average person takes around eight hours to digest a meal. That includes protein. Protein can still be digested up to 5-8 hours after you eat your meal. So you don't necessarily need to take in new protein after three hours, because your body is still busy digesting.

DO YOU NEED TO SPREAD YOUR PROTEIN INTAKE?

But do you need to spread out your protein intake, or could you, so to speak, take all your protein at once? Your body decides for itself how fast your protein is absorbed into your body. It does this based on the size and composition of your meal and your body's protein needs. So it shouldn't matter whether you take all your protein at once or spread it over the day. But what you can do is optimise your protein absorption.

HOW TO OPTIMISE YOUR PROTEIN INTAKE

People often claim that a meal may contain 30 grams of protein at most. This is said to be because your body can't absorb more, as you would reach the 'anabolic ceiling'. The anabolic ceiling shows that there is a limit to protein intake when it comes to building muscle. Several studies have shown that this ceiling lies between 20 and 30 grams of protein per meal. What the ceiling actually means is that there is a maximum to how much protein your muscles absorb. Between 20 and 30 grams helps maximise the protein absorption in your muscles, also known as muscle protein synthesis. Muscle protein synthesis is the term for building up your muscles and repairing the tears in them. If you go above your anabolic ceiling, your body will use the protein elsewhere. Or it will end up in your stool. Do you keep your meals between 20 and 30 grams? Then the protein will mainly be used for muscle protein synthesis.

SO LET'S SUMMARISE

In black and white terms, there is no maximum to the amount of protein we can take in per day. Your body decides for itself how fast the protein is absorbed and where it is used in the body. Do you want your protein to be used mainly for muscle protein synthesis, so for building your muscles? Then stick to the guideline of 20 to 30 grams of protein per meal. Spread your meals out a bit over the day. If you can't manage 30 grams of protein in every meal, that is not a problem. Because your body takes around five to eight hours to digest meals, you can top up your protein again at your next meal.

After reading this article, do you think 'I won't do that, because I don't have time to weigh all my meals'? SportMeals can help. Our SportMeals are put together so that they contribute to maximum muscle protein synthesis. For example, choose a tasty chicken meal packed with protein and the right nutrients. Not a fan of chicken? Then take a look at all our meals for building muscle. That way you get exactly what your body needs.