How Often Should You Consume Protein to Build Muscle?

People have discussed the interrelationship between protein consumption and muscle-building for years. What do we actually know about protein timing as it relates to our ability to optimally build muscle? In all honesty, despite what you may have heard, the science of nutrition and muscle-building is still in its infancy, and much of what we claim "to know" about these topics is based upon speculation and educated guesses. Nevertheless, we are not totally in the dark.

Optimal Amount of Protein per Meal

Before we start to discuss the "how-often" of protein consumption, it seems appropriate to first figure out the "how-much." Paddon-Jones et al. demonstrated that 15 grams of essential amino acids was sufficient to stimulate protein synthesis [1], and research by Tipton et al. seems to suggest that an amount beyond 15 grams is not necessary [2]. Further research by Dr. Layne Norton et al. indicates that the amino acid leucine may be a particularly important up regulator of protein synthesis [3]. The amount of leucine required is about 2-4 grams (the dose depends on the size of the person). The amount of whole food animal protein required to get 15 grams of essential aminos, and more importantly the required 2-4 grams of leucine, varies depending upon the source. Below is a chart of various sources of animal protein and the amount of each source required in order to get the optimal amount of leucine [4]:

As you can see, the amount of leucine present in various protein sources is not uniform.

Based on the above, we could generalize and say that anywhere between 30-40g of protein (animal protein!) would be required to maximally stimulate protein synthesis. Consuming carbohydrate alongside this protein may likely serve to down regulate protein degradation as well [5].

Optimal Frequency of Protein Consumption

So now that we know the threshold quantity of protein required to maximally stimulate protein synthesis, let's further assess how often you should consume protein. Let me first say that much of what is said in muscle-building magazines regarding the necessity of consuming ridiculous amounts of protein every 2-3 hours is premised upon supplement companies' drive to sell their products. I think we can all agree that eating 30 grams of protein every other hour is incredibly inconvenient--hence why supplement companies are so adamant about making you believe that you have to consume protein so frequently. Protein supplements are by far a more convenient way to get in your protein requirements than are grilled chicken breasts or cuts of beef when you're trying to eat protein every 2-3 hours. 

Of course, the recommendation that you ought to eat protein every 2-3 hours is not entirely unfounded. Research has shown that leucine maximally stimulates protein synthesis for 2 hours, after which time protein synthesis returns to basal value [6]. However, I should note that this 2 hour figure is only relevant once leucine has reached the blood stream. If we factor in digestion, the peak increase in protein synthesis would occur after 3 hours; not 2. Nevertheless, as you can see, the notion that consuming protein every 2-3 hours maximally stimulates protein synthesis does seem reasonable--except for the fact this method doesn't actually work.

As it turns out, once protein synthesis has been maximally stimulated and has reached its peak at 2-3 hours post absorption, it cannot be re-stimulated for another 1-2 hours. In other words, eating the required 30-40 grams of protein every 2-3 hours is too frequent. In actuality, the better frequency (at least in relation to the short-term physiological effects of protein consumption) is more like every 4-5 hours. Protein synthesis cannot be up regulated any more often than this frequency.

Putting Things Together

Let's recap: (1) 30-40 grams of protein is sufficient to maximally stimulate protein synthesis, and (2) consuming this 30-40 grams of protein more frequently than every 4-5 hours is unnecessary. In practical terms, a potential protein timing protocol (and this is what I do currently) might entail eating at least 30-40g of animal protein for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and before bed. If you were to feel the need to consume snacks between these meals, I would advise making these snacks low protein since any additional protein consumed within the 4-5 hours between meals would do nothing to further stimulate muscle anabolism (unless of course you're having issues with hunger, in which case a high protein snack might be a good idea for satiety and psychological purposes).

There is no need to consume 6-8 high protein meals every day, day after day in order to build muscle. Eat a high protein breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and maybe a high protein meal before bed, and keep getting stronger in the gym. That's all there is to it.

Why I Have a Problem With Vegetarianism - Part IV: Effect of Eating Dead Animals on Liver Cancer Risk

You can read Part III of this series here - Why I Have a Problem with Vegetarianism - Part III

As we progress in this series, I want to make something undeniably clear - I DO NOT THINK THAT VEGETARIANISM IS THE DEVIL!

My primary critique of vegetarianism has nothing to do with its healthfulness as a dietary lifestyle per se.  Rather, my main concern is that many people 1) have a an irrational fear of all animal products; a fear that is not at all founded upon solid empirical evidence, and 2) many people, because they fail to truly understand the nutritional shortcomings of a purely plant based diet, fail to properly supplement their diets so as to prevent disastrous nutrient deficiencies; deficiencies which one could otherwise avoid by keeping animal sources of food in one's diet.

Now......back to my (or rather Denise Minger's) critique:

Point #3 of Minger's Critique

Another of Campbell's claims, which he makes in his book The China Study, is that animal-based foods induce liver cancer to develop in people who already have an increased risk of the disease (such as those with hepatitis B).  Once again, Campbell, here, attempts to show that animal foods may indirectly cause cancer by spurring cancer's development when other risk factors already have a presence.  This argument seems strikingly similar to another of Campbell's arguments (which I've talked about already in this series) that animal protein indirectly leads to cancer via its effect upon serum cholesterol.  Needless to say, but I'll say it anyway, I think I satisfactorily made apparent why such a chain of causation has no real viable empirical support.  But, does today's topic follow suit?  Frankly - YES.

The above list represents data taken from Minger's site.  The odd, unpronounceable names in the far left column are the names of various Chinese counties.  In the middle left column, we have the % of people living in these counties who have hepatitis B.  The middle right column indicates the amount of animal products the people from these counties consume on a regular basis (represented in grams per day).  Finally, the far right column indicates the rate of mortality from liver cancer.

Of this data table, Minger states - 

When we map out liver cancer mortality and animal product consumption only in areas with high rates of hepatitis B infection (18% and higher), we should see cancer rates rise as animal product consumption increases—at least, according to Campbell. That would indicate animal-based foods do encourage cancer growth.

To the contrary, however, we get the following data -

As you can see, hardly any connection at all exists to incriminate animal foods as causative of liver cancer.  In fact, according to Minger, we can only inductively infer a +1 correlation between animal-based foods and liver cancer based on this data.  In case you were wondering, a +1 correlation hardly counts as significant.

Minger, however, goes a step further to actually hash out how particular sources of animal products correlate with liver cancer risk -

Meat correlates at -7 with liver cancer in high-risk counties

Fish correlates at +11

Eggs correlate at -29

Dairy correlates at -19

Very interesting to say the least.  As a side note, I find it truly ironic that fish, a source of animal protein many people, vegetarian or otherwise, find acceptable, has a positive correlation with liver cancer, while meat, eggs, and dairy all seem inversely correlated with liver cancer.  Don't mistake this note as a suggestion that we ought to avoid fish, however.

But what of plasma cholesterol?

It is true that plasma cholesterol correlates with increased risk of liver cancer (+37); however, when we factor in hepatitis B, this correlation drops (to +8).  A +8 correlation, though higher than +1, still falls short of strong statistical significance.

Minger posits the following - 

If I were Campbell, I’d look at not only animal protein and cholesterol in relation to liver cancer, but also at the many other variables that correlate positively with the disease. For instance, daily liquor intake correlates at +33*, total alcohol intake correlates at +28*, cigarette use correlates at +27*, intake of the heavy metal cadmium correlates at +38**, rapeseed oil intake correlates at +25*—so on and so forth. All are statistically significant. Why doesn’t Campbell mention these factors as possible causes of increased liver cancer in high-risk areas? And, more importantly, why doesn't Campbell account for the fact that many of these variables occur alongside increased cholesterol and animal product consumption, making it unclear what’s causing what?

Closing Remarks

In response to Minger's question, I'd suggest this - Campbell doesn't account for other variables which occur alongside increased cholesterol and animal product consumption because he wants to indict cholesterol and animal protein consumption.  Am I accusing Campbell of bias?  You bet!  

If Campbell took the more humble route, indicating the epistemological limits of his conclusions, I'd say he would sell far fewer books.  People, consumers really, want to hear a reductionist message.  Put another way, reductionism sells.  People easily fall for the trap (and I have numerous times) that health and well-being can be reduced to just a handful, or even less, of dietary changes.  In reality, a host of factors play a role in our health; in ways which complicate and frustrate our attempts to nail down prime causes.  But, complexity and frustration, and epistemological honesty, don't sell.

Protein Powders: Are They Necessary?

* Before I begin, let me start by saying that I've amended my goal for having a new post every day.  Doing so is just flat out impractical and un-doable at the moment.  Instead, I'm shooting for at least 2-3 new blog posts per week.  I'll, thus, have more time to do adequate research and get my thoughts organized.  I'll have fewer posts, but I should be able to produce better quality work.  With that said, on with it!

While I'm a firm advocate of eating the bulk of my calories (including protein sources), sometimes schedules and convenience necessitate the use of liquid calories and protein.

But, beyond mere convenience, are there any otherwise un-had benefits to supplementing with protein powders?

As far as protein powders go, there are primarily two sorts of protein powder that I consider worthy options - whey protein and casein protein.  In general, animal sources of protein seem to be a superior choice (1), and, since whey and casein are actually derived from milk (which comes from an animal), they fall into the category of animal sources of protein.  In this sense, whey and casein are "superior" choices, but only if we consider their value in comparison to other, plant based, protein powders.

Whey is widely consider a fast acting protein.  It's given this qualification, not because it gets into your system faster; rather, it's called fast because, once it hits your system, it's absorbed faster.

How fast?  Well, the research is mixed, but the general consensus seems to be that, when consumed alone, it can be completely absorbed into your bloodstream 2-3 hours after ingestion (2).  This speed is contrasted with whole food sources of protein which take much longer to be fully absorbed by your system; save for beef protein which is actually absorbed faster than whey (3).

Casein on the other hand is absorbed much more slowly.  Though it hits your system at the same time as whey, casein can take 7+ hours to be fully absorbed (2).

This slower rate of absorption, as apposed to the rapid absorption of whey, leads to a moderate and extended down-regulation of protein break down.  Thus, while whey is often labeled as anabolic (since it seems to cause a spike in protein synthesis), casein is widely considered to be anti-catabolic.

Supplement marketeers often play up these supposed differences between whey and casein.  They advocate taking whey in conjunction with your workouts to spike protein synthesis, and they advise taking casein throughout the day and before bed so as to keep protein break down at a minimum.  (This is not to say that casein cannot be an effective post workout supplement.  Some research suggests that it too can yield similar results to whey if taken pre and post workout (4).)

This theory regarding the timing of whey and casein ingestion sounds great on paper (and as a marketing scheme it brings in tons of $ for supplement companies), but I'm not altogether convinced that either whey or casein are necessary.

It's incredibly easy to pinpoint studies that support protein supplementation, but for every study that lends support, there are others that indicate protein supplementation yields no effect.

Furthermore, there can often be researcher bias underlying any given study or experiment (5).  We live in a market economy after all, and despite what you may think, scientists are just as biased and as susceptible to the influence of money as the rest of us.

So what am I getting at here?

If it makes you feel better to use protein powders (whey or casein), do it.  There's no harm in making sure you have your bases covered (I really like Gold Standard's Natural line of products personally).  Nevertheless, I don't think there is a dire need to get fast acting protein into your system post workout.  Protein synthesis remains up-regulated 24-48 hours post workout independent of dietary protein (6), meaning that any protein containing meal you eat within that time frame will likely contribute to muscle building, and, moreover, dietary protein may not be the sole factor which ensures that you successfully build muscle. (Intelligent workout design and consistent hard work are more crucial for muscle building than the protein powder you take following a workout).

Still, if your at all concerned about proper pre or post workout nutrition, a pre-workout meal of carbs and protein will mitigate any "need" for a post workout meal (7).  I'm not saying you need to eat a pre-workout meal, though.

So, in wrapping things up, here's my advice:
*  Eat plenty of protein in general (shoot for 1g of protein per pound of goal body weight).
**  Focus on eating whole food animal sources of protein, and use whey and/or casein if you don't have the time nor the energy to worry about preparing a whole food meal (I'm not advocating that you should ever totally depend on protein powder for your nutrition, so just don't do it).
***  You have a 24-48 hour window in which to eat your protein, so make sure you have your entire diet in check, and only worry about pre or post workout supplementation once you've nailed down your daily nutrition.
****  Focus on getting progressively stronger in the weight room, and don't sweat the small stuff.

Let me know what you think.  This is a conversation, not a monologue.

A Simple Guide to Building Muscle & Losing Fat: Part 5

I've covered a host of issues thus far:  dietary fat, carbohydrates, protein, & I've even given you a very simple beginner's weight lifting routine.  I have yet to put everything together into a comprehensive plan, however, and it is my goal to do so today.

While dieting strategies vary, and no one strategy is inherently better than any other (in a universal sense that is), I think the strategy that I entail below will prove helpful for most people looking to lose fat and build some muscle.

As a disclaimer, these are my own ideas, and, though I think they are based on solid research and a good amount of anecdotal verification, I'm no professional, nor am I qualified to diagnose any disease or prescribe any remedies.  If you choose to follow my advice, check with a medical practitioner first, and recognize that you are the one who is responsible for your health and the decisions you make about your health.

With that out of the way, let's get this party going!

For those with goals relating to fat loss, muscle gain, or a mix of both, I have a number of relevant solutions that you might consider trying.  The numbers that I use are not universally accurate.  Use them as starting points, and, if after two weeks you aren't seeing any progress, adjust your numbers accordingly based on your goal.

In order to ensure the best results, you need to calculate your body fat %.  A lot of useful and relatively accurate methods exist, and if your at all curious about the varying levels of accuracy you can achieve for each method, just use Google.  I personally recommend you try the method outlined on this site: http://www.weightrainer.net/circbf.html.  It's pretty accurate for its level of simplicity.

For reference - 1g of protein = 4 calories; 1g of carbohydrate = 4 calories; 1g of fat = 9 calories.

Recommendations for those with a body fat level below 10%:

Fat Loss Specific - On weight training days 65% of your total calories should be comprised of protein and carbohydrates (1g of protein/LB of goal body weight & 1.5g of carbs/LB of goal body weight).  The other 35% of calories should come from dietary fat.  On rest days 60% of your total calories should be comprised of protein and carbohydrates (1g of protein/LB of goal body weight & 125g of carbs).  Dietary fat should comprise the remaining 40% of calories.

"Recomposition" - On weight training days 80% of your total calories should be comprised of protein and carbohydrates (1g of protein/LB of goal body weight & 2.5g of carbs/LB of goal body weight).  Fat should make up the remaining 20% of calories.  On rest days 60% of your total calories should be comprised of protein and carbohydrates (1g of protein/LB of goal body weight & 125g of carbs).  Dietary fat should comprise the remaining 40% of calories.

Muscle Gain Specific -  On weight training days 80% of your total calories should be comprised of protein and carbohydrates (1g of protein/LB of goal body weight & 2.5g of carbs/LB of goal body weight).  Fat should make up the remaining 20% of calories.  On rest days 65% of your total calories should be comprised of protein and carbohydrates (1g of protein/LB of goal body weight & 1.5g of carbs/LB of goal body weight).  The other 35% of calories should come from dietary fat.           

Recommendations for those with a body fat level between 11-15%:

Fat Loss Specific - On weight training days 65% of total calories should be comprised of protein and carbohydrates (1g of protein/LB of goal body weight & 1.25g of carbs/LB of goal body weight).  Fat should comprise the remaining 35% of calories.  On rest days 60% of total calories should comprise protein and carbohydrates (1g of protein/LB of goal body weight & 100g of carbs).  Fat should make up the remaining 40% of calories.

"Recomposition" - On weight training days protein and carbohydrates should comprise 75% of your total calories (1g of protein/LB of goal body weight & 2g of carbs/LB of goal body weight).  The remaining 25% should be comprised of fat.  On rest days 60% of total calories should comprise protein and carbohydrates (1g of protein/LB of goal body weight & 100g of carbs).  Fat should make up the remaining 40% of calories.

Muscle Gain Specific -  On weight training days protein and carbohydrates should comprise 75% of your total calories (1g of protein/LB of goal body weight & 2g of carbs/LB of goal body weight).  The remaining 25% should be comprised of fat.  On rest days 65% of total calories should be comprised of protein and carbohydrates (1g of protein/LB of goal body weight & 1.25g of carbs/LB of goal body weight).  Fat should comprise the remaining 35% of calories.

Recommendations for those with a body fat level above 15%:

Fat Loss Specific - On weight training days protein and carbohydrates should comprise 40% of your total calories (1g of protein/LB of goal body weight & 1g of carbs/LB of goal body weight).  On rest days 50% of your total calories should be comprised of protein and carbohydrates (1g of protein/LB of goal body weight & 50g of carbs).  Fat should make up the remaining 50% of calories.

"Recomposition" - N/A

Muscle Gain Specific - N/A 

* While the timing of meals is ultimately up to your discretion, I recommend you eat the bulk of your allotted calories and carbs for a given day in the evening.
* Eat light throughout the day, and eat meals that are mostly comprised of no more than 15g of fat and 25g of protein.  You can also include a non-starchy green vegetable with these meals.
* Post workout you should consume approximately 30-40g of protein with 60-80g of carbs.  An easy way to do this is with a protein shake and spotted bananas.
* Eat breakfast if you want, but make it light, and be sure it's comprised of protein and fat.  Eating a lot of calories and carbs is associated with the activation of the parasympathetic nervous system (this puts you in a rest and digest mode which is great in evening when you want to relax, but not so good in the morning when you need to get going).
* Be aware that breakfast is completely overrated, and it's by no means essential if you'd rather skip it and, thus, save more of your allotted calories for the evening.

Good luck!  If you have any questions, feel free to comment.

A Simple Guide to Building Muscle and Losing Fat: Part 2

In Part 1 of this series I offered you a couple of very simple and generic muscle building routines.  These routines are by no means the end-all-be-all, nor are they "optimal;" they're merely suggested starting points that will likely prove very effective for a beginner or an intermediate lifter.  In that same spirit of a starting point, the following outline for fat loss is a far cry from the only or best way to lose fat; it's one potential option among many.

With that said, let's get on with it.

Losing fat and achieving optimal health are two concepts that seem, on the surface, entirely contingent.  However, for the time being, I'll suffice it to say that fat loss and optimal health are not necessarily equivalent (this is an issue for another article).  For now, I'll focus solely on fat loss; which in and of itself is quite a simple issue to tackle.

Have you ever asked, or heard someone ask, "what should I eat to lose weight?"

Can you pick out what's intrinsically rhetorical about this question?

Perhaps my answer to it will clarify:  "What should you eat?"  "Try eating less!"

All harshness aside, the underlying factors promoting obesity and poor health in this fair country of ours are indeed quite complex, but mathematically speaking, people put on fat because they eat more calories than they burn on average.  Now, a lot of factors drive this caloric imbalance, be it hormonal factors, emotional factors, lack of activity, stress, or the hyper-rewarding food comprising an industrially based diet; but, in the end, you can't defy the laws of physics.

People get fat because they eat too much.

It should seem fairly obvious where I'm headed with this:  I'm likely going to tell you to eat less food than you currently consume.

True, such is the gist of what I'm getting at here, but there are a number of things you should be aware of before you feel like I've just left you hanging so anticlimactically as I have.

Thing number A:  Don't buy into the myth that eating small, frequent, meals is somehow a necessary component of losing weight.  Meal frequency has virtually no discernible impact on metabolism.  Moreover, some evidence suggests that going up to 48 hours without food can actually cause a slight increase in metabolism (not that I recommend doing such a thing).

Eat at whatever frequency suits you and your psychology.  If you like eating smaller meals every few hours or so, then do it.  If you would rather eat larger meals at less frequent intervals, do it.  Fat loss requires an average deficit, not necessarily a well-timed one.

Thing letter 2:  Since you'll be weight training while you're in a caloric defiucit, you need to make sure that you're eating plenty of protein (and I mean high quality animal protein).  I recommend doing so for a number of reasons:

1)  Protein is essential for building muscle, and many people underestimate how much they should be consuming.

2)  Eating plenty of protein can improve your weight loss results.

3)  Protein is very satiating; meaning you won't be quite as hungry while eating less.

4)  A higher level of protein consumption is crucial for maintaining lean body mass while in a caloric deficit. 

Based on the available research, I recommend consuming 1g of protein per pound of target body weight. This number is actually on the high end of the recommended range for resistance trained athletes, but given the reasons listed above (especially 3), it won't hurt to aim high.

Also, even though you'll be eating at a caloric deficit, it's still possible for you to build muscle, especially if you have a lot of fat to lose and/or if you're a novice trainer.

And if you're worried about the supposed detrimental effects of high protein consumption on kidney health, you can rest easy.  Unless you have preexisting renal health issues, there is no substantial evidence to suggest that a high protein diet will negatively effect your kidney health (but you advisably should contact a medical professional to be certain you're not at risk for, or already have renal health issues, just to be safe).

In Part 3 of this series, I'll cover some of the basics of carbohydrates, and how you can effectively cycle their consumption to improve your fat loss success and your ability to build muscle.