For Building Muscle, Moderate Amounts Of Protein Per Meal Recommended

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For Building Muscle, Moderate Amounts Of Protein Per Meal Recommended

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/168876.php

For thousands of years, people have believed that eating large amounts of

protein made it easier to build bigger, stronger muscles. Take Milo of Croton,

the winner of five consecutive Olympic wrestling championships in the sixth

century BC: If ancient writers are to be believed, he built his crushing

strength in part by consuming 20 pounds of meat every day.

No modern athlete would go to such extremes, but Milo's legacy survives in the

high-protein diets of bodybuilders and the meat-heavy training tables of today's

college football teams. A recent study by University of Texas Medical Branch at

Galveston metabolism researchers, however, provides evidence that strongly

contradicts this ancient tradition. It also suggests practical ways to both

improve normal American eating patterns and reduce muscle loss in the elderly.

The study's results, obtained by measuring muscle synthesis rates in volunteers

who consumed different amounts of lean beef, show that only about the first 30

grams (just over one ounce) of dietary protein consumed in a meal actually

produce muscle.

" We knew from previous work that consuming 30 grams of protein - or the

equivalent of approximately 4 ounces of chicken, fish, dairy, soy, or, in this

case, lean beef - increased the rate of muscle protein synthesis by 50 percent

in young and older adults, " said associate professor Paddon-,

senior author of a paper on the study published in the September issue of the

Journal of the American Dietetic Association. " We asked if 4 ounces of beef

gives you a 50 percent increase, would 12 ounces, containing 90 grams of

protein, give you a further increase? "

The UTMB researchers tested this possibility by feeding 17 young and 17 elderly

volunteers identical 4- or 12-ounce portions of lean beef. Using blood samples

and thigh muscle biopsies, they then determined the subjects' muscle protein

synthesis rates following each of the meals.

" In young and old adults, we saw that 12 ounces gave exactly the same increase

in muscle protein synthesis as 4 ounces, " Paddon- says. " This suggests that

at around 30 grams of protein per meal, maybe a little less, muscle protein

synthesis hits an upper ceiling. I think this has a lot of application for how

we design meals and make menu recommendations for both young and older adults. "

The results of the study, Paddon- points out, seem to show that a more

effective pattern of protein consumption is likely to differ dramatically from

most Americans' daily eating habits.

" Usually, we eat very little protein at breakfast, eat a bit more at lunch and

then consume a large amount at night. When was the last time you had just 4

ounces of anything during dinner at a restaurant? " Paddon- said. " So we're

not taking enough protein on board for efficient muscle-building during the day,

and at night we're taking in more than we can use. Most of the excess is

oxidized and could end up as glucose or fat. "

A more efficient eating strategy for making muscle and controlling total caloric

intake would be to shift some of extra protein consumed at dinner to lunch and

breakfast.

" You don't have to eat massive amounts of protein to maximize muscle synthesis,

you just have to be a little more clever with how you apportion it, "

Paddon- said. " For breakfast consider including additional high quality

proteins. Throw in an egg, a glass of milk, yogurt or add a handful of nuts to

get to 30 grams of protein, do something similar to get to 30 for lunch, and

then eat a smaller amount of protein for dinner. Do this, and over the course of

the day you likely spend much more time synthesizing muscle protein. "

Other authors of the paper ( " A Moderate Serving of High-Quality Protein

Maximally Stimulates Skeletal Muscle Protein Synthesis in Young and Elderly

Subjects " ) include postdoctoral fellow T. Brock Symons, associate professor

Melinda Sheffield and University of Arkansas professor R. Wolfe.

The study was supported by funding from the National Cattlemen's Beef

Association Checkoff Program and UTMB's National Institutes of Health Claude D.

Pepper Older Americans Independence Center.