On Tue, 20 Feb 2001 15:48:34 -0800, dave skinner <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

>>
>>effects of insulin if you eat too much protein in one meal.)  He also
>>states that the maximum amount of amino acids that can be absorbed in one
>>meal is 50g (or 60g?).
>
>does he have ANY proof for this.  this 50g number (and also a 25-30g value)
>are constantly tossed around but no one can ever point to a study that even
>remotely supports the idea.

Good question.  Faigin cites Colgan's "Optimum Sports Nutrition" for his
30g to 50g absorption figure.  Normally, Faigin cites articles from
scientific journals.  I don't know from where or how Colgan gets his number.

Interestingly, both the papers discussed in the other thread on insulin's
response to protein used 50g in their studies.  How did they choose this
number?

While the maximum absorption amount is in question, and probably varies
from person to person anyway, the paper pasted below, cited by Faigin,
makes the case against binging protein consumption and spreading it out
over several, smaller meals.

Benefit of more but smaller meals at a fixed daily protein intake.

Z Ernahrungswiss 1997 Dec;36(4):347-9   (ISSN: 0044-264X)

Bujko J; Schreurs VV; Koopmanschap PE; Furstenberg E; Keller JS [Find other
articles with these Authors]
Faculty of Human Nutrition, Department of Dietetics and Nutritional
Physiology, Warsaw Agricultural University, Poland.

The influence of meal frequency on change of body weight and protein
status, measured by level of amino acid oxidation (decarboxylation) in the
postabsorptive state, was studied at a fixed daily protein intake. Growing
rats (250g) were fed through gastric canula a feeding solution based on
Nutrison Standard supplying 1.6g protein and 266kJ ME daily. This amount
was given in either 2 large meals at the beginning and the end, or in 6
smaller meals, or by continuous infusion during entire dark period (10
hrs). After 3 weeks of feeding the mean growth rate of the rats fed
continuously was nearly 20% higher than rats fed the same amount in 2
meals. The rats fed 6 meals a day had a growth rate rather similar to the
rats fed continuously. The percentile recovery of label as 14CO2 in the
breath after an intraperitoneal injection of [1-14C]leucine (4 hrs after
last meal) was significantly higher (p.05) for the animals fed continuously
(27% sd 2.6) compared to the rats fed 2 meals (21.9% sd 4.0). The value for
6 meal group was intermediate (24.5 sd 1.8). The results indicate that the
metabolic utilization of a fixed daily amount of protein is clearly
influenced by the way of supply. With respect to the change of body weight
and protein status, animals have more benefit of the same amount of protein
if the supply is more equable. It is suggested that the difference is
caused by metabolic restriction for an adequate utilisation of large meals.
Therefore large meals are supposed to cause a waste of amino acids in the
postprandial phase. As a consequence amino acid amount that will be stored
in the body to be available in the postabsorptive phase will be less.