Fitness Myths Part 7
 Myth- The human body can only absorb 30-40 grams of protein in one sitting.
Truth- This particular myth was so prevalent during my days of pushing pills at GNC that I blindly believed it without giving it a second thought. It was something I recommended to nearly every customer who was purchasing protein. Amazingly I don’t remember one customer ever disputing my authoritative stance on protein absorption. That’s really sad considering just how wrong I was.
Bro’s who pound protein shakes daily will be the first to tell you that the body can only handle up to 30-40 grams at a time, and that everyone is different. Anymore than that and you’re going to waste the rest of that protein in the toilet. But a few simple questions would likely leave these bro’s scratching their heads.
Does protein source matter at all when it comes to absorption?
What about those who practice intermittent fasting and consume over 2,000 calories in just around 8 hours?
What happens when you eat a large steak, commonly seen as one the best muscle building foods?
To dispel that we need to look at one term that’s commonly used in this claim that dispels the myth itself: absorption.
You’re body is going to absorb nearly all of the protein you ingest, since absorption refers to the amount of protein that will be broken down circulated through the bloodstream. It is worth noting that the amount that the amount directed towards muscle building is a different story, but that differs on a case by case basis.
Another important point to look at is the speed of absorption of some foods, and the efficiency of absorption of some foods. Eggs for example absorb at a rate of 1 gram per hour. Making it the slowest absorbing protein.
What about steaks and their amazing muscle building properties? Steaks are some of the most efficiently digested protein sources available. The digestibility of steaks are 97%. Meaning that when you consume a mouth watering New York strip, 97% of the protein content is absorbed into the bloodstream. Sure sounds like a whole lot more than 30-40 grams considering most steaks are in the 60 gram range. Â
This whole series has been a simplified look at how wrong these myths are. A blog post is by no means the forum to get into the nitty gritty detail on certain subjects. In the future I’m going to attempt to explain some of these topics and others a little more thoroughly. But the important takeaway should be to never stop questioning, and never stop learning. The fitness industry is filled with people who blindly follow advice with little to no reasoning. Be a lion, don’t allow yourself to be a sheep. A lion doesn’t concern himself with the opinion of sheep.















