Dear Mr. Jelínek,

In addition to this lesson, it is recommended everywhere to adhere to a certain amount of protein. In the ZOF game, these values are further specified several times. It is important that the amount of protein in the diet isn't too low, meaning under 1.0g/kg, and not too high, more than 2g/kg, depending on gender, work, sports activity, etc. I understand this. In this context, I am interested in knowing if there is, or if it is even established, a maximum amount of protein per serving (i.e., breakfast, lunch, dinner, or snack) that our body is capable of digesting and utilizing. If we take a 100 kg male strength athlete who wants to gain muscle mass and has a set protein amount of 2g/kg, that would be 200g of protein per day. If I adequately divide this into 5 meals a day, it's approximately 40g of protein per serving. If he were to eat only 3 times a day, it would be almost 67g of protein per serving, which seems to me like a lot.

Thank you for your response.

There is no clear-cut answer in terms of a strictly defined intake threshold. Generally speaking, as physical activity increases, metabolism accelerates, which also involves increased activity of the digestive tract. Thus, an athlete will be able to process a larger sudden intake of protein compared to someone who is physically inactive. However, there are differences between endurance and strength athletes, and it is also important to distinguish between women and men, with body weight (muscle mass percentage) playing a crucial role. A man engaging in anaerobic sports can afford to consume 50-60 g of protein in one serving without causing significant issues, while for non-athletic women, a range of 20-30 g is often suggested. However, all these figures should be considered with some flexibility, as every individual reacts differently (among other things, protein processing also depends on the diversity of the gut microbiota).

Themes:  Weight loss   Proteins   Portion