How much protein can you ACTUALLY absorb?

For as long as I can remember, there has been this idea pushed that you can only absorb x amount of protein at any given time.

Some people claim you can only absorb 20 grams at a time, others have claimed you can only absorb 30 grams of protein at a time.

However, the available evidence on his topic paints a much different picture.

Recently, a rather extreme study was published looking at this topic. [1]

After a bout of strength training subjects were given 25 g of protein, 100 g of protein or 0 g of protein (placebo). All were in the form of a protein shake.

They found that the subjects who took 100 g of protein absorbed all of it and the rate of muscle protein synthesis was increased proportionally (e.g. it was all used for muscle building purposes).

This study tested the largest single dose of protein so far, and at this point there is no evidence of there being an upper limit for absorption or use.

A caveat is that exercise does increase your body's ability to absorb protein, but it is still an impressive amount nonetheless.

So, bottom line: you don’t ever need to worry about protein “going to waste,” and no upper limit has been discovered yet.

That said, this doesn’t necessarily mean you should eat all of your day’s protein in one meal.

There may be some benefit to having 3-4 protein intakes per day as opposed to 1-2. [2]

There are some studies where people with more spread out protein intakes tend to see slightly greater muscle growth from strength training, but the differences usually aren't significant.

In other words, if your daily protein target is 120 grams, then eating 30 g 4x/day or 40 g 3x/day is probably your best bet if that's possible.

However, it’s also worth noting that hitting your daily protein needs is BY FAR the more important factor as compared to how you spread your protein out throughout the day.

Said differently, if you HAD to choose between an evenly spread intake of protein 4x/day without hitting your total needs OR hitting your total needs with only 1-2 intakes in a day; then you should choose the second option.

So, I would never recommend you choose higher frequency of protein intake over total protein intake.

It is just something to consider if you are able.

While we’re here, let’s quickly cover how much protein you should aim to eat each day.

For quite some time, my recommendation has been to aim for 0.72 grams of protein per pound bodyweight (1.6 g/kg).

This has been based off of a systematic review & meta-analysis from Morton et al. where they found that eating more than this amount did not result in more muscle growth in strength-trained individuals. [3]

However, another paper was published recently looking at the protein needs of endurance athletes. [4]

This newer data found that a target of .81 grams of protein per pound bodyweight (1.8 g/kg) is more appropriate for health & performance in endurance athletes.

If you’re here, you’re probably someone who is in the pursuit of both strength & endurance simultaneously.

So, my recommendation to you would be to aim for 0.81 grams of protein per pound bodyweight, as it may lead to better results long-term.

To find out what this means for you, multiply your bodyweight (in pounds) by 0.81. That's how many grams of protein you should aim for per day.

If you want a deeper dive into all things protein, check out my full article on the topic here.