How much protein can be absorbed at each meal has been an ongoing topic of conversation among athletes especially body builders for sometime now. The most definitive answer so far has come from several resources in the scientific community one of which is D. M. Matthews Department of Chemical Pathology, Westminster Medical School, London.
Their research supports similar studies that the body absorbs 90 to 95% of the intake. In other words if you ate a serving of chicken containing 20g of protein, on average the body would uptake approximately 18g, 30g=27g, 40g=36g and so on. The source of the protein such as a lean cut of beef vs. say a protein shake does not make a significant difference in absorption.
An important note about this is that just because the body extracts it from the digestion process does not mean it uses all of it. Some of the protein may be excreted if not needed. Just how much your body needs per day or meal is another topic and deserves further discussion.
So regardless of your preference in food chocies you might say when it comes to protein you get what you pay for, well ok all but about 5 to 10% but that is still a bargin in todays economy.
Tags: eating right, Healthy Life Styles, protein supplements, vitamin supplements