John Berardi of Precision Nutrition, wrote in his blog last week about two recent studies (you can find them here) that tell us how consuming 20 or 30 grams of protein per meal is all one needs to improve recovery and protein synthesis.

The Studies Conclusions:
In a a nut shell the studies showed that when college-aged weight trained athletes consumed between 0g and 40 g of protein after their training session that protein synthesis (helps the muscles grow and repair) was stimulated maximally at 20g.  The second study showed that when young and elderly individuals consumed 30g or 90g of protein in one meal, the 30g dose was just as effective as the 90g dose.

What does all this mean?
Berardi writes that muscles isn't the only reason to consume protein.  "I mean, it’s definitely a good thing to discover that 30g of protein provides the upper limit of amino acids necessary for maximal protein synthesis at a particular point in time.  However, the important, big-picture question is this one…is building muscle the only reason we eat protein?"

He goes on to discuss the reasons to possibly consume more protein in his recent blog post.  So how much protein is the right amount.  It really depends on the individual.  Determine what your goal is and then consume accordingly.

1. If you've had a hard workout or day on the slopes, 1 gram per pound of bodyweight per day is a good rule of thumb. 
2. If you're sedentary and are relaxing on a Sunday afternoon, .5g to .75g per pound of bodyweight per day is probably enough
3. If you're an amateur or elite athlete training 15 to 30 hours per week you may want to include more than 30 grams per meal or upwards of 1.25 grams per pound of bodyweight per day. 

The more we breakdown our muscles and our immune system the more protein we need to repair ourselves.  Enough said.

Stay Fit Skiing!
Andrew Hooge, CSCS
ahooge@fitskiing.com | www.fitskiing.com |
Twitter: http://twitter.com/andrewhooge

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