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How much is too much ? The only true way of determining this is by closely monitoring your nitrogen balance. For every gram of protein there is 16% nitrogen. With this in mind, compare this amount to the excreted nitrogen in your urine (the blood urea nitrogen test B.U.N.), and you can come up with your true protein requirement. In the presence of sufficient total calories, a level of protein intake that is greater than the body requires will most likely result in a positive nitrogen balance., but at an expense of possibly over stressing the liver.
High Protein Levels
Remember, the liver is responsible for breaking down the toxin "ammonia" into urea for excretion. The greater the excess amino acids the harder the liver has to work.
An alternative to decreasing protein intake under these stated conditions is the consideration of increasing the intensity of exercise. This will minimize the excess circulating amino acids. The best way to optimize protein intake is through B.U.N. testing and altering/increasing resistance training.
Your Professional Fitness consultant can give you the B.U.N. test. Also, it is very important to note that high protein diets are particularly hazardous to the athlete who must remain hydrated to function optimally.
You see, the breakdown of amino acids creates the waste product urea, which is excreted through the urine. In the process of excretion, large amounts of water are used to dilute the urea as it leaves the body. For every 100 calories (25 grams) of protein metabolized, the body uses/loses 350 grams of water. Potentially causing dehydration.
The solution is simple, consume Plenty of water. (Carbohydrates and fat use only 50 grams of water (for ever 100 calories) when metabolized). In the absence of sufficient calories, whether protein ingestion is high or not, a high level of circulating "broken down" body proteins and resulting amino acids will indeed result in a negative nitrogen balance, as well as the liver production of keto acids (toxic to brain function).
Clearly a more dire metabolic situation than the one outlined above. This situation occurs during prolonged and extreme dieting. Fat loss and appearance should incessantly take the back seat when health is threatened.
Even though maximizing fat loss does require a substantial restriction of total calories (mainly from carbs), however, as mentioned in a previous section, acetate, or keto Styx testing (similar to B.U.N. testing) is available upon request.
This too will maximize adjustments to total calories, which will result in less threatening "trace" amounts of acetate. Keep in mind that increasing the protein intake while reducing carbohydrate intake with fat loss in mind will have a positive subcutaneous fat loss effect since amino acid deamination. constitutes more work and accelerated metabolism.
Even in the presence of sufficient total calories, low protein ingestion will not accommodate the building of new tissue. When too little protein is being ingested and an intense training session is performed, "catabolism" is prolonged. Anticipate a long term negative nitrogen balance too.
Low Protein Levels
In most cases when ingested proteins are insufficient even for required synthesis and repair of vital blood proteins and organ tissue, catabolic enzymes and cannibalistic hormones are dispatched to degrade and cannibalize existing 'low priority' body tissues using their bi-products as energy.
Antibodies for example are among the 'low priority' body tissues first to go. Thus, the immune system is consequently, the first to reap the effects of a low proteins intake. Then organs and muscle tissue, as well as the synthesis of protein based hormones, enzymes, and blood proteins too.
The performance of strenuous resistance exercises under the conditions of a low protein intake, or low calorie dieting, will result in the continued cannibalism of structural body tissues.
Optimizing Protein Intake
In your effort to maintain a positive nitrogen balance (ingesting more nitrogen than excreting). the intention should be to ingest a steady supply of protein throughout the day, every three to four hours, consisting of all essential & non-essential amino acids, allowing for all possible combinations to be present at one time. This will ensure the continued synthesis of body tissues, proteins and enzymes. The greater the intensity and duration of resistance exercise, the greater the required ingestion of protein.
All protein foods have varying degrees of protein efficiency ratio's (P.E.R.), with the egg being the highest on the list of complete proteins, with fish being second.
I totally recommend that if you desire lean muscle, take in at least one gram of protein per pound of lean body weight. But more importantly, allow your activity to dictate you're protein intake such as heavy intensity, higher protein intake, and vice versa.
Endurance athletes should consider the ingestion of proteins during activity instead of complex carbohydrates. Protein ingestion acts to maintain blood sugar levels longer.
From a Nutritional Standpoint
Uric acid is the end product of purine metabolism. Meat, flesh foods, and some vegetables contain high levels of purines. Consuming these foods results in increased formation of uric acid in the blood.
Muscles have a particular affinity for uric acid. When you eat meat or any flesh foods, the digestive process breaks it down into the fat and amino acid molecules composing it. This process results in the formation of a great deal of uric acid
This acid is eliminated by the kidneys. However, if uric acid increases at rates greater than the kidney can handle, the saturation point is reached. Then solid uric acid crystals can form in joints and in other locations.
However, muscles have a tendency to absorb it before it can be expelled and continue to absorb it until the saturation point. In the natural course of events it begins to crystalize.
At this point it forms microscopic splinters that penetrate the sheathing of the nearest nerves. When this happens we have the first manifestation of trouble that goes by various names like rheumatism, neuritis, and sciatica. It is simply a law of cause and effect.
The normal elimination of uric acid in the case of meat eating people should be about 35 grams in about 1,000 c.c. (about one quart) of urine. The average uric acid content is around 3 to 5 grams. This mean that 7 to 12 times as much uric acid is retained instead of being eliminated.
When you drink a glass of hot water with the juice of a lemon, upon rising, and another at night before retiring, a gradual but definite increase in the excretion of uric acid will occur providing you abstains from eating meat. Then "normal" elimination of uric acid should be around 15 to 20 grams of uric acid per 1,000 c.c. of urine.
Another bi-product of protein metabolism is homocystene.. Homocystine can only be metabolized by b-6 and folic acid. When we eat a diet deficient in these two vitamins, homocystene levels rise in the bloodstream, actually scarring the interior of artery walls. So called "bad" cholesterol's accumulate over these scares in an attempt to heal the wound, causing a hardening of the arteries.
Yes, high cholesterol levels in the blood are "not" the cause of hardening of the arteries. Deficient levels of b6 and folic acid are.
Protein
Fitness
Even if a non-essential amino acid is not present in a meal, or in the diet, it will not limit protein synthesis in individual cells. There is no shortage of non-essential amino acids in the cell, even if they are absent from the diet. Also since proteins generally contain a diversity of amino acids, any protein that contains all of the essential amino acids in sufficient quantities should be sufficient for growth. In other words, of all of the essential amino acids are present in a protein, then most if not all of the non-essential; ones will also be present. Some of the nonessential amino acids are interconverted by very sinple transformations. For example serine is easily converted into alanine. neither of these is esential, in fact the carbon skeleton of serine can be made from glucose, and there is no shortage of glucose in the cell. Thus, although it is true that all amino acids must be present *in the cell* for protein synthesis to occur, it is also true that if proteins are consumed in the diet that contain all of the essential amino acids, then the cells will have the complete assortment available for protein synthesis.
Note from an expert, Peter Kramer, who graciously provided us with this information on amino-acids::
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