PROTEIN: the Right Dose for Maximum MUSCLE GROWTH

The anabolic response within muscle, or net gain in muscle protein, is the difference between the rates of muscle protein synthesis versus muscle protein breakdown where greater protein synthesis produces muscle growth.

Michael J. Rudolph, Ph.D.

This anabolic response can be increased considerably by dietary protein consumption, which stimulates muscle protein synthesis and decreases muscle protein degradation. 1 Several studies, including one by Symons et al. 2, indicate that the maximum stimulation of muscle protein synthesis occurs with intake of 20-30 grams of protein per meal. This conclusion eventually drove the concept that there is a maximal anabolic response to protein intake, and consuming more than 20-30 grams of protein per meal will most likely exceed the maximally effective intake of protein on the anabolic response. 3 However, according to more recent research, this interpretation relies too heavily on protein consumption’s influence on muscle protein synthesis while not putting enough importance on muscle protein breakdown. One of the primary reasons for this misconception is that experimentally measuring muscle protein breakdown is rather difficult, requiring much more complicated experimental protocols. 4 Taking this fact into account, recent scientific data simultaneously measuring both muscle protein synthesis and breakdown suggests that the ability of protein consumption to reduce muscle protein breakdown may be much larger than originally thought, contributing to much greater levels of muscle protein accumulation for considerably greater muscle size.

Limited Influence on Muscle Protein Synthesis