More tuna questions

[scotty1]

How much protein can you eat and use at one time, and how long does it take?

I have two tuna sandwiches containing 44 g of protein in total.

Should I eat them both at once or leave a gap?:D

[IronFist]

Tuna by itself isn't really substantial as far as calories or anything go. It's basically just a boost of protein when you need one. If you eat it with other stuff, fat and carbs, then it can be a good part of a meal. But by itself, there's really no carbs or fat at all with it so like I said, it's just protein. 44g of protein at once is fine. Don't worry.

IronFist

[scotty1]

In the tins of tuna I have, for 25g of protein there is 7.5g of fat.

And obviously in the sandwiches there are carbs.

But surely just the pure tuna is beneficial to your muscles. I'm not talking a diet of pure tuna, but the tuna boost (extra protein) is going to help your muscles develop, or grow on a rest day, right?

[ged]

2 facts i vaguely remember (ask someone else about these)
you can absorb 30-40g of protein every hour or so
you dont 'absorb' all the protein that you eat

so... dont aim for 35 g of protein. aim for more, cuz you wont absorb it all.

im still on chilli flavoured tuna. its not bad, if i take away the chilli. the other flavours are all stuff like lemon grass seed and black pepper. pah.

[scotty1]

Cheers Ged.
I put lemon juice and white pepper on my tuna.

[IronFist]

really scotty?!! Mine say 0g fat.

Strange.

IronFist

[Silumkid]

I'll have to find the refernce for you but recently I received an item about the "protein absorption" thing. It was contesting the 30-50 gram max and refuted it as myth. The paper was done by one of the leading protein researchers. I'll find it and post the information re: study and the researchers name.

Protein is protein, essentially (until you get into types of protein and their exact chemicl constructs and such). So yes, tuna will help your muscles but not simply because it is tuna but because it is a "clean" protein. One plus about tuna and indeed many seafoods is the omega oils. In case you don't know about them, they are very "heart-healthy".

One thing to remember while I'm on it...although the 30-50 gram at a time protein may be a myth, keep in mind that too much of anything, including proteins, is what can make one fat. The positive thing about proteins though is that proteins use up approximately 25% of their caloric content in the digestive process as opposed to about 5-8% for carbs. Just thought I'd throw that in.

[Arhat of Fury]

Ged,
Your body is able to assimilate 30 grams of protein per meal, granted this depends on how efficient your body is at assimilation.
Your body also takes 3-1/2 - 4 hours to digest a meal.

Scotty- I would say- talk to a trainer to get the formula to determine your rate/efficiency of assimilation, this will tell you how much protein you must eat in order to retain the full 30 grams the body is capable of assimilating. The 30 gram theory has been around for a long time and I would not disreguard this until a doctor/health organization or any trusted group puts out an indpendant universal study on this.

Amitoufu,

AOF

[IronFist]

Most trainers are stupid. Talk to a nutritionist or something. Better yet, do what works :) They say that it's 30g of protein per every three hours or something, so that equals 180g per day max, but some pro BB's eat upwards of 400g per day and it seems to work for them.

I would stick to 1g per pound throughout the day. 30g with each meal is good, if you eat 5 meals per day. But honestly, 30g isn't that much... a chicken breast is like 35 or something. A steak is 50 something. A can of tuna is 25-35. A protein shake is whatever. Milk is 1g per ounce. Etc.

Hey diet guys, is extra protein really stored as fat? I have always heard it just gets peed out.

IronFist

[IronFist]

Unbelievable. Muscle does not turn into fat. I'm fairly certain that excess protein is not stored as fat. I think it's just peed out. Don't quote me on that one, however. Let me check and get back to you.

Muscle that doesn't get used atrophies. Old bodybuilders lose their muscle. If they get fat, chances are it's because when they were bodybuilding years ago they got used to eating thousands of calories per day. As they aged and reduced their exercising, they kept up eating the way they were used to. Result? Excess calories (carbs and fat) that are NOT being put towards bodybuilding.

inic said:

why do u think so many americans are overweight? hint hint, however much protien u think u need, u dont

Uh, wrong. hint hint, McDonalds? Most americans don't even know what protein is. Therefore, I seriously doubt they go out of their way to eat "as much as u think u need." More likely, it's because they eat too high of calorie foods, don't exercise enough, and are lazy.


all that so-called muscle is.... f-a-t.

In case you missed it the first time, muscle cannot transform into fat. If you doubt me, look it up in a biology book.

And the reason to eat Salmon instead of Tuna is because tuna has high levels of mercury, and if someone's eating multiple cans of tuna per day/week, they might do some damage. The downside is that salmon is almost 3 times as much as tuna.

IronFist

[monkey mind]

Just a couple of quick comments:

Tuna may be a good source of low fat protein but I'd watch out about eating it too regularly due to the possible concentration of pollutants (e.g. mercury) in the meat. Remember, tuna are relatively high on the ocean food chain and therefore tend to concentrate the toxins that smaller creatures accumulate.

All deep/cold water fish, especially salmon, are good sources of omega 3 fatty acids. Omega 6 fatty acids are also considered "essential fatty acids" but they are commonly found in vegetable products as well. However, you shouldn't eat salmon or tuna just to get your omega 3's - as few other oils such as flax and hemp are excellent sources of omega 3 fatty acids.

I'm not trying to convince anyone not to each fish - I guess I'm just for moderation in this, as with most other things.