protein

[brandonm]

does protein spike or cause a rise in blood sugar? i was thinking of drinking protein shakes daily to build muscle. i wanted to check here before doing anything

 

[Goonergal]

It will depend upon what is in the shake - unlikely to be just protein, and may well be a fair few carbs.

The only way to know for sure will be to test before and after consuming.

Personally I'd rather get my protein from real food rather than a shake which will likely contain a lot of additives. I do see higher fasting blood glucose levels the next morning if I have considerably more protein than normal, but it doesn't affect my overall averages.

 

[bulkbiker]

^^^^^^^ what @Goonergal wrote 1,000 times eat protein as food.

 

[Member496333]

Shouldn’t be a problem if you’re consuming sensible amounts packaged by nature with appropriate fat. Generally it won’t cause postprandial spikes but may in certain circumstances cause upward creeps in the slightly longer term. Too many variables to determine how much is too much, but personally I wouldn’t go out of my way to consume shakes and the like.

 

[Spl@]

All the protein boost products are hype, according to my daughters dietician at training.

Apparently you can only process so much before, and I quote. You just have high protein pee.

A normal healthy diet will give you all you need.

 

[LittleGreyCat]

As suggested above, are you sure that you aren't getting enough protein for your needs, including increase in muscle mass after increased exercise?

As far as I know protein shakes don't build muscle. They only supply a quick hit of protein post exercise if you aren't already eating enough in your general diet.

Most people eat far more protein than require for muscle replacement and repair.

The excess is just thrown away.

Edit: perhaps your question should be more like "I do x amount of exercise, weigh y, and eat z amount of protein. Do I need to increase my protein intake? If so, are protein shakes the best way?"

 

[Member496333]

Protein doesn’t build muscle per se. It is used to repair muscle tissue. Resistance training builds muscle which in turn requires protein. Simply ingesting protein is unlikely to increase muscle mass by itself.

 

[Ponchu]

Resistance training damages muscle.
Protein is used in repairing.

I used to, many years ago, use protein shakes.

Arnold was injecting massive amounts of testosterone while telling others to drink a gallon of milk post work out.

I think the protein naturally balanced w far from whole food is best.

Even at my age I’m having results w resistance training.

 

[derry60]

Now I have read on various sites that too much protein can spike your BGL's and that we should eat more fat and less protein, and get fat adapted. I would not go for the shakes either. Cannot beat real food

 

[LittleGreyCat]

Now I have read on various sites that too much protein can spike your BGL's and that we should eat more fat and less protein, and get fat adapted. I would not go for the shakes either. Cannot beat real food

If I remember correctly, protein can be used to produce glucose but it is less energy efficient than using carbohydrates. So above a certain level of carbohydrate consumption (depending on the rate you burn glucose) protein is effectively not used to produce glucose.

If you are eating minimal carbohydrates and are keto adapted you still need some glucose for essential brain functions so that tends to be manufactured from the protein in your diet.

Dredging even deeper, glucose can be manufactured from fat but again this is more energy intensive than either carbohydrate or protein so is the third and least popular metabolic choice.

So in answer to the OP "it depends".........

 

[Member496333]

Now I have read on various sites that too much protein can spike your BGL's and that we should eat more fat and less protein, and get fat adapted. I would not go for the shakes either. Cannot beat real food

In my own experience protein doesn’t cause a “spike” as such in the typical postprandial sense, but “excess” will result in a slight upturn in my numbers, starting the following day and settling around 48h later. It seems that, as ever, we all have a different experience. Some may not realise that their glucose concentration is creeping up if they have sufficient insulin sensitivity to deal with it without a measurable effect. However, in these people, it may still be requiring an insulin response which many of us consider suboptimal.

It’s definitely far less binary than anything we can expect to experience with carbohydrate. Speaking only for myself, I use protein only for cell building and repair, which means not consuming much more than 20-30g per meal. I use fat for fuel and satiety.

 

[Flora123]

I find too much protein has a prolonged effect on my BS. Not a spike but a raised reading for many hours

 

[derry60]

I find too much protein has a prolonged effect on my BS. Not a spike but a raised reading for many hours

Yes I have read that it can do that, and others have stated the same

 

[heli2010]

does protein spike or cause a rise in blood sugar? i was thinking of drinking protein shakes daily to build muscle. i wanted to check here before doing anything

A protein shake will cause a blood glucose spike but its a quick spike as they are rapidly absorbed, you should aim to even out your protein intake over the days meals with max 30 to 40g per meal and use the shake as suplemental I find having shakes 3 to 4hrs after main evening meal an easy protein boost and aids sleep.
if building muscle I use 0.8g per pound of body weight to find the daily protein required and 0.4g for maintainance of muscle.

If you are looking to build muscle the one thing you must do is get your blood glucose levels under control and know how lifting weights for a certain time affects your levels this is because high BG will affect protein synthesis. As a diabetic you could go the gym for an hour and totally waste the whole workout if your BG has spiked due to the intense workout similarly you can have a good workout but not end up building muscle because the BG spikes are causing your body not to synthesise the protein you are taking in.

 

[Resurgam]

When I was looking for sources of protein to add to my bread mix I found that a lot of the 'bodybuilder' wheys and suchlike were about 1/3rd carbs - so I am still looking.

 

[Mr_Pot]

When I was looking for sources of protein to add to my bread mix I found that a lot of the 'bodybuilder' wheys and suchlike were about 1/3rd carbs - so I am still looking.

The high protein rolls I make to replace the Lidl ones have Wheat Gluten, Soya Flour and Linseed Meal as the main ingredients.

 

[Resurgam]

I took my original recipe for a white loaf and added coconut flour, psyllium husk, ground almonds, milled seeds, and rye flour to disguise the fact it went purple after baking. The recipe so far is in my blog - it is something under development, but it has been a revelation just how far one can push the definition of bread and still get something good right from the oven to the last crust, toasted.