AMA 01 - Protein Intake, Creatine, Weight Loss, and More | Episode 7

In this episode I take YOUR questions! Topics covered in this AMA:

How much protein is used for building muscle?
Is creatine safe for kids?
Does separating fats/carbs amongst different meals lead to additional fat loss benefits?
Should you avoid high protein diets if you’re worried about cancer?
Does creatine affect brain health?
Do OTC pain killers affect muscle growth?
What’s the best way to retain muscle on intermittent fasting?
Can you gain fat eating too much protein?
Why do some people have an easier time staying lean than others?
Does alcohol negatively affect weight loss?

How much protein is used for building muscle?” and “How much protein consumption leads to gluconeogenesis? Should a keto dieter worry?

The amount of protein demonstrated to maximize gains in lean mass appears to be around 1.6g/kg in research studies, however some studies indicate that more protein, up to over 3g/kg body weight may still elicit further gains, but they just become marginal. 1 2 3

Protein Intake Theoretical Dose Response

While protein intake may indeed have a dose response, it is likely that the effect becomes very diminished after ~1.6g/kg/d body weight protein intake.

Increased protein intake will increase gluconeogenesis due to increased protein oxidation. 4 5 Still, the effect is not extremely pronounced as a ~2.5x increase in dietary protein intake (12% of calories to 30% of calories or around 70g/day vs. 185g/day) only increased endogenous glucose production by 26g/day through gluconeogenesis. As such, it is unlikely that a high protein diet will impair ketogenesis if carbohydrates are sufficiently low.

Is creatine safe for kids given all the evidence of benefits and safety in adults.

There are very few studies on creatine supplementation in children and adolescents but the research that has been done has focused on efficacy rather than safety, but none of the studies have indicated unique safety concerns for children and adolescents. 6 7 8 9

Does separating fats/carbs amongst different meals lead to additional fat loss benefits?

Unlikely as when protein & calories are equated fat loss is very similiar between diets that vary carbohydrate and fat. 10 The assumption is that since less than 2% of dietary carbohydrate is stored in adipose tissue, and insulin helps drive dietary fat into fat cells, sepeating them will mean neither leads to fat accumulation. 11 There are multiple problems with this assumption. It assumes that a meal has a very short time that the nutrients are in circulation and available for storage. Even if dietary fats are not in a meal there are still circulating fats available for disposal even with no fat intake. Additionally, fat does not need insulin to be stored in adipose as Acylating stimulating protein (ASP) can store fat in adipose with no increase in insulin. 12 It is very unlikely that seperating carbs and fats will lead to less fat accumulation or more fat loss.

Given the relationship with elevated mTOR and cancer, should a lifter with a history of cancer not go as high on protein?

There is a big difference between an acute response vs. a chronic signal dysregulation. Stimulating mTOR through protein intake or resistance training is an acute response. mTOR stimulation that leads to cancer is a chronic dysregulation and likely begins further upstream from mTOR at PI3K/Akt which is stimulated from insulin. 13 Also, by this logic we should not resistance training since it stimulates mTOR? But people who resistance train have lower risk of some cancers and overall resistance training has no association with cancer incidence but was associated with a decreased risk of dying in cancer patients. 14 15

Also with this line of logic you shouldn’t eat anything…

Don’t eat protein because it stimulates mTOR.

Don’t eat carbohydrates because they increase glucose, insulin, and inflammation in the short term. 16

Don’t eat fat because fat impedes flow mediated dilation and endothelial function, which is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. 17

Also don’t exercise because in the short term, exercise increases inflammation, oxidative stress, blood pressure, heart rate, and cortisol. 18 19 20 21 22

This line of logic is severely flawed and frankly I don’t buy it.

Creatine for brain health? Is the effect short term or long term?

Creatine supplementation improves cognition, memory, and reduces symptoms of depression when supplemented over the long term. 23 24 25

There is evidence that short-term high-dose creatine supplementation (0.35g/kg body weight) improves cognitive performance after sleep deprivation. 26

It appears to have short term and long term benefits for cognitive function.

Do anti-inflammatories disrupt muscle protein synthesis?

In young adults (18-35 years old), ibuprofen at 1200mg/day reduced muscle growth in response to resistance training. 27

In elderly (~65 years old) however, ibuprofen (1200mg/day) and acetaminophen (4000mg/day) enhanced muscle growth and strength. 28

Elderly have higher levels of inflammation than young adults. 29

This suggests there is an optimal range of inflammation where muscle growth is best.

Best strategy to lose weight with fasting without losing muscle mass?

Research has demonstrated that 16:8 fasting where people train within their feeding window and consume sufficient dietary protein does not appear to negatively impact resistance training hypertrophy. 30 31

More extreme forms of fasting, like alternate day fasting, are more likely to cause loss of lean mass. 32

Can eating too much protein cause fat gain?

Purely from a mechanistic perspective, when a high protein diet is consumed in a caloric surplus, people still gain fat, but they also gain more lean mass than those eating a low protein diet. 33 34

That said, it is unlikely that the carbons that are stored in fat tissue originate from amino acids in any appreciable degree because the journey from amino acid to fatty acids would be amino acid > keto acid > gluconeogenesis > glucose > de novo lipogenesis and it’s unlikely that occurs to an appreciable degree.

From a practical perspective, when people eat high protein diets (>3g/kg body weight) they don’t gain weight because of the increased satiety and the increase in energy expenditure. 35 36 37

What keeps thinner people thin? Is it non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT)? It seems like some people can eat whatever they want and not gain weight?

Obese-resistant phenotype tends to compensate for an increase in energy intake by spontaneously increasing physical activity from NEAT. 38 39

Obese-resistant phenotype tends to be more sensitive to satiety signals and compensate to overfeeding by reducing subsequent intake. 40

Does alcohol effect weight loss if it’s only 1 drink (wine) per day?

Moderate alcohol consumption does not negatively impact fat loss so long as the calories are accounted for. 41 42

References

Intro
Creatine For Kids
What Form of Creatine
Separating Carbs and Fats
mTOR and Cancer
Outwork Nutrition
Protein and Gluconeogenesis
Protein for Muscle Building
Protein and Body Fat
Nutrition Science Education
Physique Coaching Academy
Anti-Inflammatory Medicine and MPS
Creatine for Brain Health
What Keeps Thinner People Thin
Alcohol and Weight Loss
Fasting and Muscle Mass
Outro