Can anyone tell me how long it takes for the body to digest and absorb protein?

If what people say is correct, and that you can only absorb 50-60grams of protein at once, how fast does it usually digest and at what rate? What influences the speed of digestion, does genetics play a role? In how many minutes would how many grams be digested?

There are really too many variables, there is not a standard time. What you take in with it, how well your digestive enzymes function, what you have eaten before hand, etc. A egg white on a empty stomach will digest different than an egg white on a empty stomach with bread.

Also what we care about is not so much digestion (as the full course of digestion can take days) but protein uptake and stopping catabolism. Most get way more protein than they need, but calories are calories, you don't lose protein nutrients, excess protein is stored the same as anything else, storage is made even better in a training environment, it adapts its actions in the based on your bodies environment.

Now is there anything wrong with insurance and trying to optimize a training program, no. If paranoid about catabolism, just focus on some liquid whey post workout and some casein at night and you should be good to go.

Hey, I've heard people suggest dairy products like cottage cheese/milk before sleeping and also casein protein.

Why is this?

It is a slow digesting complete protein. It is kind of like the difference between taking the 4 hour allergy medicine and the 12 hour slow release.

This is done to encourage protein synthesis and avoid catabolism while sleeping.

sounds awesome.. i'll continue with my cottage cheese.

Something that has confused the hell out of me regarding this though is in the book "Burn the Fat Feed The Muscle" the author says this:

Start eating early in the day and eat your last meal at least two or three hours before
bedtime
Ideally, you should begin eating early (6:00 a.m. to 7:00 a.m. or earlier), so you
can fit in five to six meals and your last meal falls two to three hours prior to going to
sleep. If you sleep in and miss your first meal or wait until late morning or early
afternoon to start eating, you’re leaving a gaping hole between meals. This gap can be 16-
20 hours long if you haven’t eaten since six or seven the night before. This sends you
into starvation mode and causes an incredibly catabolic (muscle-wasting) state.

And then he supports this:

"I strongly recommend moving the last intake for the day as far away from
bedtime as you can. 3-4 hours is ideal, but at least 2-3. This increases the length of the
"fast" which in reality nighttime is - broken by breakfast. Using this method consistently
is one of the most effective ways to lower body fat - and it doesn't take a lot of effort."

I don't understand why the author would talk about catabolism and then suggest moving your last meal very far away from bed..

Why would you want to increase the length of the fast? It is the only thing in the book that I can't figure out why he would say that.

Firstly, id say ditch the article

Secondly - the leip. Its doesnt take days to digest. Excess may be stored....as fat, or either excreeted in the urine.

Protein digestion essentially begins in the stomach and ends in the small intestine, id guess around a couple of hours (?)

You digest and absorp all the protein as amino acids, its a total myth that i always hear and is realllly anoying.

Things like acidity, amount of food and the presence of food may alter the time but id imagine very little and nothing significant.

Yes, full digestion can take days unless you can eat and crap a hamburger in a couple of hours and that would be pretty impressive. You want to nit pick that much with me matt?

There is a difference between digestions, absorption, etc.

For the record whey has been estimated at 10 g/h digestion rate. Most foods are half that or less.

nup ;p

and dinosaurs are only 2000 years old?