Does increase in protein intake cause digestion issues ?
Considerable debate has taken place over the safety and validity of increasedprotein intakes for both weight control and muscle synthesis. The advice to consumediets high in protein by some health professionals, media and popular diet books is given despite a lack of scientific data on the safety of increasing proteinconsumption. The key issues are therateat which the gastrointestinal tract canabsorb amino acids from dietary proteins (1.3 to 10 g/h) and the liver’s capacity to deaminate proteins and produce urea for excretion of excess nitrogen. Theaccepted level of protein requirement of 0.8g ∙ kg-1 ∙ d-1 is based on structural requirements and ignores the use of protein for energy metabolism. High proteindiets on the other hand advocate excessive levels of protein intake on the orderof 200 to 400 g/d, which can equate to levels of approximately 5 g ∙ kg-1 ∙ d-1,which may exceed the liver’s capacity to convert excess nitrogen to urea. Dangersof excessive protein, defined as when prote
