There is eating protein. 
And then there is digesting it.
Anyone who has ever had a high protein meal or protein shake and later felt uncomfortable side effects like gas, bloating or constipation knows the difference. This happens because undigested protein ferments in the lower intestine and causes those unpleasant symptoms.
Of course, undigested protein does not always cause symptoms. Research suggests that protein absorption is limited by several factors. And symptoms or not, undigested protein means that amino acids and other important nutrients are being wasted. If you are spending money on quality protein, undigested protein is a waste of money too.
Why Does Some Protein Go Undigested?
We usually think of timing in terms of when to take protein, but the time it takes your body to move that protein through your gastrointestinal tract and digest it is important too. This is called gastrointestinal transit time (GTT).
All absorption of nutrients takes place in the upper gastrointestinal tract (GI).
Amino acids will be absorbed from your protein while it remains in the upper GI. But propelled by the smooth muscle contraction of digestion, protein will continue to move further down your digestive tract whether you have absorbed all of its nutrients or not.
Protein that is not broken down and absorbed in time will end up in the lower gastrointestinal tract. It will no longer be absorbed, but will ferment and be eliminated.
Gastrointestinal Transit Time
GTT is a measure of how long it takes your food to reach the lower gastrointestinal tract. It has a lot to do with exactly how much of the protein you eat gets absorbed, and how much does not.
Your body has limited time to draw nutrients from the protein you eat as the protein makes its way through your digestive tract. The amount of time your body has before the protein moves too low in the gastrointestinal tract for absorption is critical.
For decades, scientists have been investigating exactly how nutrients are absorbed during digestion.
A 1968 Duke University study examined GTT using barium.* There were 315 people in this study, ages 19 to 80 years. They ingested 16 oz of barium and then underwent an upper gastrointestinal tract exam.
Gastrointestinal Transit Time was measured from the time the subject finished drinking the barium to the time it reached their lower gastrointestinal tract (where absorption ends and fermentation begins).
*If any of you have ever had an upper GI, as I have, you will know that barium is about the same consistency, maybe a little thicker, than the average protein powder mixed with water or milk.
From this study, researchers concluded that the average upper GI transit time is 1.5 hours.
No significant GTT differences were found between males and females or older and younger subjects.
Protein Absorption
An hour and a half is not a long time for the body to absorb all the protein from one serving, especially if you factor in the rate at which the body can absorb protein.
A review on the rate of protein absorption published in 2006 in the International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, reported that whey protein isolate absorbs at a rate of about 8g/hour.
Window of Opportunity
This means if one serving of whey protein isolate is 25g with an absorption rate of 8g/hour and it has a 1.5 hour window to absorb it, only 12g of protein would get absorbed.
No matter how “digestible” the protein is, its absorption is still limited by Gastrointestinal Transit Time. In fact, the faster the GTT, the less time your body has to absorb nutrients.
This is why it is so important to add Aminogen. You have approximately a 1.5 hour window opportunity to absorb as much of your high protein meal, snack, or drink as possible.
Make the most of it and increase the amount of protein metabolized and absorbed with Aminogen.
