When should I consume my protein? 

[Text on screen: The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center
When should I consume my protein?]

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[Text on screen: Sarah Wick, RD, CSSD
Registered Sports Dietitian
Ohio State Wexner Medical Center]

Sarah Wick, RD, CSSD: The body can only really absorb so much protein at one time. So the secret is really to spread your protein throughout the day. Sometimes we're often so busy, we put all our protein in our evening meal and think, "Oh, I got all my protein in." 

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However, the body can only absorb a fourth of that, if that much. And so you're really still kind of protein malnourished. The goal would be to have some protein for breakfast. Maybe it's a couple hard-boiled eggs, some scrambled eggs, and then maybe you have a snack of Greek yogurt, which would give you about 16 grams of protein. Lunch could be a sandwich with some fruit, and then dinner, having some kind of lean meat. But if you can get 20 to 40 grams of protein at each one of your meals and snacks, you're going to get the protein that you need in the day without really having to think, "how many grams of protein have I had?"

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So I think that's kind of the secret, more than getting exactly the amount of protein you need in the day. It's really spreading it out so the body constantly has those amino acids from the protein to build up your muscle tissues as you're constantly breaking them down. Even when you're not in activity, getting up and out, you're going up and down stairs, getting out of a chair, you're breaking down your muscle tissues. So you need to be constantly putting in those amino acids to help build it back up.

[Text on screen: The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center
For more information, visit: go.osu.edu/sportsnutrition]

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