PROTEIN NUKES & MUSCLE SYNTHESIS: The 100-Gram Anabolic Explosion

Guest Post - Dr. Mike T Nelson

Greetings, my beloved meat-suited maniacs.

Strap in.

Because science just dropped a protein bomb so big, it ripped a hole in every dusty “30 grams per meal” myth still clinging to the squat rack like a forgotten shaker bottle.

The Study
Published in Cell (yes, Cell, the Super Bowl of nerd journals), this study from the van Loon lab [Trommelen et al., 2023] wasn’t some clickbait nonsense involving rats with PTSD or one-eyed ferrets with Tourette's. This was actual humans, ingesting real food and getting stabbed for actual muscle biopsies over 12 glorious, painful hours.

The Setup:

• 12 young, resistance-trained men

• A full-body weightlifting session to failure (the real kind, not “Instagram failure”)

• 3 groups:
  • Placebo
  • 25 grams of intrinsically-labeled milk protein
  • 100 grams of the same freaky tracer-laced protein

• Then... blood draws, muscle stabs, tracer tracking, and metabolic chaos for half a day.

Why the Tracers Matter:
They literally fed the cows isotopes so they could track the exact fate of each amino acid — where it went, what it did, and whether it was burned, stored, or locked and loaded into muscle.

THE RESULT? 💥 100 grams crushed it.
There was a clear dose-response in muscle protein synthesis (MPS).
More protein = more MPS over a longer period.
No ceiling. No bro-science limiter. Just gains.

13% of that 100g dose (13 grams) made it into muscle tissue.
Compare that to the ~2g per 20g scoop we’ve seen before.
Do the math and you’re up an extra 5 grams of actual muscle tissue.

And the kicker?

🚫 Less than 15% of it was burned for fuel.
So much for “you’ll just pee it out, bro.”

🔥 SOUNDS AMAZING… SO WHAT’S THE CATCH?

Well, you knew one was coming, right?

This was an acute study.
One single protein bomb after a brutal lifting session.
We don’t know what happens when you do this chronically — 100g three times a day for weeks.
(Except your toilet may resign.)

Also:

• All subjects were young and healthy, with top-tier protein responses.

• No idea how this would work in older adults or those with anabolic resistance.

• They used milk protein (80% casein, 20% whey), which digests slower than straight whey.

But the myth is dead.

The data’s clear:
You can absolutely absorb, utilize, and stuff way more than 30 grams of protein into muscle.
You just need the right context:
🧠 Real training
🕓 Long recovery window
🥩 Quality protein
🧪 Enough amino acid availability

⚙️ CONNECTIVE TISSUE GAINS?

Yep.

Muscle connective tissue protein synthesis (yes, like tendons) also increased with both 25g and 100g doses.
Even without collagen supplementation.

If you’re already using collagen + vitamin C (as in the other studies from Lis, Baar, Shaw, etc.), this adds fuel to the tendon fire. You might just be recovering better than you thought.

🧠 QUOTES FROM THE BRAIN TRUST

Dr. David Church

“Fewer but larger protein feedings throughout the day are just as effective as smaller doses... This is another strike against the idea of protein distribution being a large contributor to muscle growth.”

Dr. Stu Phillips

“You can only deposit so much protein… Acute responses are cool, but long-term? Not likely to result in major phenotype change.”

🧨 THE REAL TAKEAWAYS

• Stop worrying about “30 grams max” — that myth is dead and buried.

• Want to fast longer or eat fewer meals? Front-load protein like a beast.

• Daily total protein still reigns supreme (0.7g/lb BW minimum; 1g+ if cutting or pushing it).

• Get jacked. Recover faster. Worry less.

Bonus Tip:
Still paranoid about “overdoing” protein?

This study also showed no changes in autophagy markers.
So you can officially put down the kombucha and kale chips, Moonbeam — eating a big steak won’t collapse your cellular recycling system.

BOTTOM LINE
📜 Eat enough protein.
🥩 Train like a lunatic.
📈 Space it out how you want.
🧬 Let the science speak louder than the bro.

Much love,
Dr. Mike
www.miketnelson.com

P.S. Want to dive even deeper into metabolic flexibility, protein utilization, and real-world nutrition science? Check out the Flex Diet Cert.

Reference 

Trommelen J, van Lieshout GAA, Nyakayiru J, Holwerda AM, Smeets JSJ, Hendriks FK, van Kranenburg JMX, Zorenc AH, Senden JM, Goessens JPB, Gijsen AP, van Loon LJC. The anabolic response to protein ingestion during recovery from exercise has no upper limit in magnitude and duration in vivo in humans. Cell Rep Med. 2023 Dec 19;4(12):101324. doi: 10.1016/j.xcrm.2023.101324. PMID: 38118410; PMCID: PMC10772463.

Keep Raising the Bar,

Paul Oneid MS, MS, CSCS