Question:
CONFUSED ABOUT PROTEIN ABSORPTION???

Now I'm reading that we don't absorb the protein in protein BARS and FOOD? WHAT??? Do you mean even if the protein in the bars is a WHEY protein, we don't absorb it? Then why should we bother eating them? And the same goes for food, I'm confused. Why do we absorb the protein from shakes then? HELP, Kelly*    — Kelly* P. (posted on March 29, 2004)

March 29, 2004
It depends on WHO you ask. I was told we DO absorb equally the protein in bars as food, but we absorb more of the protein in the shakes - something to do with how it's formulated. I don't 'do' shakes though so I just make sure I get sufficient protein from food. Sufficient is whatever your doc 'prescribes'. Good luck!
   — [Deactivated Member]

March 29, 2004
My suggestion is do some research on your own. I look at the info and see if it makes sense to ME. many times it does not. so I make up my own mind. There are many things repeated over and over until it "becomes truth" that have no basis what so ever in science or fact.
   — **willow**

March 29, 2004
OK, not to step on any toes, but here goes. <p> Protein digestion begins in the stomach - but wait, we don't have most of our stomachs left. The part that secreted the enzymes necessary to begin the break down of the polypeptides has been sealed off. So that's one strike. Next, MOST of digestion occurs in the duodenum (the first section of intestine immediately after the stomach). Again that has been bypassed in all RNY and DS patients. The actual absorption begins in the lower intestines (jejunum and ileum). BUT, if the poly peptides we eat are not broken down first (digested) then they CANNOT be absorbed. Yes, our stomach secretions eventually connect up again at the Y, but by then, they have passed most of the absorption area and are in a time crunch - they have to break down AND absorb in much less time and area than they had before. <p> With whey protein isolates and blends, the protein in these powders have been hydrolyzed (chemically pre-digested). Once you mix them up, the polypetides in the whey are begining to break down so that when you drink them and they hit the little bit of intestine that is capable of absorbing them, they are ready to go. The whey in the bars and in food has to go thru the process I described above - breakdown first, then absorption. <p> It's not about the amount of protein you eat, it's about what you can absorb in the limited amount of time and intestines we have left. If your dr. says get 60-90 g per day and you are eating that in food or protein bars, it's just like anything else we eat - how much of it really gets absorbed?? We all tout the wonders of having a malabsorptive surgery to help us lose weight, but some turn right around and want to beleive we absorb all the protein we eat. Sorry, can't have it both ways. And yes it is possible for your intestines to grow new villi in order to absorb more nutrients over time - but ya know, I DON'T WANT THAT TO HAPPEN TO ME. More absorption means better chances of weight gain in several years. So if I can fool my body into thinking its getting everything it needs nutritionally, so that it doesn't try to grow new parts, I'll drink the shakes. But then I think they taste good too!
   — Ali M