Welcome back to the Barbell Medicine podcast. I'm Dr. Jordan Feigenbaum.

Hope you had a great weekend. It's long been said that dietary protein is the most satiating or filling

macronutrient, leading to reduced calorie intake compared to an equivalent amount of calories coming

from carbohydrates or fat. According to the conventional theory, increased protein intake is said to increased

feelings of fullness or satiety via four different mechanisms. Mechanism number one is that

increased protein increases levels of gut derived satiety hormones.

Mechanism 2 is that there's increased energy expenditure when you eat more

protein from greater thermogenesis. Mechanism number three is that by eating more protein

you're increasing levels of circulating amino acids in the blood and mechanism number four

is that eating more protein leads to higher levels of gluconeogenesis. On this

podcast episode 286 we're going to take a critical look at the claim that

dietary protein is satiating or filling. Let's start out by getting a sense of

the current dietary trends regarding protein intake.

Protein is an essential dietary component as we need to consume it to provide amino acids for many biological processes.

Over 40% of the body's protein is found in skeletal muscle.

Another 25% is in the body's organs and the rest is in the skin and blood.

Each body protein is unique in the characteristics and sequence pattern of the amino acids that comprise its structure.

And given protein's importance, it's no surprise that dietary intake of protein is controlled at multiple levels involving the brain,

the gut, metabolic hormones, metabolites, and more.

Now the recommended dietary allowance or RDA is the average intake that is sufficient to

meet the nutrient requirements of nearly all healthy people.

For protein, the RDA to avoid protein deficiency in adults

...