Eating protein after working out doesn't make your body burn more protein as fuel than it needs for building muscle - most of the protein goes toward building muscle instead of being burned for energy.
Scientific Claim
Protein ingestion does not significantly increase whole-body amino acid oxidation rates relative to the increase in whole-body protein synthesis rates in healthy young men after resistance exercise.
Original Statement
“However, the concurrent increase in amino acid oxidation rates was negligible when compared to the whole-body protein synthetic response (Figure 2J). Collectively, this resulted in a strong positive correlation between protein intake and whole-body protein net balance (Figure 2L).”
Evidence Quality Assessment
Claim Status
appropriately stated
Study Design Support
Design supports claim
Appropriate Language Strength
definitive
Can make definitive causal claims
Assessment Explanation
The study directly measured amino acid oxidation rates using isotope tracers and compared them to protein synthesis rates. The causal language is appropriate for this study design.
Evidence from Studies
Supporting (1)
The anabolic response to protein ingestion during recovery from exercise has no upper limit in magnitude and duration in vivo in humans