Nitrogen balance tells if your body is building or breaking down muscle.
Scientific Claim
Nitrogen balance is a physiological measure indicating whether the body is in an anabolic (tissue-building) or catabolic (tissue-breaking) state.
Original Statement
“nitrogen balance is a proxy for whether your body is in a more anabolic muscle building mode or a catabolic environment where it's breaking down muscle tissue. Better nitrogen balance means you're not breaking down tissue as quickly.”
Context Details
Domain
nutrition
Population
unspecified
Subject
nitrogen balance
Action
is a physiological measure indicating
Target
anabolic or catabolic state
Intervention Details
Evidence from Studies
Supporting (2)
Effect of timing of protein and carbohydrate intake after resistance exercise on nitrogen balance in trained and untrained young men
The study shows that when and how you consume protein and carbs after exercise affects your body's nitrogen balance, which is a measure of if your body is building or breaking down muscle.
Nitrogen Balance at the Recommended Dietary Allowance for Protein in Minimally Active Male Vegans
The study found that consuming 0.8 g/kg/d of protein is not enough for nitrogen balance in strict vegan men, indicating that nitrogen balance shows if the body is building or breaking tissues.
Contradicting (2)
The study looked at whether giving glutamine supplements after surgery could help with nitrogen balance, finding that it does have an effect.
The study found that giving nutrients directly into veins after surgery didn't maintain muscle protein synthesis, but did improve overall nitrogen balance.