There is a lot of debate today about how much protein is too much.

And this includes what causes protein toxicity, something that overloads our kidneys and liver, affecting our overall health, and which can be more severe with those who already have issues with their kidneys, liver and insulin levels.

It’s basically consuming more protein than our body can use at the time.

But that’s a very general description, and doesn’t help us to determine how much is too much, or even tell us how this happens.

Saying: “You’re eating too much protein,” is both too general, but also incorrect.

Too much of which type of protein? Because different proteins, consumed in large amounts, cause different effects.

To understand protein toxicity, what causes it, and ensure we aren’t consuming too much protein, we need to take a step backwards.

Because with anything that doesn’t seem to have a direct answer, there is some missing piece of information.

And in this case it’s a big one: there is no such thing as protein toxicity.

You see, our body doesn’t use the protein we eat.

It uses the building blocks that make up the protein, the amino acids.

And unless we look at these, we don’t actually know what protein toxicity is or what causes it, and we don’t know how much protein is too much.

Because what we’re talking about when we say Protein Toxicity is actually Amino Acid Toxicity.

It doesn’t come from eating too much protein, it comes from eating too much of the wrong kinds of proteins that contain too many of the wrong amino acids.

And that can cause real issues.

Let’s dive in.

PROTEIN TOXICITY AND HOW PROTEIN IS USED IN THE BODY

As we know from this article, when we consume protein our body doesn’t use it in the form we receive it in. It uses the amino acids that make up that protein.

You see, a protein is just a long string of individual amino acids all tied together. As there are about 20 different amino acids, a protein can be any combination of these.

When we eat protein, our digestive system breaks down this string of amino acids, severing the connections between each amino acid until there is no more string, only free floating amino acids.

Then our cells take these amino acids and form new proteins from them in the forms our body needs.

But to make protein, our body needs specific amino acids, the essential amino acids, and it needs them in a specific ratio one to another.

If one or more are missing, then no protein can be made and the amino acids can’t be used.

Or, if there is too much of one or more, then this excess can’t be used.

And that’s where protein toxicity comes in. Because these unused amino acids aren’t just saved or gotten rid of.

They’re broken down in an exact way that releases toxic chemicals which the body has to deal with.

This is what overloads the liver and kidneys. Not “too much protein,” but too much unused amino acids.

WHAT CAUSES PROTEIN TOXICITY

So we eat protein, this protein is broken down into the amino acids it’s composed of, and our body then uses these amino acids to form new proteins for muscle, bone, skin, cells, hormones, etc.

But it needs specific amino acids, the essential amino acids, and it needs these in a precise ratio one to another in order to use them to make this new protein.

When they’re used to make new protein, there is no trouble caused.

But when there are excess amino acids that can’t be used, this is where we get trouble.

When we eat carbohydrates (sugars) or fats, if our body can’t use them right then to make energy, it stores them.

It stores the carbohydrates (sugars) as something called glycogen or, if the glycogen stores are all filled, then it connects the remaining sugars with the fats and creates body fat.

Then, when this energy is needed, the body releases the glycogen (stored sugar), and when that’s used up it taps into the body fat, breaking it down to release the energy stored there.

But our body has no way to store amino acids except in proteins in our muscle, bones, etc.

If there are excess amino acids that can’t be used to make new proteins, these stay in the blood stream for about 2-3 hours and then go to the liver to be broken down.

It’s a complex process, but in the end we have a few things left over.

We have the skeleton of the original amino acids which can either be directly burned as fuel, or converted to sugar, or converted to body fat — calories. (These are the actual calories in any protein source, the unused amino acids.)

But during this process nitrogen and ammonia are also released, and these are toxic.

So our liver bonds these two chemicals together and sends them to our kidneys where they come out in our urine.

This is fine and natural, and when we don't have high amounts of unused amino acids, causes no real trouble.

But if we have too many unused amino acids going through this process, our liver and kidney get overloaded. They can’t handle it all.

This leads to them falling down on their job to one degree or another, allowing different toxins to stay in our body when they should be flushed out, including the nitrogen and ammonia.

And all of these toxins affect us.

We see this sometimes in bodybuilders. Their sweat or urine takes on an ammonia or chlorine type of scent. That’s because the body is trying to get rid of these toxins, but the kidneys are too overloaded, so it releases them through sweat.

This can cause a lot of trouble down the road, and in someone who already has kidney or liver trouble, it can cause very serious issues.

HOW DO WE HANDLE THIS AND HOW MUCH PROTEIN IS TOO MUCH

So in the end, it’s not about how much protein is too much, it’s how much of the amino acids in the protein we’re eating are not being used. And this can come from two main areas.

First, we could actually be consuming more than our body needs. There are different calculations of how much protein to take according to body weight — .6 grams per pound of body weight, 1 gram per pound, or even 1.5 grams per pound.

And these depend on whether we’re trying to lose body fat, maintain our current muscle or build new muscle.

But it's all determined by how much the body needs at that moment with what we're putting it through. If you work out for two hours you'll need more new protein than if you workout for 30 minutes. 

In our Guide To Sustainable Fat Loss and Lean Body/Lean Bulk Protocols we cover this precisely to ensure you get the best results, without excess amino acids causing trouble.

But the second area is more important.

If we need amino acids, not protein, and we need specific amino acids in the correct ratio to leave no unused amino acids, then we need to look at our protein sources.

Because, while most people think all proteins are the same and eating one is the same as eating another, this isn’t the case.

Different proteins contain different amounts of the essential amino acids we need and different amounts of excess essential amino acids and non-essential amino acids which our body can't use.

BCAAs and individual amino acids are the worst, which is why you can often smell ammonia on those using these in high quantities.

BCAAs are only three of the essential amino acids. But to make new proteins our body needs to receive all of them at the same time. So when only taking the three BCAAs, or an individual amino acid, we get zero protein creation and 100% unused amino acids headed for break down.

This is why BCAAs provide more energy, they’re being converted to sugar or body fat — fuel.

As they have to go through break down in the liver to get to this fuel, releasing toxic ammonia and nitrogen, it would be better to just eat the same amount of grams in carbs.

You would get the same amount of calories and energy, but it would come faster and without the nitrogen and ammonia waste or extra work for the liver and kidneys. 

Next are protein powders. Whey, pea, soy and collagen powders only contain enough of the essential amino acids in the correct ratio for between 10% and 18% to be used to make new protein.

The rest can’t be used and are broken down, being converted to sugar or body fat and releasing nitrogen and ammonia to the liver. That's over 80%.

Amino acids in meats are used at about 32%, with the rest being broken down, and whole eggs (both the white and the yolk together) are utilized at 48%, the highest of any natural protein source.

If we want to ensure we get the protein we need, but without the toxic ammonia and nitrogen, or the excess calories, we need the essential amino acids in the ratio our body needs and nothing more.

That’s what PerfectAmino is.

Five grams of PerfectAmino provides the protein building equivalent of 30 grams of whey, pea, soy and collagen powders, or 15 grams of meats, or two whole eggs — without the caloric impact or toxic ammonia and nitrogen.

If we cut out BCAAs and replace our protein powders with PerfectAmino, we not only cut out a major source of calories, we also cut out the ammonia and nitrogen waste.

In fact, many people with kidney issues, who cannot handle the amount of nitrogen and ammonia released from protein powders, take PerfectAmino.

This ensures their body gets the protein it needs, without the toxic leftovers of poor protein sources.

If you want to cover your protein needs, but without the caloric impact or worrying about protein toxicity, you need to try PerfectAmino.

We even have a PerfectAmino Usage Guide that covers how much PerfectAmino to take, and when, to get the results you're looking for. 

I hope this helps.