JJ Virgin4x NYTimes Best Selling Author, Certified Nutrition Specialist, Fitness Hall of Famer

Can You Only Absorb 27g of Protein Per Meal

4 Mar 2025 · 1 min

Watch on YouTube

0:55

In this short YouTube segment, JJ Virgin responds to an Instagram direct‑message that claims the human body can only absorb or use 27 grams of protein in a single eating occasion. Virgin explains that the claim is a myth: scientific research does not support a strict upper limit of 27 g. He references a study in which participants consumed a 100‑gram protein bolus, which was fully absorbed, contradicting the notion of a low ceiling. While the exact destination of the excess protein isn’t fully mapped, the body can utilize the protein over an extended period rather than discarding it. Virgin emphasizes that the “27‑gram limit” myth is unfounded and that the true upper limit of protein absorption remains unknown.

Chapters

I got this Instagram DM and it was a question said, my manicurist told me that you can only absorb 27 grams of protein, that your body can only use 27 grams of protein at one time. Is this true? I just want you to unpack this for a bit. The idea that all humans could only absorb 27 grams of protein at one time, where would the rest of it go? So the reality is no, it's not true. And in fact, we don't even know what the upper limit of protein is. They just did a study where they looked at a 100-gram bolus protein at one time. It kind of blew the doors off the whole protein research world because we all expected this to go, okay, well, maybe you can absorb 50 or 60. What they found was that, first of all, it's all completely absorbed. Just where it goes is the question mark, but that your body was able to utilize it, just did it over a long period of time. This idea that we can only absorb this little bit is a huge myth that needs to be blown up.