Easiness of protein digestion

[Jane Michel]

Is there a hierarchy of easinesss of protein digestion? Not quite sure how to phrase this and am not sure whether it's the same as protein digestibility...... I'll try to explain....

After reading some posts here on bloating and food combining I tried eating veggies half an hour before protein and fat, and regularly took ACV with meals. That reduced bloating and gas and I was quite pleased. During those three weeks my protein came mostly from chicken, pork and fish. Not so much from eggs. Had just a couple strips of bacon.

Yesterday most of my protein came from lean minced beef. Didn't drink any ACV with it. I also added some cheese and mushrooms and had some walnuts, macademias and pistachios and some diet pepsi.

This morning I felt fat and sluggish and didn't feel so great with metcon. There's a small possibility it's the nuts - but I've had nuts with other protein before and wasn't affected. Could be the cheese, mushrooms and diet pepsi as well. But it reminds me of the latter part of last year when I had beef almost every other day because it's cheap in Australia. During that period I dropped metcon because I felt fat and sluggish.

I suppose what I'm wondering is whether eating beef saps the life outta you? :D Whether it's easier to digest fish, eggs, chicken and pork? Whether there's a hierarchy? I figure that if I'm already low on stomach acid I should eat some protein that takes less stomach acid (?) or energy (?) to digest.

Does anyone get what I'm trying to say and ask?

[Mike ODonnell]

Might want to check Lyle's blog...he did a whole 4-5 part post on protein sources...might have some stats there.

[Craig Brown]

That's quite a list of fats you added to that beef, though I would still blame the Pepsi (just because!). Might be too many fats? You could try preparing your beef as you would chicken...all that said, I do find pork the easiest to digest animal. Well, that and lamb.

[Garrett Smith]

Could be the beef, cheese, mushrooms, or most likely the Diet Pepsi. Sugary, cold, carbonated, artificially-sweetened drinks don't digest well with anything.

You may just not digest beef very well, or you could potentially have a food sensitivity to it.

[Grissim Connery]

if i had eaten that, i'd be pretty sure that the cheese messed me up. but that's just based on my sensitivity

[Patrick Yeung]

Are you eating anything that is alkaline (aka, dark vegetables especially) with the meal?

I regularly have a huge spinich and cheese omlette every night followed up with some slab of something, be it fish, pork or beef, and I have no issues. (I eat all this in one sitting)

Last night, it was 5 egg omlette, probably 1/2 cup of cheese, 1lb spinich, 1/4lb sausage, then a 20 oz or so steak.

Nuts dont digest well for me with meals, unless its in my pesto. Id think it was that. But, it could be that your body does not have the enzymes to digest beef very well/efficently, so its sitting for quite some time and giving you the discomfort.

Maybe look into boosting your stomach health?

[Greg Davis]

Last night, it was 5 egg omlette, probably 1/2 cup of cheese, 1lb spinich, 1/4lb sausage, then a 20 oz or so steak.


wow a 20oz steak alone is pretty big.. you eat that much protein daily or is that a big meal for u?

[Blair Lowe]

I'd say he was from Texas, but I've never heard of Texans eating spinach. Mmm, pound and a half of meat.

[Jane Michel]

Thanks for the advice everyone. I shall experiment with beef and cheese. My body is just strange.... for example it doesn't like bacon - everytime I eat it I get cystic acne sigh!

[Garrett Smith]

That's probably the nitrates/nitrites in the bacon.

Some meats are just too "heavy" for certain people. My wife feels "bogged down" if she were to eat red meats as often as I like...I don't feel quite right if I eat chicken & fish too often...so we try to work it out so we both feel our best.

[Patrick Yeung]

wow a 20oz steak alone is pretty big.. you eat that much protein daily or is that a big meal for u?

Well I am also IFing, so that may help explain the numbers. Plus, im 22, lifting heavy, and have a job that involves walking about 7-8 miles a day. My appetite just keeps growing when I start eating and I never seem to get full, but I never get hungry either, kinda neat. Guess insulin control is working?

I am from California, but luckily, ive gotten off the scary wagon of "trendy vegeterianism." Im kinda proud to be mistaken for a Texan for my meat consumption now.