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by
Chris
Shugart
A
Head-Scratching
Egg
Study
The
more
muscle
protein
synthesis
you
trigger,
the
better.
Here’s
what
to
eat
after
training
to
stimulate
the
most.
I
don’t
trust
all
PhDs
and
researchers.
For
example,
a
group
of
them
once
declared
that
eating
meat
was
unhealthy.
How
did
they
come
to
that
conclusion?
Well,
they
studied
people
who
ate
lots
of
fast-food
burgers.
Since
those
people
had
health
problems,
the
researchers
decided
that
the
beef
in
the
hamburgers
was
to
blame.
You
don’t
need
an
advanced
degree
to
poke
holes
in
that
claim.
The
subjects
were
also
eating
lots
of
bread
and
fries
and
washing
them
down
with
soft
drinks.
When
it
comes
to
building
muscle,
I
prefer
my
PhDs
and
researchers
to
be
meatheads:
men
and
women
who
know
their
way
around
the
gym
and
have
personally
experimented
with
all
kinds
of
diets
and
supplements.
They
have
perspective;
they
have
skin
in
the
game.
The
study
below
is
interesting
because
the
researchers’
conclusion
and
the
meathead
conclusion
differ
a
bit.
See
if
you
can
figure
it
out.
The
Egg
Study
Protein
synthesis
is
basically
the
biological
process
of
building
muscle.
Researchers
in
this
study
wanted
to
see
what
triggers
more
protein
synthesis
after
leg
day:
egg
whites
or
whole
eggs.
They
rounded
up
10
weight-lifting
dudes
and
put
them
through
a
workout
of
leg
presses
and
extensions.
They
collected
blood
and
muscle
biopsy
samples
to
assess
whole-body
leucine
kinetics,
intramuscular
signaling,
and
myofibrillar
protein
synthesis.
Half
the
lifters
consumed
whole
eggs
after
their
workout
and
half
got
egg
whites.
The
protein
content
was
matched:
both
groups
consumed
18
grams.
The
result?
Both
groups
benefited
from
the
post-workout
protein,
but
the
group
eating
whole
eggs
experienced
significantly
more
protein
synthesis
than
the
egg-white-only
eaters,
even
though
protein
content
was
the
same.
The
researchers
think
this
was
caused
by
the
other
anabolic
goodies
in
egg
yolks:
microRNAs,
various
vitamins
and
minerals,
phosphatidic
acid,
palmitic
acid,
and
DHA.
Now,
what
do
the
meatheads
say?
A
Different
Interpretation
The
researchers
aren’t
wrong
about
whole
eggs.
Yolks
are
awesome.
But
what
else
was
different
about
the
two
groups
in
the
study?
Have
you
figured
it
out?
The
whole-egg
eaters
consumed
about
150
more
post-workout
calories
than
the
yolk-less
group.
A
whole
egg
contains
roughly
70
calories
–
17
calories
in
the
white
and
53
in
the
yolk.
Was
it
the
magic
of
whole
eggs
and
dietary
fats
that
caused
more
muscle
protein
synthesis,
or
was
it
the
extra
calories?
Dr.
Bill
Campbell,
a
meathead
PhD,
thinks
it
was
likely
the
calories.
In
his
analysis,
he
reminds
us
that
protein
synthesis
contains
two
phases:
initiation
and
elongation.
The
first
phase
relies
on
leucine
to
kick
off
the
process.
The
second
phase
needs
calories
to
keep
the
protein
synthesis
coming,
and
the
whole-egg
eaters
consumed
more
calories.
So,
What
Do
I
Eat
After
Training?
In
a
nutshell,
plenty
of
protein
and
some
extra
calories
from
carbs
or
fats.
It
doesn’t
seem
to
matter,
as
long
as
protein
is
adequate.
What’s
adequate?
Well,
the
lifters
in
the
study
above
only
consumed
18
grams,
which
is
pretty
minimal.
Still,
some
protein
synthesis
occurred,
even
in
the
lower-calorie
group.
Other
studies
show
that
20
grams
is
good,
but
40
grams
results
in
a
20%
greater
stimulation
of
muscle
protein
synthesis.
However,
20
grams
is
only
“good”
if
you’re
not
stimulating
many
muscles
in
a
workout.
The
more
muscles
getting
hit
hard
(like
with
a
full-body
workout
or
a
high-volume
upper/lower
split),
the
more
protein
you
need
after
training.
Details
here.
The
whole-egg-eaters
had
about
210
calories
after
training.
If
we
compile
several
related
studies,
we
could
say
that
eating
at
least
that
many
calories
containing
40
grams
of
protein
is
ideal
for
hardcore
lifters
with
hypertrophy
goals.
An
easy
solution?
Consume
a
two-scoop
protein
shake,
ideally
containing
micellar
casein
which
helps
facilitate
an
extra
boost
of
muscle
protein
synthesis.
Using
MD
Protein
(Buy
at
Amazon),
that’ll
give
you
220
calories
and
44
grams
of
micellar-infused
protein.
As
for
eggs,
eat
them
whole
any
time
of
day.
We
want
those
bonus
anabolic
benefits,
but
there’s
nothing
special
about
eating
them
post-workout.
Reference
Vliet,
et
al.
“Consumption
of
whole
eggs
promotes
greater
stimulation
of
postexercise
muscle
protein
synthesis
than
consumption
of
isonitrogenous
amounts
of
egg
whites
in
young
men.”
Am
J
Clin
Nutr.
2017
Dec;106(6):1401-1412.
doi:
10.3945/ajcn.117.159855.
Epub
2017
Oct
4.
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