Specific Dynamic Action of Protein

[WATCH-ME-SHRINK]

Good stuff/info on protein's effects on our metabolism!

You might wonder what happens if you overeat on protein. Won’t that just get turned into fat too? Not likely. It is very hard for your body to make fat from protein. For one thing, it takes energy to break protein down to amino acids and then make these amino acids into fat. And this burns up calories. But there is another benefit to protein when you are trying to take weight off. This is the effect of protein on your metabolism. When you have a fast metabolism your body burns calories quickly. When you have a slow metabolism your body burns up calories slowly and you tend to gain weight easily. There is an effect of protein on your metabolism that scientists have known about for a long time. It is called the “specific dynamic action” of protein.

What does that mean? Dynamic comes from a Greek word that means powerful. If something is dynamic it has energy and it moves; it has action. Protein is dynamic in the body. It causes the body to speed up. When you eat protein your metabolism speeds up for a while. Your body makes more heat. It burns more calories. It doesn’t do that with fat and it doesn’t do that with carbohydrates. Just protein. It is “specific” for protein. So protein has a specific dynamic action on your body, and it speeds up your metabolism. Your body knows what you are putting into it. It knows that proteins are used for building strong bones and muscles and nerves. When you take in protein it knows it is time to get busy, to build, and to make your body strong.

It knows that you are giving it the fuel it needs and the building blocks it needs, so it goes into action. This is the specific dynamic action of protein, and it happens whenever you eat protein. When you eat protein your metabolism speeds up and you burn more calories. The protein should be lean and it doesn’t need to be much. A couple of ounces are more than enough. It is best to take in some protein every few hours. This is the key to your weight loss success. Do this and you will take a giant step on your road to permanent weight loss.

[RVcook]

It knows that you are giving it the fuel it needs and the building blocks it needs, so it goes into action. This is the specific dynamic action of protein, and it happens whenever you eat protein. When you eat protein your metabolism speeds up and you burn more calories. The protein should be lean and it doesn’t need to be much. A couple of ounces are more than enough. It is best to take in some protein every few hours. This is the key to your weight loss success. Do this and you will take a giant step on your road to permanent weight loss.

This was a very informative article and this last part was especially so. I think the misconception among most "dieters...esp. LC dieters" is that as long as the carbs are kept to a minimum, they can eat virtually unlimited amounts of protein. While the body can handle anything you give it, you still must be aware of fat and calories associated with the quantities that you consume. Therefore, even if you keep your carbs exceptionally low and you basically "gorge" yourself on protein, there will eventually be a rebound affect and you will begin to pack on the pounds.

Twyla, I think you found this out for yourself with your calorie cycling experiment (and please correct me if I'm wrong.) By consuming more protein than carbs, you were naturally consuming more fat and calories. In the end, cutting calories by choosing leaner proteins and adding GOOD fats helped you move the scale. It would seem rather obvious that by taking an active role in controlling the amount of fat, you therefore controlled the calories and voila...the scale "sang!"

Thank you for posting this!

[KajunDC]

Good info. The only minor correction is that healthy carbs do also create this reaction and thermic effect, though not to the extent of protein. Fat also has a thermic effect, albeit very small and less than protein or carbs.

Oh, and your body does not convert amino acids straight into fat. They are first converted into glucose to be used as energy, then into fat if there is an excess - which takes a lot of excess protein intake.