Mocktail Minutes

Protein Digestion

• Mocktail Minutes • Episode 105

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This week we are diving into protein digestion, and more specifically how to assess whether or not you are having poor protein digestion. If you have recently increased protein lately (I mean who isn't?) and noticing some stomach upset, this episode can help explain why. 

If you have questions, or topics that you want to hear about, head over to our Instagrams https://www.instagram.com/bayleethedietitian/ or https://www.instagram.com/brianna.dietitian/ and send us a DM! You can also follow the podcast https://www.instagram.com/mocktailminutes/

Featured Mocktails:

Unwell - https://www.instagram.com/unwell/

Olipop - https://www.instagram.com/drinkolipop/

Core Power - https://www.instagram.com/corepower/

Click play, sip back, and be empowered.

Baylee:

Hello everyone. Welcome back to this week's episode of Mocktail Minutes. This is Bailey

Brianna:

This is Brianna.

Baylee:

and we have a special guest. You might hear him'cause he is very wi Now we have on the podcast today,

Brianna:

Well, hey guys.

Baylee:

are you gonna tell everyone hi.

Brianna:

Hi. I'm.

Baylee:

Yes, I am drinking a unwell drink. I had one of these like two weeks ago. I think it was a different flavor though. So this one is the strawberry. I, I really like the strawberry flavor.

Brianna:

Yeah, I need to try those. I saw them on the call her daddy.

Baylee:

Yeah.

Brianna:

Yes. She was drinking one. I was like, hmm. I got creative this week and I mixed the orange squeeze op with the vanilla core power and it is actually very good. It tastes like an orange circle.

Baylee:

Are so good. I love the cream sea bowls.

Brianna:

It's, they're, yeah, that the tastes so good. I would say a good ratio would be like three fourth CorePower, or no, like two thirds CorePower, one third lollipop. I think that's a good ratio, but it, it's so good.

Baylee:

Usually I just dump the whole soda in like a big glass, and then I'll put in the ice, I guess I put the ice in and then I put the soda, and then I just kind of fill it up with the vanilla protein, whatever I'm using. And after, I'll just keep having more vanilla

Brianna:

Keep adding more to it. Adding, yeah. I have a little more here. Like, oh, I didn't add ice. How did I not add ice? That's really weird. It's very weird, but it's very good for those of you that wanna like switch it up.

Baylee:

Yes. And I guess speaking of protein, this week we are talking about protein digestion because. We talk about protein a lot on the podcast and it is becoming trendier to increase your protein. But with that, we're seeing more and more people also have some stomach issues as far as like just digesting the protein. So we're gonna go over protein di digestion. That's actually a really hard word for me to say for being a.

Brianna:

Digestion. It's like the middle part is ingestion, digestion.

Baylee:

Yes. So we're gonna go over signs of protein digestion, poor protein, digestion, I guess why this happens, and then some kind of initial steps that you can start taking to help better digest your protein.

Brianna:

Yeah. So some signs of poor protein digestion and don't think like, oh my gosh, if I have one of these, I have poor protein digestion. There's just some things to look out for especially if you are one of those that are like, oh, I'm increasing my protein. Right now. So bloating and gas is one of them. So undigested protein can ferment in the gut and it causes gas buildup and bloating indigestion and stomach discomfort. So like, feeling heavy after eating protein or pain after eating, like protein rich meals can suggest that you're not breaking it down very well. Undigested food in stool, I would say if you are having undigested food in stool. We need to get that checked out.'cause you shouldn't be having that, but it can be a sign. So if you're starting to notice like larger pieces of like meats or other protein sources that you can, like, identify in your stool, that definitely means it's not being digested. Fatigue and weakness. So it's essential for our muscle repair. Protein is, and it's essential for energy. So poor digestion. Can lead to poor energy levels because we're not digesting and absorbing it. Hair loss and brittle nails, we've talked about that before on one of our, like how to have better hair episodes. So we know that protein is a building block of hair and muscles, you know, amino acids. So again, if you're having a deficiency, which is what can be happening if you're not digesting it. You are not gonna have nice hair and nails. It's just not gonna happen. And then frequent blood sugar cravings or frequent sugar cravings because of a blood sugar imbalance. So obviously if you're not absorbing your protein, it can lead to unstable blood sugar because. Carbohydrates are very easily digested and absorbed in the gut. And so it could be that you're digesting and absorbing all those, but not protein. And so you're not gonna have as good of blood sugar balance as you think. And then lastly, brain fog and mood swings. So again, those amino acids are essential for neurotransmitters in cord digested digest digestion. You're so right. Poor digestion. I cannot say that more than like five times it's gonna be a problem. Can affect mental clarity and your mood.

Baylee:

So there's a couple different signs and it's kind of tricky because, I mean, a lot of these things it's like, well, it could also be due from just the blood sugar balance or skip meals or not enough water intake. So, and I feel like that's a lot of things in nutrition. It's like. This one thing has to do with 10 different things. This a tricky part. So one thing I think that helps also differentiate it is if you like, if you need a higher protein meal, or if you notice that you've been working on increasing your protein lately and it's like sitting a little bit heavier.

Brianna:

Mm-hmm.

Baylee:

That could be a sign of, Hey, I'm not digesting a protein well. And what I'm seeing more and more too is low stomach acid. So this is one reason why this happened is if we have low stomach acid, you're not gonna be able to digest that protein. Protein because stomach acid is needed to break it down. So if you don't have enough, it can lead to incomplete digestion. So. One thing I would also say like enzyme deficiencies. So the pancreas produces enzymes like Pepin to digest your protein. Again, a lack of this, it's gonna make it harder to digest your protein'cause you're not having the tools to break it down. so some things that can help. It's like, almost like stimulate your body's natural enzyme production is lemon and apple cider vinegar. That's gonna actually help stimulate stomach acid production. Drinking diluted apple cider vinegar can help. It also helps with blood sugar balancing too. Some leafy greens can help stimulate your bioproduction. Turmeric is also helpful for bioproduction and bone broth actually contains amino acids that support, support your gut lining, repair, and enzyme production as well. If you are watching this video, it's very on my end today, but it's okay. We.

Brianna:

It's like such a good example of like how mom juggles so many things. It's like, yeah, I'm just gonna throw all this information at you on a podcast also while I am keeping my child entertained. Interesting. I was just listening to a podcast this morning. One of Dr. Stacy. No wrong. Dr. Tina Moore on her, she has like a quick one this week on creatine, and I was listening to it and I didn't know this, and I guess it makes sense, but creatine can also help to like heal the gut lining. So if you're someone who has like, you know, IBS or Crohn's or colitis or you know, maybe like celiacs or just, you know, you have leaky gut or you have a lot of gut inflammation, creatine can kind of help the lining of the gut be more healthy and. Anytime you more, you have a more healthy gut lining, you're gonna have better digestion. So I just thought that was interesting. So yeah, bone broth, tur, turmeric, leafy greens, apple cider vinegar. Another thing here too is just, and we talked about this when we talked about sodium, but sodium can increase your stomach acid. So if you've been like too low sodium for a while, like maybe that is just all you need, that can help. And. If you're someone who's taken like long-term like proton pump inhibitors or like a lot of antacids long-term, those are gonna make you have decreased stomach acid, right?'cause that's what it's supposed to do. But that really impairs your, how you digest food. And interestingly enough, if you've been on them long-term. You will still have acid reflux because too low of stomach acid also causes acid reflex. So if you're someone who's like, oh, I pop those every day I have for like the last 5, 6, 7 years let's pulse those. Especially if you're like, I don't think my reflux is any better.

Baylee:

Yeah, sodium, potassium are another common one too. That definitely affects. Stomach acid. So making sure you got your sodium and potassium electrolytes to help regulate the stomach acid production

Brianna:

Yeah.

Baylee:

enzyme function. And then even zinc. Zinc is another one that's essential for stomach acid and production and your enzyme activity, including like that pepin, which helps break down proteins.

Brianna:

and like we're talking a lot about like, you know, obviously the enzymes that are involved in digestion, you have to have those, they have to be optimal. But sometimes it's just needing that, more of that mechanical digestion, like chewing your food well. It's really important. So it's amazing how much we say this, but I mean, even though I know this, and I say this, like there's times where I notice like, gosh, I don't think I'm chewing well enough. You know, like you get busy, you're eating quickly, whatever, or you're just like, you're overly hungry, so you're eating super fast, but chewing your food really helps because obviously digestion starts in the mouth. Chewing it thoroughly is gonna signal your stomach to release acid. And it also helps get those other digestion, digestive enzymes going so that you can have proper digestion. Like if you're just like speeding through it, you're not gonna, you're not taking long enough for your body to be like, oh yeah, we're, we're in the process of, I don't know, eating and digesting our foods. So then also just being in that relaxed state. So really that rest and digest. So. Avoid eating rush, avoid eating while distracted, but just trying to really like, maybe take a couple of breaths before you eat. You know, slow down. down.

Baylee:

Even with the slowing down part, overeating protein at one sitting can make it harder because it's not so like, it's not like your body shuts down at oh, 30 grams. We're not gonna do anything else. It also, it's, I mean, protein's the hardest macronutrient for your body to break down. And so if you are not doing great with protein intake, like at breakfast and lunch, and now you're trying to get like. 70 grams at dinner, then your stomach is probably going to hurt in that way because you're just overdoing it at one sitting. So that's why you do want to space it out all throughout the day, and that would be beneficial.

Brianna:

yeah. And I think too, like. A lot of people get caught up in that like, oh, I need to hit my macros, or, yeah, it's important, your protein intake overall for the day is important. But yeah, if you're like, oh, I'm getting 10 or 20 here and then all of a sudden I'm gonna try to fit in 70 grams at dinner, yeah, you're gonna feel like crap. That's standard. Not to say your body's not gonna use that.'cause obviously that's very old syncing to think like, we can only absorb 25 grams of protein at once. No, that's not true. We need 25. Ish. Some more, some less to stimulate muscle protein synthesis, but our body uses protein for other things. I mean, we just listed a ton of'em. So yes, really spreading it out and you know, just thinking like, let me take a look. Like, you know, maybe at the beginning of your journey you were really focused on protein, which is totally fine, and that's great, but now take a step back and like, look at your meals now. Like, are you only, are you so focused on protein that's suddenly you're getting like 60 grams at every meal and you're not really getting much of anything else? Okay. Like maybe let's start adding a little bit more balance. Sure. Because yeah, if you're getting 60 grams of protein a while, that's like 180 grams a day. That's kind of a lot. Unless you're eating a ton more calories, I don't think you eat, like if you're eating 160 grams of protein and like 1400 calories, we need a that. That's why you feel bad. Just bottom line, I don't think it's a enzyme issue.

Baylee:

And even like thinking of leaky gut issues, where, okay, do we need to put a focus on more of those whole foods again and start repairing your gut so you can digest not only protein, but other foods better?

Brianna:

Mm-hmm.

Baylee:

That can make a difference too. And yeah, like do we have some damaged gut lining that is reducing overall nutrient absorption to, or do we have some gut dysbiosis with an imbalance in gut bacteria

Brianna:

Mm-hmm.

Baylee:

down absorption.

Brianna:

And I think too, like trying to pay attention to is there certain types of protein that hurt my stomach more? Because it could be, yeah, the actual protein source, or maybe you do have a milk sensitivity, or sometimes they see this a lot. When people start to supplement a lot more with protein, like protein powders specifically, they could just feel like not great. And so maybe you're not a good candidate to digest like a way. Protein concentrate. Maybe you need it broken down a little bit more to like a, you know, whey protein isolate, or maybe you do need more of a plant-based because it digests a little bit easier and like just that much at one time doesn't work for you, you know? So really trying to pay attention and be like, okay, what is it? Because I have people who are like, oh yeah, I can eat this, this, and this. Spending time to eat this, it's a problem. So I'm like, okay, well. Let's figure that out, because maybe it's not an overall poor protein digestion. Maybe it's just that specific source, you know?

Baylee:

Yeah, like think about what's the protein that you're getting in, like you're getting a bunch of protein powder all day long. Maybe you need more of that whole food, protein, chicken, burger, Turkey, whatever it is, and that could be super beneficial. That's what I see where we can mess ourselves up a little bit with the focus on protein. And

Brianna:

Mm-hmm.

Baylee:

when we're trying to increase all this protein, we automatically just go to like these really high protein yogurts and now they have a bunch of artificial sweeteners in'em. And the the protein bars and the protein shakes, which yes, we can use them every now and then, but number one, you wanna look at the ingredients. Number two, you don't wanna just live off shakes and bars. You still need whole food protein sources, not just these protein chips and then everything, whatever it is.

Brianna:

Yeah. And you do bring up a good point with like the artificial sweeteners. So many people are more sensitive to those than they think. And yeah, if you just are like, oh, all of a sudden I'm having one or two of these a day, it just. There's a lot that can be going on. Orain, I like Orain, but for some reason the chocolate plant-based orain really bothers people. And the only thing I can chalk it down to is the sugar alcohols'cause it has a little bit more sugar alcohol than the vanilla. almost everybody that's had an issue with the chocolate can have the vanilla. And so I'm like, well, I don't think it's the protein powder. But again and again, some people aren't sensitive, but yeah, taking a look like what have I changed? Yes, you increased protein, but like also what else kind of changed? And another thing, oh, go ahead.

Baylee:

The other thing to think about is stress. If you are running on stress all day long, chronic stress is going to divert energy away from digestion. And because like when you're stressed out, your body isn't focused on digesting your food, it's focused on getting away from that stressful situation. So if you're constantly in this stressed out state, it's gonna make all food digestion harder, especially that protein like.

Brianna:

Mm-hmm.

Baylee:

So try to get yourself in a better, that calming environment so we're not impairing not only the stomach acid production, but also enzyme function

Brianna:

Yes. Well,

Baylee:

another one that we can work to control naturally.

Brianna:

I mean, and if you think about it, it's like fight or flight, rest or digest. Like when you are in that fight or flight stress state, like blood actually is not really getting to your, your stomach. Like your organs, like your, your intestines. Like you're really not having a lot of blood flow there so it slows down. Right. And that makes sense, right? If it's like, oh, we are in a fight situation. We need long-term energy. We don't have the energy to be di digesting food. We can't feel hungry. We can't have that in our, like, you know, so long. I don't, I feel like people talk about stress, but they don't really apply it. Like they don't really. Realize how much it impacts them. And I dunno, I think it's just not very quantifiable to track. But yes. And then the next one is staying hydrated. So obviously water helps to transport nutrients and it does aid in digestion, but avoiding having excess water during mealtime because that excess water is gonna dilute stomach acid and even some of your digestive enzymes. And so if you're having a harder time digesting food, you don't wanna water any of that down. You want. Your enzymes to be working and your stomach acid to be working as strongly as possible.

Baylee:

Ted Foods can also help because it's gonna aid in that digestion. So I mentioned like the gut dysbiosis, so like sauerkraut, kimchi, yogurt, those can help improve your gut bacteria. And along with that, we mentioned food quality, so reducing those processed and inflammatory foods. So cutting back on excess sugars. Alcohols overall, we're improving this gut health so that way we create a better environment for protein to be able to break down.

Brianna:

Yeah. And then of course, you know, exercise regularly physical activity is gonna support digestion, it's gonna support gut motility. And if, if you are someone who feels like. I mean, I have slow digestion, maybe some movement after meal times, which is also great for your blood sugar. But just get kind of like that blood flowing and kind of help, not intense. I don't go like run or like do anything crazy. I'm talking like a walk away. Like, let's, let's walk after we eat or just do a little bit of movement, stand up, do some stuff. And then you can also play around with a digestive enzyme. I actually had somebody last week who was, asking me like, Hey, can I digestive enzyme make things worse? Because now I just feel like I'm having diarrhea and like this isn't actually helping me. And she was taking like an overall blanket digestive enzyme, which is usually totally fine, but those also have lipase and other enzymes that help to break down fat and starches. And it could be if you're someone who's tried to digestive enzyme and it's like, Ooh, I feel like that makes it worse. Maybe you don't need excess enzymes to break down fat and carbs and other things. Maybe you just need one that has like pepin. To kind of help break down protein.

Baylee:

Like speaking of exercise, as we've talked about before, like exercise should not just be correlated to weight loss. So I mean, we just mentioned it can help with the protein digestion, but like I was talking to someone the other day who I ran through a little like detox protocol, just having a lot of stomach issues going on, and she's like, I have so much energy, I literally cannot fall asleep now. I was like, okay, how going.

Brianna:

Yeah.

Baylee:

So she's like, oh wait, you're right. Had her increased movement sleeping like a rock now.

Brianna:

Mm-hmm.

Baylee:

So that movement, it's not just about the weight loss. Getting that movement in is also going to help you sleep better, digest your food better, your blood sugar balance, like so many different things come along with exercise rather than just, I'm gonna go work out to lose weight sort of thing.

Brianna:

Right? No, we're like, we're like toddlers and puppies, you know, like you take them outside to get energy out. Right. Or you get their like wiggles out, right? So like, they sleep good. We're the same way. We can't, you know, I mean obviously we're adults, but we still need to get energy out even if you're exhausted, whatever. And I, yeah, I find that like, oh, I just have such a hard time falling asleep. Well, have you.

Baylee:

Today.

Brianna:

your body at all during the day? Because even if you feel tired, you have this pent up energy, like our bodies are made to move. So yes, thinking about what are all the other reasons that I could move my body aside from weight loss? Because I think people, and we could do a whole episode on this, but I think people just kind of give up on weight loss because they're like, oh, it's not working for, or they give up on exercise'cause they're like, it's not working for weight loss. And it's like, well, there's lots of other benefits that you could get. It's like, let's just focus on those. Eventually you're gonna have weight loss, but you know neither here nor there.

Baylee:

It's all, it's all in the process. But yeah, we hope this episode was helpful to kind of give you an idea of things to be looking for to see if you're having some issues digesting protein, what are some signs that your body could be giving you? And then we ran through a couple different scenarios of things that are causing it and things that will kind of help. And this is just a starting point, so. You can get testing to check your mineral levels, your electrolytes, to see, okay, where are those at? Do I need more of a focus there to.

Brianna:

like even like GI mapping, you know, you can do more extensive testing, which I'm all about. But really making sure, I always like tell people, make sure you are covering the basics because if you are on fire. You go get an HTMA or a GI map, it's gonna look like 1700 things are wrong. So instead, try to have a foundation and then do more targeted testing. Like, now I know I'm doing X, Y, Z, I'm doing all these things. Is it I'm having, you know, a mineral imbalance? Or I'm having, you know, like some sort of gut imbalance. You're gonna get more from your testing and more out of your more targeted implementations. But I mean, we love it. I love a good deep dive.

Baylee:

And yeah, like start with the simple things, chewing your food well, deep breaths.

Brianna:

I had a client that I worked with who was so irritated'cause she's like, I spent so much money on a functional dietician and she is like, my protocol was to chew my food and I was like.

Baylee:

How are you doing it?

Brianna:

Well, are you doing it like you have to chew your food? You can't be like, I'm spending all this money. Something is really wrong with me. Like this is what it is. Like some crazy thing's gonna like pop up and that's what's gonna help me. Like, no girl. You probably just need to slow down a little bit, like chew your food, have more consistent meal times. Meal sizes. She was so irritated. I was like, well that's great advice.

Baylee:

Tell everyone, like, this is why we focus on these foundations because literally have someone focus on chewing their food. Well, consistent meal timings, breaths like managing their stress better. And all their gut health issues go away. Not saying that's the case for everyone, but sometimes you just need to do the basics,

Brianna:

Mm-hmm.

Baylee:

spend all this money on extra testing that you were able to kind of easily fix the issue.

Brianna:

Yeah. And we do that, right? Like we want the shiny object. We are very quick to be like, no. I'm doing everything I can. It is something else. And it, I don't, it's kind of like our way of like writing off like, oh, I'm just broken and like, this is why, and I'm gonna find the reason why. When really it's just like, no, you gotta do the boring, foundational things. Not saying something more isn't wrong, but also if something more is wrong, you are gonna feel better by doing the foundations. Like you can't just hop to like the real shiny intervention.

Baylee:

Mm-hmm.

Brianna:

I mean, not really,'cause that's expensive, but I mean, yeah. I wish it was as simple as like, Ooh, take the supplement and like all is gonna be well'cause you have this issue, you know?

Baylee:

We hope this was a good place to kind of get you started and see how it works for you. And we will be back next week with a brand new episode. Hopefully a little less chaotic on my,

Brianna:

I feel like unless you watch the video, it's completely fine. Like you're never gonna know.

Baylee:

Maybe this when everyone needs to go watch the video.

Brianna:

But yeah, like, yeah.'cause if you guys listen and you don't know, we are on YouTube as well and that's where you can see the video. So if you ever Yeah, if you wanna check out. I think it's funny'cause I don't think you, you're here gonna know unless you watch the video.

Baylee:

It's just a, it's, this week is really entertaining for the video.

Brianna:

Yeah. He's like, yes, this is awesome.

Baylee:

Can you everyone, bye. Say, see you next week.

Brianna:

I was like, yeah, we're leaving.

Baylee:

Everyone, we'll be back next week. Have a great rest of your week. Talk soon. Bye.

People on this episode

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Baylee

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Brianna

Host