It has always seemed a little ridiculous to me that they are packing 30g of protein into one bar… Please correct me if I’m wrong, but can’t the human body only process about 15g of protein at a time, anyway? The rest of it just causes floaters on the way out.
To our suprise, Clif jumped on the question and had one of their Registered Dietitians’ response within hours. Apparently there’s no such hard & fast rule: see Clif’s response after the break…
The body will absorb 30g of protein over a period of time. Absorption isn’t really the limiting factor, it’s what the body does with the amino acids after it’s absorbed that changes based on the amount consumed.
Once amino acids are in the blood stream, the body will use as much as it can and needs for building muscles. 
However, it can only build muscle so fast, so a large influx of amino acids into the system can lead to some amino acids being used for muscle building and some being oxidized for energy.
This is why we use a blend of protein sources with variable digestion rates in our Builders Max. Whey digest quickly and therefore provides the first amino acids to into the blood stream, followed by soy and finally casein. This allows for a moderate and steady delivery of amino acids into the blood so that more of the amino acids are used for muscle building rather than oxidized for energy.
Additionally, protein needs are truly different for each person. The greater the personal need, the more likely the amino acids will be used for muscle building, cell generation, and other aspects of recovery versus broken down to be used as energy.
No matter what your personal need daily need or workout entailed that day, most people’s muscle building potential will reach a plateau with around 25-30g of protein at once.
So there you have it! By blending protein sources such that they’re utilized over a longer period of time, Clif feel that they are able to deliver large amounts of protein to maximize recovery and muscle building.
