Supplement and Nutrient Absorption Times

So I am wondering -

How long would it take an average person to digest 2 scoops of Grow! Whey on an empty stomach? How long would it take for your body to break down the protein and start using it?

How long would it take an average person to digest 1 HOT-ROX on an empty stomach?

How long should it take the average person to digest 4 eggs?

I ask this because I left it all in the gym today, and a few hours later, left it all in the bathroom (puked). I had 4 eggs srambled this morning at 0830 with 1 HOT-ROX, then protein shake and almonds at 1100, then played basketball from 1200-1400, took 1 HOT-ROX at 1400, took protein at 1500 (got tied up), and then was going to eat another meal (turkey and veggies) at 1600, but ended up vomitting at 1600.

What got me curious was, at 1600, the eggs I ate this morning were still in full form when I vomitted. Thats 7.5 hours time difference, is that normal?

Also, is there any chance that I got what I needed out of the Grow! Whey shake at 1500 that I puked back up at 1600? What about the HOT-ROX at 1400?

One last thing. Anytime I push myself this hard, no matter if its training or playing basketball, I always feel like vomitting afterwards. Is this normal? What causes it and can it be prevented with nutrition/supplements?

If you puked I think the fact that you puked has a lot to do with the food being undigested. To put it in simple terms, if you digestive tract is messed up (bacterial infection or otherwise) you won’t be digesting anything properly, so food that untimely comes out of either end (vomit or diarrhea, etc) probably won’t be fully digested. You body is working on fighting the infection or other issue before it turns to digestion. This is based on common sense and not as much expertise, so take it for what it’s worth.

[quote]BulletproofTiger wrote:
If you puked I think the fact that you puked has a lot to do with the food being undigested. To put it in simple terms, if you digestive tract is messed up (bacterial infection or otherwise) you won’t be digesting anything properly, so food that untimely comes out of either end (vomit or diarrhea, etc) probably won’t be fully digested. You body is working on fighting the infection or other issue before it turns to digestion. This is based on common sense and not as much expertise, so take it for what it’s worth.[/quote]

Thanks for the input BT.

I feel great, and my digestion has seemed normal to me (as far as how I feel and frequency of restroom use, solid stools), but today got me thinking “if these eggs are still in full form, am I digesting anything right?”.

If its a heavy day, I can go hard and heavy with my intensity. But if its a day where I am doing something “fat loss” oriented (like complexes, playing ball, etc.), the intensity from this always makes me want to vomit.

My question about the protein stems from the claims that are made about how fast some proteins can be digested.

Should I just go right to a specialist or what?

Your eggs were in full form, as in they never passed into the intestines from the stomach? That is NOT normal after 7.5 hours.

I would go to a specialist, I can see no healthy reason why stomach transit would be delayed that long.

And FWIW, I have heard that whey has a digestion time of 30min - 2 hours, with Isolate being more-so towards the quicker end and concentrate being closer to the other, then individual variables are also considered (I imagine people conditioned to a high protein diet would have quicker transit time; I know that applied to fats).

HOT-ROX on an empty stomach? I imagine that it would take next to no time to pass through. I have taken stims 10 minutes prior to a meal and felt the effects 30 minutes later; if the pills did not clear my gut in 10 minutes, then I would not have felt the buzz.

^^ Eggs came back up looking just like they did when I put them down (they were scrambled). Yeah, HOT-ROX typically hits me very very fast, so I assumed that it was absorped.

Guess, I am off to see a specialist.

[quote]smithers584 wrote:

One last thing. Anytime I push myself this hard, no matter if its training or playing basketball, I always feel like vomitting afterwards. Is this normal? What causes it and can it be prevented with nutrition/supplements?[/quote]

How far apart do you space your meals prior to intense activity?

In times of heavy activity (fight or flight) there is very little to no digestion taking place, especially of solid foods.

I suggest you eat something solid a couple hours before and keep it liquids throughout your activity. Stay away from shakes at this point, try something more carb/glucose base.

Or you might just have a problem with your digestion…(stomach enzymes/bacteria)

Vomiting only yields what is in the stomach.

The fact that the eggs were vomited 7 1/2 hours after being eaten means that the stomach did not empty in all that time.

That isn’t normal.

I’m not saying you have an ongoing problem, but things weren’t working normally that day anyway.

[quote]smithers584 wrote:
So I am wondering -

How long would it take an average person to digest 2 scoops of Grow! Whey on an empty stomach? How long would it take for your body to break down the protein and start using it?

How long would it take an average person to digest 1 HOT-ROX on an empty stomach?

How long should it take the average person to digest 4 eggs?

I ask this because I left it all in the gym today, and a few hours later, left it all in the bathroom (puked). I had 4 eggs srambled this morning at 0830 with 1 HOT-ROX, then protein shake and almonds at 1100, then played basketball from 1200-1400, took 1 HOT-ROX at 1400, took protein at 1500 (got tied up), and then was going to eat another meal (turkey and veggies) at 1600, but ended up vomitting at 1600.
[/quote]

I think the crux of the problem here is not how long should it take for you to digest the eggs but a combination of factors:

  1. You consumed 3 types of condensed foods in a short space of time.
  2. You took a stimulant that increases intensity.
  3. You then proceeded to do an intense sports activity before your body had the time to direct enough energy to the digesting of all of those condensed foods.

How much almonds did you have? I am assuming the eggs were cooked with oil also.
Personally, just the protein shake with almonds then a basketball session would have had me vomit.

Athletes who are about to engage in intense sports activity only consume light or liquid fuel.
If the HOT-ROX increased your intensity and you then went on to do intense sports, I personally would vomit.

If your exercise effort was mediocre then you it is not normal to vomit on a condensed diet full stomach. If your effort, intensified by the HOT-ROX was high, then this is exactly what happens to me every time I eat condensed foods and engage in high intensity sports activities.

Have you ever taken HOT-ROX before?

I mean vomiting in general just because of food plus intensity plus stimulant isn’t a big deal. The big deal, which is silverhydra mentioned, was that you puked up the eggs… See how you feel today and then go see a specialist based on that, or just go see one.

Thanks for all the input everyone.

Typically I eat every 2.5-3 hours. Right now I am trying to rid myself of some body fat, so I am carb cycling. Yesterday was a low carb day, and thats why the basketball was placed instead of heavy weights. The intensity was as high as it could be, for about 1.5 hours straight. I mean, it was full court 5 on 5 and the winning team stayed on while the losing teams cycled through (my team did not lose). So, basically it felt like 1.5 hours of HIIT. Didnt really plan on that (playing with guys I didnt really know), so I expected to be on/off the court much more. I am sure this is what induced the nausea feeling.

Eggs were cooked with some EVOO spray, just enough to keep them from sticking, so a negligible amount. I had taken my first HOT-ROX pill before cooking the eggs. I had 20 almonds with 2 scoops of Grow! 2.5 hours afterward, and then played ball about 1.25 hours after that.

I have taken HOT-ROX before, so I am familiar with its side effects. Thats why I am only taking 1 pill, twice a day, anything more than that is just too much.

Nothing was abnormal about this day for me (except maybe a little low on the cals because I got a late start). I mean, I always have protein and a few almonds about 2 hours before training on a low carb day (convenient to pack for school), and I eat eggs near every morning. I have been on this cycle of HOT-ROX for a few weeks now, and I had plenty water throughout my day.

I am pretty sure I just pushed it too hard and puked, thats fine with me, but seeing those eggs still in my stomach made me think there might be issues.

Unless you have repeat incidents where you have reason to think your digestion isn’t good, personally I’d chalk up your experience to the body just having an off day in that particular regard (slow stomach emptying.)

[quote]Bill Roberts wrote:
Unless you have repeat incidents where you have reason to think your digestion isn’t good, personally I’d chalk up your experience to the body just having an off day in that particular regard (slow stomach emptying.)[/quote]

Bill - Any symptoms I should be looking out for? I dont know the first thing about this, and I know there are a few of you guys on this site that really know your stuff. It seems like this may be hard to detect.

Come to think of it, I do seem to get full very easily when I eat. Could this be due to improper digestion and my stomach not emptying properly? I cannot eat much (comparitively speaking) in one sitting, but I do eat all day, so I dont know.

[quote]smithers584 wrote:

Come to think of it, I do seem to get full very easily when I eat. Could this be due to improper digestion and my stomach not emptying properly? I cannot eat much (comparitively speaking) in one sitting, but I do eat all day, so I dont know.[/quote]

If you eat all day and in small portions then it would make sense you get full easily and cannot eat much as the size of the stomach would adapt to fit that style of eating.
Speed of digestion is a matter, though. Can you sense when the food has gone through you or if it is still sitting there ( being digested.)?
Because I can, and sometimes when I go train when I know it is too soon to go, I get some food trying to come back up.

I, on the other hand, cannot eat all day and will instead give out all day with intensity and then eat like a lioness.

I was shocked when you said 20 almonds. I, at the other end of your eating style, will easily consume 150g minimum at one sitting.

So, perhaps it was not normal given your small portions, that you should vomit the eggs at the end of the day.

[quote]Alpha F wrote:

If you eat all day and in small portions then it would make sense you get full easily and cannot eat much as the size of the stomach would adapt to fit that style of eating.
Speed of digestion is a matter, though. Can you sense when the food has gone through you or if it is still sitting there ( being digested.)?
Because I can, and sometimes when I go train when I know it is too soon to go, I get some food trying to come back up.

I, on the other hand, cannot eat all day and will instead give out all day with intensity and then eat like a lioness.

I was shocked when you said 20 almonds. I, at the other end of your eating style, will easily consume 150g minimum at one sitting.

So, perhaps it was not normal given your small portions, that you should vomit the eggs at the end of the day.[/quote]

I dont know if I can sense when the food goes through me. Most of the time when I eat, I feel good, and 2.5-3 hours later I have to eat, I will be very hungy (makes me think I have digested the food from the meal prior).

Sometimes, especially if I have a lot of liquid with my meal, I can feel it just sit and hours later I still feel full. But this is rare anymore, I dont usually feel like that.

For a brief period of time (4 weeks or so) in October 2009, I was having issues with feeling full all of the time. It was actually so bad that I was vomitting after almost every meal (not matter what I ate or how much/little I ate). My doc said he couldnt find anything wrong and my blood work looked fine, and then it went away. I mean, I could have dinner at 1700, and then go out for drinks with friends, and not be able to drink anything all night because I felt so full. But that only happened for that period of time, and I have felt fine since.

[quote]smithers584 wrote:

I dont know if I can sense when the food goes through me. Most of the time when I eat, I feel good, and 2.5-3 hours later I have to eat, I will be very hungy (makes me think I have digested the food from the meal prior). [/quote] That seems a good enough indication. And normal.[quote]

Sometimes, especially if I have a lot of liquid with my meal, I can feel it just sit and hours later I still feel full. But this is rare anymore, I dont usually feel like that. [/quote] When I had digestive problems it was suggested to me to get digestive enzymes ( look up hydrochloric acid.). I was also advised not to drink water 20 minutes before any meal, no water during the meal and wait 2 hours to drink again.
I don’t know if this is sound but the reasoning was to avoid the problem you describe above in someone whose digestive enzymes were not as efficient due to stress in the system. [quote]

For a brief period of time (4 weeks or so) in October 2009, I was having issues with feeling full all of the time. It was actually so bad that I was vomitting after almost every meal (not matter what I ate or how much/little I ate). My doc said he couldnt find anything wrong and my blood work looked fine, and then it went away. I mean, I could have dinner at 1700, and then go out for drinks with friends, and not be able to drink anything all night because I felt so full. But that only happened for that period of time, and I have felt fine since.[/quote]

That is very unusual. Were you under duress? It may well be you have a genetic disposition to be affected in that area when the pressure is on and stressors may be present .

You also said you took the HRX with the eggs in the morning.
I have had the experience of taking HRX with food and having it come up in a burp partially digested later. You know, when you burp and you say to yourself: “Oh, I’ve had that this morning, it’s still there?!..”
Therefore, I always take HRX on an empty stomach and wait 20 minutes and/or the raspberry burp to then eat the food.

So, this gets me wondering if the HRX with food creates a redirection of energy/blood flow/priority from the stomach to other areas of the body as it gears you up for immediate action. I know this may have no scientific bases whatsoever but I had a friend who used to feel cold at the extremities after a heavy meal and said it had to do with the blood flow being rushed and concentrated on the stomach area to support digestion.

But it may be just layman “science”.

Might I suggest that what you saw in your vomit wasn’t the eggs you had for breakfast, but instead the protein that you had taken 1 hour earlier after it had been worked on by your stomach acids.

I don’t think it’s unreasonable to believe that the results of milk proteins being denatured by stomach acid after 1 hour might not look like masticated scrambled eggs.

Just my 2 cents.

<----- Not a Dr.

[quote]Dr. Pangloss wrote:

<----- Not a Dr.[/quote]

Damn! Thought I was getting some free advice!

Well, the protein shake came back up looking (and tasting haha) the exact same as when it went down.

The reason I believe it was the eggs (other than looking like it), was that they were somewhat red in color. I had put ketchup on my eggs that morning, so between looking like scrambled eggs and being red in color, I came to that conclusion.

As far as stress goes, other than intensive studying and school work, and training hard, those are the only real stresses I have. However, the stress from school is very high due to my degree.

I know Charles Poliquin does the BioSig stuff to correlate different hormonal imbalances for people (at least I think that is what it does). Can any normal doctor do this for me if I go get some lab work done, and have some knowledge to help correct the issue? I did have bloodwork done before, and my Doc said everything was fine, so but I dont know really what he was looking at.

[quote]smithers584 wrote:

[quote]Dr. Pangloss wrote:

<----- Not a Dr.[/quote]

Damn! Thought I was getting some free advice!

The reason I believe it was the eggs (other than looking like it), was that they were somewhat red in color. I had put ketchup on my eggs that morning, so between looking like scrambled eggs and being red in color, I came to that conclusion.
[/quote]

Well, you are getting free advice, just not from a Dr. lol

You’re vomiting, your stomach isn’t emptying, and there is red coloring in your puke that you believe to be ketchup. You should see a doctor about the possibility of a duodenal ulcer.

[quote]smithers584 wrote:

[quote]Bill Roberts wrote:
Unless you have repeat incidents where you have reason to think your digestion isn’t good, personally I’d chalk up your experience to the body just having an off day in that particular regard (slow stomach emptying.)[/quote]

Bill - Any symptoms I should be looking out for? I dont know the first thing about this, and I know there are a few of you guys on this site that really know your stuff. It seems like this may be hard to detect.

Come to think of it, I do seem to get full very easily when I eat. Could this be due to improper digestion and my stomach not emptying properly? I cannot eat much (comparitively speaking) in one sitting, but I do eat all day, so I dont know.[/quote]

I really don’t know: I don’t have any familiarity with the problem, either in myself or others. I have had it happen once or twice to me in my life: once with proof of the type that you had (throwing up something eaten much earlier) and once judged simply from the stomach seeming to continue to stay full-feeling all day despite not eating. But ordinarily this simply isn’t the case for me at all, and I don’t have knowledge of other people’s experiences with it.

However if you keep eating frequently during the day, whereas ordinarily you can’t eat or don’t feel comfortable eating a great deal at a time, it would seem your stomach must be emptying normally when this is the case.