Any chance of excessive protein causing liver damage? I've been workingout and consuming vast quanities of protein shakes and meat. Yesterday and even more so today I have had a pain where my liver is. I poked and proded the area some and found that it feels hard and swollen. Not massively, but just a little. I don't drink or do drugs. I eat a pretty healthy diet. Any thoughts?

Drink more water. You're liver might be having a hard time getting rid of the toxins produced when metabolizing protein.

why not switch to fish food instead of protein shakes and meat?

Drink more water. You're liver might be having a hard time getting rid of the toxins produced when metabolizing protein.

COuld you expand on this? I didn't know that proteins created toxins.

why not switch to fish food instead of protein shakes and meat?

I live in Minnesota. It's hard to get fresh fish products at this time of year.

I live in Minnesota. It's hard to get fresh fish products at this time of year.

get frozen ones...come on...there is always fish in big markets.
yeah Absane's right about toxins.

COuld you expand on this? I didn't know that proteins created toxins.

I don't know the exact chemical reactions... but basically, whenever there is a chemical reaction in the body (like breaking down foods), free radicals are produced. Free radicals are substances that are missing electrons. They find the electron they need from your body. This can cause a chain reaction of free radical production and this does major damage to your body.

Drinking a lot of water will help to flush out your liver.

Unless you're eating toxic amounts of protein, any healthy person can eat high protein diets without any adverse effects on the liver.

get frozen ones...come on...there is always fish in big markets.
yeah Absane's right about toxins.

You have any idea how expensive fresh fish is in MN? And the frozen stuff isn't that great. Plus, when I say I eat large amounts of protein, I mean very large amounts, like 150 - 175 grams a day! The only way to get this is by using supplements. I also eat a lot of chicken, and some fish, but not much cause ITS EXPENSIVE!

Are you sure it wasn't just gas (especially since it appears to be gone now) ?

Enmos has a point. I used to drink whey protein shakes and they often gave me gas and bloating (sometimes uncomfortable) and had even had a laxative effect. I don't know if it was specifically because it was whey protein or because I was getting too much protein in one dose. The body can only digest so much at a time.

Lately I have been drinking soy protein and making sure I have the right serving for a fairly small guy and it has been better. :shrug:

Whatever protiens you don't burn off by excercising you only convert to fat.

Proteins cannot be stored in the body, so they are de-aminated [ammonium group removed] and the remaining carbon skeleton is used for energy via Kreb's cycle.

The more protein you consume, the more ammonia you produce, which is excreted via the urea cycle into urine. Urea is produced by liver cells.

So as Absane said, drink plenty of water to make sure you are washing out the ammonia.

It seems that these whole 12 posts above answer my problem as well! Omg, so it's the protein!! I have the same problem with Skaught, but I did not realize it's because of protein.

Lately I consume eggs in quite high amount, sometimes 2 or 3 eggs a day (even eat one egg this morning already!). The thing is, lately (past two weeks) I do sport regularly (either running 3 km a day or just doing nearly 1 hour aerobic when the weather outside is bad). Therefore, I feel that I need to increase my nutrition intake.

What change in my eating pattern was that for past two weeks I've been consuming 500 mg calcium and zinc a day, blending lots of fruits (tomato, apple, whatever is available in the freeze), and eating eggs in high amount and even without cooking it (egg + honey + ginger powder + milk are mixed). I began to feel pain in my liver and also in my kidney since about 3 days ago. I did urinating a lot, and sometimes the urinating need is just urgent all of sudden. At first I suspect it was the sugar (which I added into the fruit juice), so since yesterday I don't put sugar into it anymore, but I still feel a bit pain in my liver + kidney. So maybe it's the eggs! Normally I rarely eat eggs. Please don't follow whatever I did!

Edit: and thanks for the very informative posts!

The more protein you consume, the more ammonia you produce, which is excreted via the urea cycle into urine. Urea is produced by liver cells.

Is urea the white clumpy stuff I see in the toilet bowl after urinating? I notice it sometimes and I think I get it after either doing a lot of physical activity or eating a lot of protein in one sitting...

Lately I consume eggs in quite high amount, sometimes 2 or 3 eggs a day (even eat one egg this morning already!). The thing is, lately (past two weeks) I do sport regularly (either running 3 km a day or just doing nearly 1 hour aerobic when the weather outside is bad). Therefore, I feel that I need to increase my nutrition intake.

What change in my eating pattern was that for past two weeks I've been consuming 500 mg calcium and zinc a day, blending lots of fruits (tomato, apple, whatever is available in the freeze), and eating eggs in high amount and even without cooking it (egg + honey + ginger powder + milk are mixed). I began to feel pain in my liver and also in my kidney since about 3 days ago. I did urinating a lot, and sometimes the urinating need is just urgent all of sudden. At first I suspect it was the sugar (which I added into the fruit juice), so since yesterday I don't put sugar into it anymore, but I still feel a bit pain in my liver + kidney. So maybe it's the eggs! Normally I rarely eat eggs. Please don't follow whatever I did!

Edit: and thanks for the very informative posts!

Everyday I eat 4 whole eggs and consume at least 1300 mg of calcium a day. Needless to say, I have to (and do) drink LOTS of water.

I drink at least 3 liters of water everyday...

Is urea the white clumpy stuff I see in the toilet bowl after urinating? I notice it sometimes and I think I get it after either doing a lot of physical activity or eating a lot of protein in one sitting...

That doesn't sound healthy, and no it's not urea.

You can assess your water intake by checking the colour of your urine, the darker it is the more water you need.

And no, you should not see any "white stuff"

I'm pretty sure its physiologically impossible to urinate and jerk off at the same time.

Absane, you might have a UTI. Google around.

That doesn't sound healthy, and no it's not urea.

I looked it up and it's excess protein being secreted. Seems like the likely cause because it tends to happen when I eat more protein than usual for a single sitting (like over 50 grams).

Whenever I take in too much calcium, my urine is cloudy :p

I'm pretty sure its physiologically impossible to urinate and jerk off at the same time.

But has anyone ever tried? hah

I looked it up and it's excess protein being secreted. Seems like the likely cause because it tends to happen when I eat more protein than usual for a single sitting (like over 50 grams).

Whenever I take in too much calcium, my urine is cloudy :p

That must be hard on your kidneys then.

But has anyone ever tried? hah

That was my fault Absane. I made a stupid joke about you really meaning you jerked off in the toilet, and SAM responded.
I just deleted my post.

Could just be calcium oxalate crystals.

That must be hard on your kidneys then.

I doubt it.. because this doesn't happen all the time.

And again, I consume a LOT of water. When I take my calcium pills, I drink about 1/2 a liter of water... more than enough to deal with them.

I went on an 11 mile hike yesterday... after hiking I had about 50 grams of protein and right before bed I ate a lot of chicken. This morning I woke up... no foamy urine :p So, it seems to me that my body excretes protein that isn't used.

I'm glad I didn't wake up sore this morning... because today, I am climbing Stone Mountain.

Could just be calcium oxalate crystals.

Maybe... the white stuff kind of look like crystals and they like to clump together.

But... whenever I consume a lot of calcium, my urine is usually just cloudy.

Maybe I need to space out my calcium consumption and drink even more water :eek:

you might want to check on the iron and vit. a content as they are tough on your liver

Are you sure it wasn't just gas (especially since it appears to be gone now) ?

Oh its not gone, and usually the protein shakes don't give me gas at all. They might make me shit sometimes, but never gas.

I usually do drink a lot of water by the way. But actually this morning I'm wondering if I am not mistaking back pain for liver pain, cause I threw my back out and the pain appears to wrap around my entire torso. Its oodles of fun!