Phase And Vertical Shift. Phase and vertical shift refer to the transfer of a function in the horizontal and vertical directions, respectively. For the function , where A, B, C, and D are constants, the phase shift is defined as C/B. If the phase shift is positive, the shift occurs to the left; if the phase shift is negative, the shift occurs to the right.
So it is possible that a whole food meal will have a different impact on the duration of protein synthesis than pure amino acids. Our lab has recently shown that the duration of protein synthesis in response to a complete meal containing protein, carbohydrates, and fats is approximately 3 hours long. Therefore, it appears that a complete meal slightly prolongs the duration of protein synthesis.
Eating protein isn't the only way to increase muscle protein synthesis. You can easily supercharge protein's effects on muscle protein synthesis by adding resistance training. A 2012 study found post-workout protein had a stepwise effect on protein synthesis when the protein was given in doses of 10, 20, and 40 grams. The graph below shows the impact of increasing protein from beef (0, 12 grams, 24 grams, and 36 grams of protein), with the addition of exercise on muscle protein synthesis.