Today I want to talk about the number one selling supplement in the world…the all mighty “Protein”.
Protein is an absolutely essential part of every person’s diet . Regardless of your physical/ health goals, your diet must consist of protein. If you want to loose weight you should frequently eat small amounts of protein throughout the day to speed up metabolism and avoid the loss of muscle mass (The more muscle mass you have, the more calories you burn, but this is a whole other post). If you want to gain muscle mass you should eat a lot of protein (usually two times your body weight) For the newbie in the bodybuilding/healthy living, what exactly is protein? How do I get it? AAHHH Good questions let’s explore this in depth below.
Protein best explained is an amino acid. Our bodies need amino acids to grow and to support an active lifestyle. Whey protein is a bi-product of cheese. When the cheese is processed the left over raw material is whey. Prior to the discovery of whey protein, currently the main ingredient in protein shakes, bodybuilders had to eat ungodly amounts of food to get their daily protein intake requirements. Thanks to the discovery, now it is easy to get in 6 meals a day with at least 30 grams of protein per meal. Ideally it is about 1.5 grams per body weight. This will vary depending on your fitness goals. Don’t misunderstand, you should still chew most of your food -eat eggs, chicken breasts, and other lean meats such as steaks, turkey, pork and ground beef to get your required protein needs. Protein shakes are simply a convenience, and are there to supplement your diet when you are on the go. .
The market during the last several years has shifted to RTD’s or “ready to drink”, and today you will see them everywhere. Basically they are pre-mixed protein shakes. I am not a big fan of these because they require more ingredients to keep them fresh and prevent them from getting spoiled, thus altering the health benefits as well as the taste. All major manufactures carry some sort of RTD’s.
There are three types of proteins currently in the market:
1. Whey Protein blend is usually a blend of at least 60 percent whey and 30 percent isolate. This is the most common type in the market today.
2. Isolate Protein, which is the purest form. Basically this is at least 90% isolate protein. This type of protein is more expensive and does not taste as good as the blend.
3. Casein Protein, which is a cheaper form of protein, because it is not as pure as the others, however it does provide great benefits. This kind is a slow digestive protein, meaning it is broken down slower in the body creating a gel. This gel takes hours to digest and for that reason, casein is a favorite among bodybuilders for a bedtime or midnight snack as it prevents the breakdown of muscles by keeping protein in your system for a prolonged period of time.
There you have it – an elementary education on the all mighty protein. I plan to write similar articles like these but about lesser known supplements and ingredients.
Anyone heard of “Oligonol”?
Supplement X 