CEdgar2

Last updated 01:00, Thursday, 10 May 2007

LAST week I discussed the benefits of creatine as a supplement, now it’s time for the superpower of macronutrients, protein.

The word protein comes from the Greek term ‘of primary importance’ and indeed it is, unfortunately it has been lost in translation in the past decade or so. The reason for this is the formulation of so called ‘power’ supplements, creatine being the obvious one and other protein-based powders creating the biggest fuss.

One hard simple statement should always be heard and learnt and that is there is no supplement for good nutrition. Protein, fat and carbohydrates are the main three and ensuring the balance is correct will allow you to gain the benefits you need.

If you speak with anyone wanting to gain muscle mass, what do you think they would eat as a post exercise meal? Ninety per cent of you may think steak. However meat isn’t the best source of protein. A lean beefsteak actually contains 22.4g of protein – the downside is that it also contains 28.8g of fat. Even though this might surprise people, when ate in the correct proportion alongside carbohydrates, it will deliver your body with the correct macronutrients.

Let’s delve a bit deeper. The one thing protein gets mistaken for is its simplicity. This misconception leads to reduced protein intake and one major aspect of protein people mistake with protein is it does actually provide your body with energy. The best measure of protein effectiveness is to measure how much nitrogen is retained or excreted by your body. This is known as nitrogen balance. For an athlete it is very important to maintain this balance as it means that the body is using protein and is being retained by the body. Nitrogen balance is best maintained with a mixture of protein and carbohydrate intake.

Amino acids make up the building block of protein and these contain carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen. Nitrogen as we all know is the key as this repairs the muscle tissue from hard workouts and enables the muscle to build. If the protein strips itself of this nitrogen then the protein will be used as an energy builder.

There are many amino acids that are contained within the body, however there is some that aren’t and these need to be consumed within our diet. Don’t worry though you will find that you do get them in your diet so don’t modify your eating habits to suit just yet. The ones that are missing from your body are known as essential amino acids. It is these that can make the difference in terms of muscle production. Insulin carries these amino acids through the body and this will allow nitrogen balance to be restored. There is a term that some of you may have heard of and that is BCAA(Branched Chain Amino Acids). BCAA contains the three essential amino acids that make up one third of muscle tissue. This type of amino acid become increasingly important especially with high exertion exercise as when your body hits energy deficit insulin carries BCAA which in turns creates a good energy source.

It does seem a little complex so to break all this down think of protein as all these important building blocks, if you take a block away the whole process falls down and muscle growth and energy breakdown can’t occur.

It has been defined as the strong man’s nutrient, but protein is just as important for the endurance athlete. The consumption levels for an endurance athlete are not as high as a strength athlete but the synthesis works just as well.

As we read above BCAA is found to benefit endurance athletes more due to the high energy release when glycogen levels are low. A study in France experimented with a simulated Tour De France race, it found that the protein consumption needed to be 1.5 – 1.8g/kg/day. One important fact to bear in mind here is that 1g of protein equals 4kcal.

This study also showed that there is a high usage of amino acids from endurance events, because of this the pool of amino acids available reduces which in turn can cause energy availability to be low. Not good if you are competing in a triathlon and you have a 5km run to complete. To ensure this doesn’t happen carbohydrates need to be consumed so it supports the body’s energy stores and protects the protein stores.

If you compete in any rugby, martial arts or just bodybuilding activities then please read on. If any of you have seen the film 300 then I’m sure you were doubtful of the look the actors had for the film. In fact that is where the need for protein started. The discipline and training that was performed in those days was extreme to say the least, so in order to maintain their strength they ate a good consumption of protein. As the film suggests: you are what you eat.

Think of this a pound of muscle contains 100g of protein. To increase your muscle mass by 0.5kg/week you would have to consume 14g of protein per day. It sounds a lot but in fact it is easily obtainable from a modern day diet. People who train regularly with weight should try to consume a maximum of 2.4g/kg/day.