NUTRITION
your diet to repair it in the hours and days afterwards. This process is called muscle protein synthesis( MPS) or in other words GAINZ!
Protein under the microscope
Protein is made up of little building blocks called amino acids- think of them like Lego. Of these amino acids 9 are essential( meaning you need them from your diet), with 11 being non-essential, meaning the body can make them itself. Within the essential amino acids, you have the branched chain versions or BCAA’ s which you may have come across; leucine, isoleucine and valine. This is important because it will help you to decid de the type of food that will best aid your efforts when it comes to achieving your dream physique.
Food types can contain either complete or non-complete forms of protein, indicating whether or not they have one or more of the essential amino acids missing. In order to get the greatest benefit from the food you eat, it’ s essential that you include protein sources that together cover all of the essential amino acids.
Optimising Protein for Vegans & Vegetarians
For those following a plant based diet as their source of protein( avoiding animal products), it’ s recommended that they aim to mix their sources, either within each meal or at least across the day itself to ensure they consume the full spectrum of amino acids. Ensuring adequate intake of the essential amino acids will be a result of combining plant based products that although may have some elements of the amino acids missing, together will add up to the required amount. Examples of some vegetarian / vegan sources can be seen in the table below.
How much protein should you eat?
If we look purely at the RDA or RNI in the government guidelines, their recommendation of 0 8g / kg understandably seems incredibly low. In fact, chances are there will be some of you reading this already who are consuming somewhere in that region in one single meal. These guidelines however are merely the minimum amount required to avoid negative health implications. As someone who prides themselves on improving their health through exercise and nutrition, your concern is not to narrowly avoid health problems, but more so to thrive through a dedicated approach. My guess is you are here looking for the most optimal amount to supplement your efforts.
On the other end of the scale, there are some that claim you can’ t eat too much protein. Let’ s take a look at what the research has shown in this area. In a crossover study by Jose Antonio et al 2016 in the Journal of Nutrition and Metabolism, they found consumptions of > 3g / kg to have no adverse effect on blood lipids, liver and kidney function.
In the most recent meta-analysis by Dr Stuart Philips, a leading authority on protein, he concluded that for optimal muscle building, intakes of between 1.6g / kg and 2.2g / kg are sufficient.
Further backing up this recommendation in 2014 was Helms, Aragon and Fitschen in the Journal of the
International Society of Sports Nutrition who concluded that in contest preparation natural bodybuilders, intakes of 2.2-3.1g / kg of lean body mass( LBM) elicited the best response. Natural bodybuilders preparing for a contest are arguably the individuals with the greatest need for protein intake, therefore they could be viewed as the upper limit of protein requirements.
What does this mean for you?
As is the case with much of the advice in the nutrition world, it depends, but anything between 1.6g / kg and 2.2g / kg of bodyweight should be sufficient for the majority of those individuals who participate in some form of exercise. If you know your lean body mass( bodyweight – fat mass) and are a following a bodybuilding orientated approach, you could use guideline of 2.2g-3.1g / kg LBM which at the upper limit can result in a higher protein intake. Whilst going as high as 3g / kg or more has so far shown no adverse health implications, just how useful the extra intake could be remains to be seen. Ultimately, this means you could be consuming unnecessary calories from protein that could go towards carbohydrates or fats, which will be providing your energy source.
100 MUSCLE & FITNESS / MARCH 2018