 By Elena Voropay If there is one nutrient associated with bodybuilding, it would be protein. It occupies minds, bodies and cupboards of many iron-pumping gym-junkie. There is no doubt that protein has been the hottest topic of the dietary scene for decades, and it’s getting hotter and hotter as new research reveals more astonishing facts of protein’s role in muscle gain and fat loss.
Without protein, life would cease to exist. It is the most paramount component of all living cells, and the name has it - the word “protein” is derived from the Greek "proteios," meaning "of prime importance." Every single cell of the human organism contains some protein. Muscle and red blood cells, for example, have as much as 20 percent. Brain cells are 10 percent protein. Overall, protein is the second largest building material of the human body comprising approximately 15% by weight (preceded only by water contributing to over 70% of body weight). It is estimated that there are between 10 000 and 50 000 different kinds of protein in the human body! But we are interested in the most important ones, the 22 chains of aminos that help you maintain your great muscular shape and make you stronger. Chemically, proteins are made of amino acids and are large complex molecules that contain the same atoms of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen found in carbohydrates and lipids. But amino acids also have nitrogen and sometimes sulphur, making protein so highly valued. Your body needs to maintain positive nitrogen balance to support all of its needs, including repairing, rebuilding and growing muscle tissue, fighting infections, handling stress and staying healthy. Nitrogen is constantly depleted in sweat, urine and feces, making it necessary to ingest enough protein to keep the body in a state of positive nitrogen balance. That means that you constantly need to feed your body with the highest quality of nitrogen-containing amino acids. Working out regularly puts additional stress on the body and upgrades the requirements for protein to permit muscle growth and maintenance. Not all proteins are the same. Made of amino acids linked together in long chains, some proteins can be made in the body and some should be consumed through the diet. What differs one protein from another is their amino acid content. Out of 22 amino acids required for proper functioning, your body can make only 10-12 in sufficient amounts from glucose and other proteins. These are called non-essential and include alanine, asparagine, aspartic acid, cysteine, glutamine, glutamic acid, glycine, proline, serine, and tryptophan. The rest of them have to be supplied through your diet, hence the name "essential amino acids". These are tryptophan, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, valine, leucine, and isoleucine. Semi-essential amino acids are arginine and histidine and the need for these increases if they get depleted at times of stress. Usually adults can make enough of these to maintain normal balance. But children and bobybuilders need additional amounts to support muscle tissue growth and higher metabolic demands. Another distinguishing factor of food proteins is their completeness. All animal-derived sources of food like eggs, fish, meat and milk contain all the essential amino acids and are known as complete proteins. Proteins from plants are missing one or more amino acids from their structure, or have limiting amino aids, and thus are called incomplete. The body simply doesn’t metabolize them in the same way. But there is a way around it – counter-balancing amino acid sequences by combining different plant foods. Many plant foods are low in one type and high in another type of amino acids. Mixing up specific foods will compensate for the limiting aminos creating complete proteins. For example, legumes like beans, peas and peanuts are low in methionine and tryptophan, but high in lysine and isoleucine. Grains like rice and corn are high in lysine and isoleucine and low in tryptophan and methionine. When you eat lentils with rice, peanut butter sandwich or corn and bean salad you are getting complete protein sources. Grossly underestimated amounts of recommended 0.8g of protein per kg of bodyweight simply wouldn’t do it for bodybuilders. Doubling the amount, as currently advised by many leading sports nutritionists, would make it more sufficient. In real life science, that would bring the score up to 150g of protein for a 100kg man.
Low-grade metabolic acidosis is a common condition among bodybuilders before competition when their diets are lower in calories and higher in protein. Even non-competitive young men who maintain a low-carbohydrate high-protein diet for a long time can cause chronic low-grade metabolic acidosis. This can be corrected by adding more fruit and complex carbohydrates to the meals. Again, the key is balance and moderation. If you are getting paranoid about eating too much of a good thing, put your worries to rest. There is no substantial evidence to conclude that consuming as much as three times the recommended protein amount would cause kidney or liver damage, unless you initially have a problem with these organs. The eternal controvertial issue of how much protein to eat still awaits for the final verdict, but for now you should consider that the precise amount may be different for every single body should be looked at on a case by case basis. Factors that effect the decision include your current condition and fitness level, body composition and final goal, your diet and training regimen, your stress level and daily schedule, how well you digest and absorb all the nutrients, if you are allergic or intolerant to specific compounds, whether you have a history of acute and chronic diseases and conditions, and other factors. As a general rule, taking in 1.5g or protein per kg of bodyweight should be enough to compensate for losses and make up for reserved amount for extra-intense workouts. Timing Issue New evidence suggests that eating most of your daily protein in one meal, instead of spreading the amount throughout the day, promotes better accumulation of protein in the body. Researches from the Center of Research on Human Nutrition in France gave equal amount of protein in different proportion to two groups of subjects – 1.7 grams per kg of bodyweight. First group consumed 79% of their total protein in one sitting, second group consumed their total amount in four equal meals spread throughout the day. At the end of the study researches found that the first group had greater nitrogen balance, higher whole-body amino acid synthesis and increased protein accumulation when compared to the second group (0.15g vs. 0.9g per kg of lean mass respectively). Should you pig out on protein at any one meal? Until more research is done, the best recommendations are still eating 5-6 small frequent carbohydrate-protein-fat meals per day to keep the metabolic fire burning and energy levels at constantly high levels. Contemporary knowledge and experience shows that eating more than 30-45g of protein per meal will not provide you with any benefits, but may overburden your digestive system since protein is difficult to digest and absorb. Keep your portions sensible as more protein means more calories which can end up in your spare tire around your waist. Extremely important is the time of post-workout amino acid supplementation. Recent research has shown that the window of golden opportunity is within 60 minutes or so following your training. This is the time when muscle glycogen synthetic rate is significantly greater than at any other time during the day. Giving your worked out body the nutrients it needs will optimize muscle grown by preventing protein degradation and encouraging protein synthesis. Combining carbohydrates and amino acids is the best way to support muscle growth because the insulin released from eating carbohydrates stimulates the uptake of amino acids by the starving muscle tissue. |
Nutrition 
