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Sports Nutrition Supplements - The Importance of Protein - Part Three

The importance of protein as a sports nutrition supplement.

Read why proper protein supplementation is so key to helping you achieve your training goals

HOW CAN I MEET MY PROTEIN NEEDS?

Protein intake is usually proportional to total calorie intake so the more food you eat, the greater the chances of meeting your protein needs. If you reduce your calories, you may find it more difficult to meet your protein needs so a few dietary adjustments may be needed. Additionally, if you eat a vegan diet or eat very few animal sources of protein, it may be more difficult to meet your needs. Animal sources generally provide a better amino acid profile but some foods (such as meat and cheese) are high in saturated fat. Keep these to a minimum and choose lean and low-fat versions.

To ensure your protein requirements are adequate you can estimate how much protein you should eat per day in one of two days:

1 - From your energy intake

Calculate your energy intake (your maintenance calorie intake) either from your actual food intake over 3-7 consecutive days using food tables, or using the formulae based on your resting metabolic rate (RMR). Multiply your energy intake by 12% and 15% then divide by 4 to give you your recommended protein intake in grams.

Example:

Energy intake = 3000 kcal
Calories from protein

= (a) 3000 x 12& = 360

= (b) 3000 x 15% = 450
Protein intake

= (a) 360 ? 4 = 90 g

= (b) 450 ? 4 = 112.5 g
i.e. between 90 ? 112.5 g/day

2 - From your body weight

Calculate your daily protein requirement from your body weight by using the guidelines above.

Examples:

(a) For an endurance athlete weighing 70 kg
70 x 1.2 = 84 g
70 x 1.4 = 98 g
i.e. between 84-98 g/day
(b) For a strength or power athlete weighing 70kg
70 x 1.4 = 94 g
70 x 1.8 = 126 g
i.e. between 98-126 g/day

Is more protein better?

A protein intake above your optimal requirement will not result in further muscle mass and strength gains. In a study carried out at McMaster University, Ontario, strength athletes were given a low-protein diet (0.86 g/kg bogy weight/day ? similar to the RDA), a medium-protein diet (1.4 g/kg body weight/day) or a high protein diet (2.3 g/kg body weight/day) for 13 days. The low-protein diet, which was close to the RDA for sedentary people, caused the athletes to lose muscle mass. Both the medium and high protein diets resulted in an increased muscle mass, but the amount of the increase was the same for the two groups. In other words, no further benefits were gained by increasing the protein intake from 1.4 g to 2.4 g/kg body weight/day.

Similar findings were recorded at Kent State University, Ohio. Researchers gave 12 young volunteers either a protein supplement (total daily protein was 2.62 g/kg body weight) or a carbohydrate supplement (total daily protein was 1.35 g/kg body weight) for one month during which time they performed intense weight training 6 days a week. Nitrogen balance measurements were carried out after each diet and the researchers found that an intake of 1.4-1.5 g/kg body weight/day was needed to maintain nitrogen balance, although strength, muscle mass and size were the same with any level of protein intake. The researchers concluded two main points. First, strength training approximately doubles your protein needs (compared with sedentary people). Secondly, increasing your protein intake does not enhance your strength, mass or size in a linear fashion. Once your optimal intake has been reached, additional protein is not converted into muscle.

Is too much protein harmful?

Consuming more protein than you need certainly offers no advantage in terms of health or physical performance. Once your requirements have been met, additional protein will not be converted into muscle, nor will it further increase muscle size, strength or stamina.

The nitrogen-containing amino group of the protein is converted into a substance called urea in the liver. This is then passed to the kidneys and excreted in the urine. The remainder of the protein is converted into glucose and is used as an energy substrate. It may either be used as fuel immediately or stored, usually as glycogen. If you are already eating enough carbohydrate to refill your glycogen stores, excess glucose may be converted into fat. However, in practice this does not occur to a great extent. Fat gain is usually the result of excessive calorie consumption, in particular of fats. Recent studies have shown that eating protein increases the metabolic rate, so a significant proportion of the protein calories are oxidised and given off as heat. Thus, a slight excess of protein is unlikely to be converted into fat.

It was once thought that excess protein may cause liver or kidney damage as it places and undue stress on these organs. This has never been demonstrated in healthy people, though so it remains only a theoretical possibility. Those with liver or kidney problems, however, are advised to consume a low-protein diet.

It has also been claimed that eating too much protein leads to dehydration because extra water is drawn from the body?s fluids to dilute and excrete the increased quantities of urea. Indeed, a study reported at the 2002 Experimental Biology meeting in New Orleans found that high protein diet (246 g daily) consumed for 4 weeks caused dehydration in trained athletes. Their blood urea nitrogen ? a clinical test for proper kidney function ? reached abnormal levels and they produced more concentrated urine. According to the researchers at the University of Connecticut, this could have been avoided by increasing their fluid intake. This is unlikely to be a problem if you drink enough fluids.

Finally, there is some evidence dating from studies conducted in the early 1980s that high-protein diets cause an excessive excretion of calcium, increasing the risk of osteoporosis. However, a more recent study at the University of Maastrict, Belgium, found that a 21% protein diet produced no negative effect on calcium status compared with a 12% protein diet.

In conclusion, eating too much protein is unlikely to be harmful but it certainly offers no advantages.

Should I consume more protein if I am on a fat-loss programme?

When cutting calories to lose body fat you losing muscle mass as well. A higher protein intake can offset some of the muscle-wasting effects associated with any weight-reducing programme. Most researchers recommend increasing your protein intake a further 0.2 g/kg body weight. Thus, an endurance athlete would need as much as 1.6 g/kg body weight/day; and a strength athlete would need up to 2.0 g/kg body weight/day. For example, a 70 kg endurance athlete would need to consume 70 x 1.6 = 112 g protein/day. If you are consuming 2000 kcal a day, that would be equivalent to 22% of your total calories (i.e. 112 x 4 divided by 2000).

SUMMARY OF KEY POINTS

• Protein is needed for the maintenance, replacement and growth of body tissue. The body also uses protein to make the many enzymes and hormones that regulate the metabolism, maintain fluid balance, and transport nutrients in and out of cells.
  Athletes require more than the current RDA for protein of 0.75 g/kg body weight/day for the general population.
  
• Additional protein is needed to compensate for the increased breakdown of protein during intense training for the repair and recovery of muscle tissue after training.
  
• Strength and power athletes have additional needs to facilitate muscle growth.
  
• For endurance athletes, the recommended intake is 1.2-1.4 g/kg body weight/day. For strength and power athletes, the recommended intake is 1.4-1.8 g/kg body weight/day
  
• Protein breakdown is increased when muscle glycogen stores are low, e.g. during intense exercise lasting longer than 1 hour, or during a calorie/carbohydrate-restricted programme.
  
• Protein intake above your optimal requirement will not result in further muscle mass or strength gains.
  
• Athletes should be able to meet their protein needs from a well-planned diet that matches their calorie needs. Low-fat protein sources are advised.
  
• Vegetarian athletes can meet their protein-rich plant sources eaten in the right combinations so that protein complementation is achieved.

Paul Jordan is a sports nutrition consultant for the Sports Nutrition Company. SNC is a UK based sports supplements supplier. http://www.sncdirect.com

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Protein for your exercise recovery

Speed recovery is important to your regular exercise regimen. Nutritional supplement with high quality protein is will aid muscle growth and repair. Protein works with carbohydrate by producing enzymes to help carbohydrates maintain energy levels. Sports nutrition depot abounds with protein enforced products.

Vitamin C for immune improvement

We all know that vitamin C assists us in fighting disease. Current research also points to the role f vitamin C in restoring t-cell damage resulting from physical activities, and even during extreme emotional stress. But the problem is that several thousands of milligrams of vitamin is are needed to restore t-cell function. This automatically rules out the dependence on the vitamin C available at ordinary medicine stores.

Sports nutritionist Sports Nutrition Supplement also suggests that vitamin C should be consumed together with other micronutrients, such as vitamin E, and Glutathione. If taken together, the three micronutrients will help strengthen each other's properties. Wide array of vitamin C and other micronutrients can be found in sports nutrition depot.

Bee Honey for sustained exercise regimen

Ever wonder why the bees seem to be tireless? Studies after studies prove that taking honey before and during exercise or any competitive activity improves performance. Among weight disciplined athletes, only bee honey was proved capable of maintaining blood sugar in consistent levels, even two hours after a heavy exercise. Honey is also unique in sustaining restoration of muscle energy, after the exercise. So don't be surprised to find bee honey products inside the sports nutrition depot.
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A Sports Nutrition Education Artilce for Your Viewing

What You Should Know About Endurance Sports Nutrition

Endurance sports are those type of sports in which sportsmen are required to produce prolonged athletic output over a long period of time. Usually such sports are very aerobic in nature.

Obviously, for such sports, you need right nutrition to match the athlete's diet needs. This article provides you with nutrition information that is coupled with very useful details. Endurance sports nutrition together with customized eating plans ensure that the food that you choose will keep you going on before, during and after various competitions.

A remarkable and very well-known author, Suzanne Girard Eberle, MS, RD, is a registered dietician who has her specialty in sports nutrition. She too, understands the importance of endurance sports nutrition because she, herself, is an elite endurance athlete. She tells us all about how endurance sports nutrition works, and how it is supposed to be consumed in right amount during training and also during actual sports.

One of the most comprehensive books of its kind is the prescriptive book written by this endurance athlete, slash dietician. It includes tried and tested advice and suggestions from different endurance athletes who are at the top of their sports.

If you want to find more information and get advice, there are various websites where you can post your questions, if not directly talk to some of the best sportspersons.

For instance, you can avail assistance from Karen Smyers, a triathlete. She is a triathlete, so she knows facts about endurance thrice better than what others do.

Another famous sportsman is the marathon runner Keith Brantly. Everybody knows running for long hours is tough. But you will know that it?s actually the easier part. Compared to sustaining the pain that grows in your legs that is not.

You can also try to have your questions answered by the world-known marathon swimmer Tobie Smith. Having endurance sports nutrition during swimming is very important because in swimming, you need to exhibit a lot of energy to overcome two different pressures, pressure under the water and the atmospheric pressure.

And last, but certainly not the least, is the cyclist Kerry Ryan. Cycling is similar to running in regards to the movement of the legs and the endurance of the pain that grow in your legs.

However, you have to be a master of balance to be able to pull cycling off. All of these world-class athletes will happily and obligingly share their knowledge with absolute right because of their many years of training and competing against the world?s best.

There are many kinds of sports where endurance sports nutrition can help you maximize your performance. Endurance sports nutrition can help you a great deal in running. As mentioned above, running is the easy part; it is enduring the pain that is constantly present in your lower extremities that you need to endure.

In triathlons, you have to take note of sustaining through the three stages of sport. So endurance sports nutrition is definitely handy if you want to be able to move on to the next stage and not faint in one of the first stages.

The endurance in swimming is not like any other. Why? It is because, like told before, there are two kinds of pressure that you need to think about. There is, first, the pressure that you experience under the water, plus the atmospheric water. So whether you put your face under water or you turn your head out of the water to breathe in some air, the cramps and the pain caused by the pressure should be endured.

In case of rowing, all that matters is the upper body strength. Off course, it also involves coordination with your teammates, especially mind and arms coordination, but if you are weak with your upper body, then rowing is definitely not the right sport for you. Your hands will probably just suffer bruises from your firm grips on the oars, but you arms are the ones that should have high endurance. Endurance sports nutrition can definitely help you survive the boat ride.

Cycling, as we know, is not much different from running. Your legs experience most of the pain, and you have to endure the pain that is constant on your lower extremities. But this time, there is also the balance to think of. And for those who have a hard time balancing, enduring cycling is very hard. So this is where endurance sports nutrition comes in.

Endurance sports nutrition is there to help athletes like you, to become more energetic and resourceful during endurance sports. Remember, more than skills, it?s your endurance that can improve your performance after a certain time. So, stop thinking and get moving with the endurance sports nutrition!

Get your free book on sports nutrition and discover what you can be doing right now to improve your sporting performance. Get it now at: help for sports nutritionist education. To read more articles on sports nutrition visit about sports nutrition

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American Sports Nutrition Sale Proper Education On Sports Nutrition

Sports nutrition is not that straightforward as it seems. To achieve desired results, there has to be some form of an education about the functions and processes of the human body, its reaction to the environment, its requirements for certain nutrients, and many others.

The bottom line here is that there has to be an appropriate sports nutrition education before anything is done to the body.

A good sports nutrition education program must lay down the basics. First, it must advice the intake of the right amount of fluids at the right time.

Also Sports Nutrition Health, it must suggest a good diet that includes the right variety and amount of food taken at a specific time.

Another basic info is the fact that only safe, appropriate, and effective nutrition supplements must be taken at the right time. These information should be the core or foundation of all other details presented in a sports nutrition education program.

This education on sports nutrition has to be as updated as possible. As the years go by, more and more products are being introduced in the market that are said to advocate nutrition for athletes and those engaged in body fitness.
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