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2002/11/20, 11:24 AM
Protein Supplements Vs. Protein Foods!
By Patrick Gamboa
Many aspiring bodybuilders are hoping that this is the year that their bodies will transform into the bodies of their dreams. Unfortunately, bodybuilders love for protein puts them at the mercy of protein manufacturers and vulnerable to protein manufacturers marketing ploys. Fledgling bodybuilders may not know as much as veteran bodybuilders but they inevitably know that protein plays a role in their future bodybuilding success. Where should this protein come from? To answer this question, we will look at the role of protein in foods versus protein supplementation.
Protein Manufacturers
Pick up any publication devoted to health and fitness and you will be inundated with articles on protein. Protein manufacturers are notorious for throwing around words like cross flow microfiltration, oligopeptides, ion exchange, protein efficiency ratio, biological value, nitrogen retention and glycomacropeptides as a way to convince potential buyers. It sure sounds convincing, especially when scores of scientific references are cited. Like most aspects of bodybuilding (and the supplement industry in general), marketing hype rather than physiological reality drives the issue of protein.
Many nutrition “experts” (people who sell supplements), state that there are distinct advantages of protein supplements: powders and amino acid tablets over whole foods. There are many different methods of determining protein quality, including biological value (BV), Protein efficiency ration (PER), Net Protein Utilization (NPU), and protein digestibility corrected amino acid score (PDCAAS).
Protein Quality
BV is one of the most commonly used and is arguably, the best measure of a protein’s quality. BV is based on how much of the protein consumed is actually absorbed and utilized in the body. The higher the amount of protein (nitrogen) that is actually retained, the greater the BV. If a protein has a BV of 100, it means that all of the protein absorbed has been utilized with none lost. Whole eggs score the highest of all foods with a BV of 100, while beans have a BV of only 49.
Protein quality is certainly an important issue, but it is one that has been enormously overstated and even distorted for marketing purposes. Whey protein is truly an excellent protein with a biological value at or near 100. Many advertisements will have you believe that their whey is between 104 –157 on the BV scale. In “Advanced Nutrition and Human Metabolism”, BV is defined as “a measure of nitrogen retained for growth and/or maintenance that is expressed as a percentage of nitrogen absorbed.” When a protein supplement is listed as having a BV over 100, the company has intentionally manipulated the number for marketing purposes. The companies are usually making reference to the chemical score of the protein. Chemical score is a comparison of the amino acid pattern in an ideal reference protein to a test protein and therefore the number can exceed 100.
Most bodybuilders and strength athletes already consume more than enough protein, so the importance of BV to these athletes who are already consuming enough protein has been overplayed. Even though whey has a higher BV than chicken breast, fish, or milk protein, if the total quantity of protein you consume is sufficient, then it is not likely that substituting whey for food proteins will result in any additional muscle.
For the purposes of developing muscle, the only guidelines for protein that you must follow are: (1) consume a source of complete protein with every meal, (2) eat at frequent intervals approximately three hours apart, (3) consume a minimum of 0.8 grams to 1 gram per pound of bodyweight.
Whey Powder
Because whey protein does have a high BV, it probably offers the most benefits when you are dieting on very low calories. When your energy intake and correspondingly, protein intake is reduced, whey protein could help you get greater utilization of the smaller amount of protein that you are taking in. Whey protein also provides a way to get high quality protein without the fat.
It has been suggested that whey may have other advantages besides high protein quality. These benefits include enhanced immunity, increased antioxidant activity and quick absorption. Several studies in “Clinical and Investigative Science” by Dr. Gerard Bounous of Montreal have shown that whey protein provides anti carcinogenic properties, protection from infections, and other enhanced immune responses. Whey has also been shown to raise levels of Glutathione, an important antioxidant that can offer protection from free radical oxidative damage. While such findings are very promising, all these studies were done on mice, so it is unclear how well the results extrapolate to humans.
Protein Absorption
Another acknowledged benefit of whey protein is its fast absorption rate. Although their is not any evidence that protein supplements digest more efficiently than whole foods. They are definitely digested faster. This is most important after a training session when the rates of protein synthesis and glycogen re-synthesis are increased. Even in considering post workout nutrition, there is still little proof that a liquid protein-carb complex will actually produce better muscular growth than whole foods, as long as complete whole foods are consumed immediately after the training session and every three waking hours for a period of 24 hours thereafter.
Amino Acids
What about amino acid pills? Amino acids are simply predigested protein. Proponents of amino acid supplementation claim that because the amino acids are predigested, the body will absorb them better, leading to greater improvements in strength and muscle mass. It sounds logical, but this is a gross underestimation of the body’s capacities and actually the reverse is true. The human digestive system was designed to efficiently process whole foods; it was not designed to digest pills and powders all day long. Amino acids are absorbed more rapidly in the intestine when they are in the more complex di and tri-peptide molecules. Your body gets better use of the aminos as protein foods are broken down and the amino’s are absorbed at just the right rate for your body’s needs. In “Exercise Physiology; Energy Nutrition and Human Performance,” authors Katch and McArdle state that “amino acid supplementation in any form has not been shown by adequate experimental design and methodology increase muscle mass or significantly improve muscular strength, power, or endurance.”
Furthermore, consuming predigested protein when you are seeking fat loss is not necessarily advantageous because it shortchanges you of the thermic effect of real food. Whole foods have a major advantage over protein supplements; they stimulate the metabolism more. This is known as the “thermic effect”. Protein has the highest thermic effect of any food. Including a while protein food with every meal can speed up your metabolic rate as much as 30% because of the energy necessary to digest, process, and absorb it. This means that out of 100 calories of a protein food such as chicken breast, the net amount of calories left over after processing it is 70. In this respect, the fact that protein foods digest slower than amino acid tablets is actually an advantage.
Value of Source
A final argument against amino acid supplements is the cost. Amino acids are simply not cost effective. One popular brand of “free form and peptide bonded amino acids,” contains 150 1000mg. Tablets per bottle and costs $19.95. One thousand mg. of amino acids is equal to 1 gram of protein. This would mean that the entire bottle contained 150 grams of protein. Dividing the price of the bottle by the total grams we get the price per gram, which is 13.3 cents. Now lets t compare that to a chicken breast. At the local supermarket I can buy a pound of chicken breast for $2.99. According to Corinne Netzer’s “Complete Book of Food Counts,” there are 8.8 grams of protein in each ounce of chicken, so one pound of chicken (16 oz) has about 140 grams of protein. That would be $2.99 divided by 140 grams which would come out to 2.1 cents per gram. The amino acids cost six times more than the chicken.
The Bottom Line
The biggest advantage of protein supplements is not that they can build more muscle than chicken or egg whites or any other whole food protein, the biggest advantage is convenience. It is easier to drink a protein shake than it is to buy, prepare, and cook whole foods. Consuming small frequent meals is the optimal way to eat, regardless if your goal is muscle gain or fat loss. To keep your body constantly in positive nitrogen balance, you should consume a complete protein every three hours. For many people, eating this often is nearly impossible. That is when a high quality protein supplement is the most helpful.
Aside from the convenience, the truth about protein supplements is that they offer few advantages over protein foods. There is no scientific evidence that you cannot meet all of your protein needs for muscle growth through food. As long as you eat every three hours and you eat a complete protein such as eggs, lean meat or dairy products with every meal, it is not necessary to consume any protein supplements to get outstanding results. Whey protein does have some interesting and useful properties and supplementing with a couple of scoops a day is not a bad idea, especially if you are on a low calorie diet for fat loss. Aside from that, focus on real food and do not believe all the hype you read. Good luck on your training for the New Year.
http://www.protraineronline.com
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"Don't follow leaders and watch your parking meters!"
-- Bob Dylan
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2002/11/20, 05:50 PM
Ok...sounds like a well written article. I would love to see the wht the author looks like! Probabaly some pencil neck with a piece of paper hanging on his wall. Doesn't matter if it is from MIT or the local community college, anyone can write an article based in some fact and put spin on it. Witness the supplement companies. Now, here is the first thing I would have to take issue with. That is the amounts of protein suggested. Iwill grarantee you that there is no accomplished bodybuilder, whether amatuer or professional, who made the kind of gains needed on .8 gr,/lb. bodywieght of protein. But wait...you don't want to lookk like a bodybuilder? Fine, but you want bigger muscles? Well, work out hard in the gym on a daily basis, go through catabolism(muscle breakdown), and eat .8 gr/lb. of protein and see how much they grow. You will most likely lose muscle size. there are lots of dieticians out there with degrees that do not understand the unique needs of a resistance training athlete. Even when I got my certification,and this was through a major organization, I had to bite my tounge on the protein issue. Cardio and muscle building are 2 entirely different things. OK>..second, amino acids. True, our bodies were designed to digest whole foods. I am 100% in favor of this as your number one source. Problem???..Is "whole food" really whole any more. With all the processing, additives, perservatives, take this out and add this chemical to make it last longe so we can make more money, all for profit?this can be where aminos shine. Taken in conjunction with, not in place of, can greatly help to put back some of the protein quality lost in processing.
Look,I am all in favor of saving money as you know who read my post on the supplement industry. But needs are needs. Take a look around you at any physique you admire..they ate their protein with plenty of protein supplementation. Protein is essential. In essence, if you want to look like an average person, by all means, eat like one. But if you want more, then just take a look at any bodybuilders diet who has made great gains.These/we are the people who know what works. This debate has been going on for years. It is ironic though, that the side that is for what is considered excessive protein consumption are the ones you see that are wearing the tank tops in the summer showing off their muscles, while the geek who writes the article against it is wearing long sleeve shirts!
So, again,if you want to be average, fine. If you want more, train hard and comsume your protein. Just choose wisely. There is good and bad out there and average. Let the bulk of your protein come from food, but it is tough to gnaw your way through the amounts of protein needed to make good gains. Supplementation of protein is essential if you want to be one of the ones wearing a tank top this summer. Good luck to all.
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2002/11/20, 06:15 PM
Okay,
So just so i understand this correctly, it is okay to take a protein supplement to boost your protein intake throughout the day, even if the regime is to lose fat and tone up???
MON
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2002/11/20, 06:32 PM
Simply put: yes
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2002/11/20, 08:25 PM
Yup!
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To change it, or to create it, simply train it!
Ivan
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2002/11/20, 08:27 PM
sorry for the double post here I pressed on post by mistake.
I was going to say ,
Yup! my supplement is 24 grms prtn .5 carbs and .1 fat.
I'm loosing fat and toning. I have 3 shakes a day.
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To change it, or to create it, simply train it!
Ivan
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2002/11/21, 05:39 PM
Great points on that article bb1. I guess this is also a lesson to not take any article's information straight to heart without doing some thinking on it first. I was a little struck by the amino acid/whole food thing. Obviously it would be great if we could get all of our protein from food (slabs of meat and eggs if you ask me), but that's not practical.
I liked the explanation on protein's BV, though and that's more why I posted it than anything. And just to point out, the author did say a minimum of .8g/lb a day.
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"Don't follow leaders and watch your parking meters!"
-- Bob Dylan
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