Thinking About Protein
For the longest time, protein was an afterthought, and carbohydrates and fat got all of the attention with respect to health issues. However, advances in research have found that consuming adequate amounts of protein, especially high quality protein, can promote optimal wellness and vitality. The recent popularity of diets such as Atkins and South Beach has propelled protein into the forefront. While there are a significant number of flaws in these dietary programs, they do serve one important purpose: getting people thinking about protein.
Protein is found in a vast array of foods. However, certain foods contain protein that is considered to be of a superior quality. For example, the protein found in a chicken breast is of higher quality than the protein found in pasta. Protein quality is measured by how it promotes net protein balance within the human body and is a function of the amount of essential amino acids (cannot be produced by the body) that it contains.
For omnivores, the top protein sources would be items such as chicken, fish, red meat, eggs and dairy. As for non-animal eaters (e.g., vegans), top quality protein could come from soy (especially fermented soy) and hemp. What is important is that one’s diet contains of a variety of high quality protein sources throughout the day.
Some of the most interesting research regarding protein is its impact on body weight. Protein’s ability to increase satiety (the feeling of fullness) and therefore decrease caloric intake is one mechanism behind this outcome. Therefore, if you were to eat the equivalent in calories of chicken versus white pasta, you will likely be hitting the fridge sooner after the bowl of pasta. High-fat junk food (especially if it is low in fibre) may be the least filling of them all.
Keep in mind that one of the main reasons why high-protein, low-carbohydrate diets result in rapid weight loss is due simply to the large reduction in calories. Take away the pasta from the pasta with meat sauce, and you are sure to create a calorie imbalance.
Consuming protein prior to exercise (especially resistance exercise) appears to result in an improved net protein balance, which can bring about greater gains in muscle mass and strength than with just training alone. The amount of protein needed for this effect appears to be small – maybe no more than the amount in an egg.
For a long time, it was assumed that only the consumption of carbohydrates during exercise would bring about improved exercise performance. However, recent research is showing more promise for the combination of carbohydrate and protein as a way to improve time to exhaustion. The reasons for this are still in question, but increased insulin concentration and thus uptake of nutrients is believed to be one mechanism.
There has been some indication that consuming protein immediately following exercise is crucial for recovery and gains from training. The research is getting closer to proving that this practice is indeed very important. However, there is some indication that calories either from carbohydrates, proteins or a combination of both is just as if not more important for exercise recovery.
What needs to be proven is whether protein consumption 30 minutes after a workout would be significantly better than protein intake an hour or more after a workout and exactly how much protein is needed with respect to long-term lean body mass growth and strength. Physiologically, it makes sense that consuming protein as close to a workout as possible would bring about better results, but the hard data still needs to be fine-tuned.
Despite this, it is still prudent to recommend the consumption of high quality proteins such as whey, chicken and eggs soon after an exercise session to promote training results and reduce muscle soreness, especially if it involved resistance training. – Michael