Protein - The Rebuilder

I looked at "The Humble Carbohydrate" in the last entry so today I am focussing on PROTEIN.

Lean muscle mass, it is what gets us to the finish line or to the top of the hill (as theses legs from the 2010 Tour of Bright winners clearly show you)

 So Carbohydrate is the most basic form of energy and it is clear that athletes need to include a good amount of carbohydrate for their ENERGY REQUIREMENTS. But the next most important nutrient is PROTEIN.

When you break down protein you get Amino Acids - the building blocks of proteins. There are 20 different amino acids, 9 of which are the essential amino acids which must be supplied to the body in what we eat as our bodies cannot make these amino acids, or make them at the rate the body needs them. The remainder are the are the non-essential amino acids, which the body can make.

What does protein do in my body? 

• It forms cell membranes  
• It helps with chemical reactions in the body including the metabolism reactions
• In the blood proteins have important roles such as carrying oxygen (you may have heard of haemoglobin...the oxygen carrying protein)
• In the form of antibodies, protein help to get rid of bacteria and viruses from the system
• Proteins in muscle help with muscle contraction and the movement of our muscles (pretty important as an athlete).

 IN REAL TERMS WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?

Improved strength from muscle growth, improved recovery from exercise as tissues repair faster, improved immunity to fight disease (so less time away from training due to sickness), decrease in injuries, increase in manufacture of proteins for all purposes in the body and increase in development of lean muscle mass.

 

Different types of exercise require different amounts of protein.

 How much protein is enough?

Studying protein requirements is an interesting task in itself. Our diet needs to be looked at as a whole - NOT JUST PROTEIN OR CARBOHYDRATE

Our bodies are quite smart in being able to manufacture the things that may be inadequate and there are differences in requirements.A 25 year old bodybuilder, who effectively is causing muscle damage each time he pushes his boundaries with weight lifting - muscle repair is the key to “building” muscle, is going to have different requirements to say a 16 year old female dance student who trains in endurance type work for 6 hours a day. But there is a way to calculate your requirements.

The recommended daily amount is 0.8g per kg of body weight per day.....but HANG ON .. athletes need more! Are you an athlete? Do you participate in regular exercise? Then read on:

When we eat protein products, they are broken down into amino acids and theses amino acids top up the body’s pool of amino acids which will then be utilised to make those proteins used in the body, the excess amino acids are broken down to form energy (helping out the Humble carbohydrate) when glycogen stores are running low during exercise, the body will look to fat and a little bit of muscle for energy, which is why we need to rebuild with protein after exercise. If we overdo the protein, excess is just removed through waste, so too much protein is really a waste.

Your protein requirements will depend on the type of training you do. There is a constant stream of information and new studies stating particular requirements for protein.

As a general guide:-

Endurance – moderate to heavy training – 1.2-1.4 g/kg/day

Strength or power athletes (bodybuilders) 1.4-1.8 g/kg/day

So work out your daily requirement using the estimate above....An 80kg endurance athlete (hey that could be a cyclist) would need 96-112g of protein per day.

WHERE TO FIND PROTEIN IN "REGULAR" FOOD



Don't underestimate the amount of Protein
 in Dairy - Try to choose low fat dairy where possible



Approximately

1 large egg has 6 g of protein

85g of Mince Steak has 21grams of protein 

85 g of Roast chicken breast without skin has 26g

85g of Tuna has 25g of protein

1/2 cup of tofu ahas 10g of protein

1 cup of Baked beans has 14g of protein

200ml skim milk has 7g of protein

50g of peanuts (1 handful) has 12g

3 tbsp of boiled chickpeas has 12g

  



So this 263gram chicken breast fillet will give you
 approximately 78g of protein. It adds up quickly




MORE IS NOT NECESSARILY BETTER

Studies have shown that a diet deficient in protein is associated with a loss of muscle mass, but a diets containing both a medium and a high amount of protein resulted in very similar increase in muscle. Therefore, excess protein has no real advantage.

 VEGETARIANS

Look to dairy products (low fat) and protein rich plant sources to meet your requirements.



Again when in doubt look at the labels,

 200g of this low fat yoghurt (Jalna in this case)

 will provide you with 10.6g of protein.





WHAT ABOUT SUPPLEMENTS?

ESPECIALLY AMINO ACID SUPPLEMENTS

It can be considered "trendy" to use supplements and with promises such as "building muscle". "high quality protein" they seem like a good way to get your protein requirements

Before using supplements, try this exercise:- for a couple of days, calculate your protein requirements, and work out how much protein you are eating without supplements. You might find you are eating an adequate amount without using expensive supplements.

Protein supplements remain a controversial area. I will just say that inadequate protein intake has been associated with loss of muscle, and excessive protein whilst not being harmful offers no real advantage for health or performance.



Read the labels, here we can see that 100g of tuna has 24.0g of Protein.
 WARNING.- Be careful when reading the "serving sizes"
as sometimes they are a lot less (or more) than you might
personally eat in a serving



Studies have been inconsistent demonstrating that supplements are beneficial.

SO IN SUMMARY

Eat good quality protein such as that found in meat/fish/.chicken and dairy and plant proteins.

After your workout enjoy a post exercise snack, containing both carbohydrate and protein to maximise muscle repair and glycogen stores.

It might sound complicated, but just spend a few days looking at the contents of your food and you might be surprised to find that you are already on track to meeting your protein requirements

Next article I will look at FAT.....the good the bad and THE UGLY 

Carbohydrate Replacement

Today I have written something we all as cyclists should know about, and that is carbohydrate replacement and being someone who is guilty of not drinking or eating enough, I just want to remind everyone during this hot time of year about carbo replacement.



Sports drink - IMage borrowed from deviantart

 Am I qualified to write about this, I have a B Health Sc and am now into my second degree, this time it is Food and Nutrition with a view to becoming a dietitian someday so I do read about stuff!

We know that you need adequate nutrition if you are undertaking physical exercise as activity needs fuel in the form of Carbohydrate (CHO) and Fat and to build and maintain lean tissues you need protein and you also need vitamins and minerals to support the metabolism of energy and tissue building. Don't forget water as it will help with distribution and also with heat management and waste management.

The main topic I am focusing on today is Glycogen Storage. Now when we eat glucose, the unused part is turned into glycogen and stored in he liver and the muscles. When we exert ourselves the body breaks down the glycogen and releases glucose into the bloodstream and we feel good and full of energy and can complete our workout. IT is when glycogen becomes depleted that our muscles become fatigued.

To maximise your supply of glucose you need to:-

1.  Eat a diet high in CHO
2. Consume some glucose during activity, especially activity of over 45 minutes
3. Eat CHO IMMEDIATELY following activity
4. Train your muscles to store as much glycogen as possible

How do we achieve No. 4?

Training will affect how much glycogen that your muscles will store. If you constantly deplete glycogen through hard training, your muscles will adapt to storing a larger amount of glycogen to support the work - Especially important for people training more than once a day.

Eating high CHO after physical activity will increase glycogen stores. A high CHO meal eaten within 15 minutes of the end of a training session will accelerate the rate of glycogen storage by 300 per cent. You have a window of approximately 2 hours after training to replace CHO to ensure that your muscles will accumulate glycogen.

SO ONE GOOD REHYDRATION- GLYCOGEN REBUILDING PRODUCT IS:-

"Chocolate Milk"

Milk and Chocolate - Borrowed image from Deviant art

But what about my sports drink?

Well chocolate milk contains CHO and protein which is what your poor depleted muscles need to recover. Water is simply not enough and as for sports drinks, they contain water but lack NATURALLY occurring protein and CHO found in milk. Milk also has Vitamins A & D and calcium which helps build muscle and with bone strength. Water gives you back fluid and energy drinks give you back electrolytes (along with a heap of sugar.....too much sugar and not too good for you). Milk is a smarter option.

If you want the scientific stuff:-

A study back in 2006 presented in the International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, of 9 male endurance trained cyclists showed that chocolate milk with high CHO and protein content may be considered an effective alternative to commercial Fluid Replacement and Carbohydrate replacements for recovery from exhausting glycogen-depleting exercise.

NOTE - Post ride today (38C) hot weather I had a mix of ice, milk and choc toppi8ng in the blender - bloody beautiful, although I wouldn't advocate filling your bidons with Milk in this hot weather.......Not so good.

This is all food for thought