A protein guide for athletes

With the supplement market being a huge industry worldwide, it is easy to get caught up in the net. A key phrase I (James Morehen – Widnes Vikings Nutritionist) have been taught through my academics at Liverpool John Moores University is that you can’t supplement a poor diet. This is particularly true in the Protein arena.

The current world health organisation recommendations for a sedentary person are 0.8g/kg body mass/day (70kg man would require 56g of protein a day). However, as athletes we certainly aren’t sedentary and as such require substantially more protein to accommodate for the breakdown of proteins during exercise. If we don’t accommodate for this then a net loss between protein synthesis and protein degradation occurs.

Amounts of protein required

Current research suggests that to elicit the greatest muscle fractional synthetic rate expressed as a percentage per hour, there is no significant difference from consuming between 20-40g of protein. There is however a significant difference between 10 and 20g (Moore et al 2009).

Although, when working with a variety of athletes, is this 20g dose enough for everyone? Simply put, no it isn’t. Therefore, a same group of researchers have suggested that approximately 0.3 g/kg body mass stimulates maximum protein synthesis in healthy young males post exercise (i.e. 70kg = 21g, 100kg = 30g etc).

Another key factor is to not just consume all the protein in one meal. To generate the maximal synthetic rate we should aim to consume these protein ‘hits’ in pulses throughout the day. Research suggests that it is far better to consume 4 x 20g vs 8 x 10g or 2 x 40g (Moore et al 2012) servings of protein.

**Practical tip, consume protein every 2-3 hours throughout the day. For example, 8, 11am, 1, 4, 7 and 10pm**

Types of Protein

The three types of protein most commonly consumed are Whey, Soy and Casein. Consuming Whey protein post exercise generates a significant greater fractional synthetic rate (%/hr) when compared to Casein and Soy (Tang et al., 2009). With this is mind; the Nutrition X Big Whey would be ideal for a post-exercise supplement with a 24.48g of Whey per serving. Casein protein provides a slower but sustained anabolic drive for several hours (Res et al., 2012) meaning it is perfect to consume before bed to fuel the body as we sleep.

The Hypnos from Nutrition X is brilliant as it can also be consumed as a desert as well as a drink for those that would like something to eat just before bed.It is important that the protein you consume contains, among others, the amino acid – Leucine as evidence suggests that Leucine is key in activating the signalling response. The majority of the Nutrition X products contain Leucine in them due to its importance in the amino acid blend.For any athletes that are injured, I would highly recommend consuming a daily Nutrition X Amino Protein Shot as they contain 24g of hydrolysed collagen protein that will help aid recovery.

One of the biggest things with Protein ingestion is to not solely rely on shakes. The first step is to ensure you are consuming good quality and varied sources of protein from your diet. Of course supplements can be consumed to ensure that you get the correct amount of protein each day and are extremely useful when on travels etc, but the message to remember is that you can’t supplement a poor diet.

James Morehen

Widnes Vikings Sports Performance Nutritionist

Twitter: @Jmorehen

References

Moore, D. R. Robinson, M. J., Fry, J. L., Tang, J. E., Glover, E. L., Wilkinson, S. B., Prior, T., Tarnopolsky, M. A., & Phillips, S. M. (2009). Ingested protein does response of muscle and albumin protein synthesis after resistance exercise in young men. Am J Clin Nutr, 89, 161-168.

Moore, D. R., Areta, J., Coffey, V. G., Stellingwerff, T., Phillips, S. M., Burke, L. M., Clerous, M., Godin, J-P., & Hawley, J. A. (2012). Daytime pattern of post-exercise protein intake affects whole-body protein turnover in resistance-trained males. Nutr Metab, 9:91.

Res P.T., B. Groen, B. Pennings, M. Beelen, G.A. Wallis, A.P. Gijsen, J.M. Senden, and L.J. van Loon (2012). Protein ingestion prior to sleep improves post- exercise overnight recovery. Med. Sci. Sports Exerc. 44:1560-1569.

Tang, J. E., Moore, D. R., Kujbida, G. W., Tarnopolsky, M. A., & Philips, S. M. (2009). Ingestion of whey hydrolysate, casein, or soy protein isolate: effects on mixed muscle protein synthesis at rest and following resistance exercise in young men. J Appl Physiol, 107(3), 987-992.