The best protein for middle-aged muscle by Jerry Brainum

 

 

 

Many articles are written by mainstream dietitians and other academics often say that ingesting commercial protein supplements is a waste of money. They note that most Americans already eat more protein than they need, based on the usual standard recommendation of consuming 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram (2.2 pounds) of body weight. But the correct amount of protein for bodybuilders, athletes, and other active people remain a matter of contention and to a large degree, speculation. Until recently, science publications often stated that bodybuilders and athletes need to ingest no more protein than a person whose primary daily activity consists of sitting on a chair and watching television. This is a good example of "scientific blindness," since it's clearly obvious that engaging in intense physical activity will require not only more food but also greater amounts of protein intake. Muscle is damaged during exercise, and because of this protein needs are greater for those who regularly engage in exercise or athletics. More recently, this fact has finally been acknowledged by sports scientists, but there is still a great deal of debate concerning how much protein is optimal for building muscle, and what the sources of protein should be.

The truth is that if you consume a large variety of animal protein foods, such as meat, eggs, milk, poultry, and fish you are likely consuming enough protein and don't need to use any type of protein supplement. Despite the apparent ease of consuming these foods, however, many people still for one reason or another don't consume what is considered an optimal amount of protein to build muscle. In other cases, the goals are such that eating a lot of natural protein foods can prove problematic. One example of this is during dieting conditions. The main problem with natural protein foods from a weight-loss perspective is that none contain pure protein. Most contain significant amounts of other nutrients, particularly fat. While it's true that consuming a diet that consists largely of protein and fat, also known as a "low carbohydrate" diet, is probably the quickest and most efficient way to lose excess body fat, if you consume the correct amount of protein required to support muscle gains from food protein alone, you will also be ingesting a considerable amount of calories. If you're lucky, most of the excess calories that you may consume will be oxidized through activity and exercise. But still, ingesting a large number of calories, even in the absence of carbohydrate intake, will slow weight-loss efforts for most people. I found this out myself when I competed in bodybuilding contests.

I favored the low carb diet for fat loss, and usually began the diet by eating very few carbs . . .