The Truth About Protein Supplements by Jerry Brainum 10/19

I would venture to say that the two most popular food supplements among bodybuilders, athletes, and fitness participants, such as Cross-training athletes, are creatine and protein supplements. These supplements are popular for good reason. For one, they work for the majority of those who use them, unlike many other supplements where the actual benefits produced by the supplement are more ambiguous. You can see and feel the effects produced by creatine and protein supplements. For creatine, this would mean a greater increase in muscular strength and endurance, followed by increased anabolic effects in muscle reflected by greater degrees of muscular growth. Protein is easily the most important nutrient for anyone who seeks added gains in muscular mass. The entire process of building more muscle derives from a combination of resistance exercise and proper nutrition with an emphasis on a higher protein intake. The most immediate process related to increased muscle mass following training is an increased rate of muscle protein synthesis (MPS). The body is in a constant balance of building or anabolic effects, and breakdown or catabolic effects. At rest, catabolic effects tend to dominate unless some protein is consumed to offset it. In reality, most people never experience severe catabolic effects unless there is some sort of pathology, such as cancer or AIDS, present.

What constitutes an ideal intake of protein for competitive bodybuilders remains controversial for a number of reasons. For one, no one has yet determined precisely how much protein a competitive bodybuilder or anyone else seeking added muscle mass needs to ingest. A range of protein intake has been suggested for this purpose, but the truth is that is more of a guess than anything else based on the results of athletes consuming various amounts of protein.  Some self-styled nutrition experts even say that bodybuilders need no more protein than the average sedentary person who does no exercise at all. That such a notion is preposterous doesn't require a science degree, but rather common sense. Athletes and bodybuilders are always damaging muscle tissue, and that requires increased protein intake to repair the damage to muscle fibers incurred by exercise and sports, as well as to compensate for future and ongoing stress by increasing the size of muscles. That requires extra protein, and there is no doubt about that. I've seen some wild protein recommendations by even those with advanced degrees. Most such people are vegetarian advocates. Since it's more difficult to obtain enough protein to support muscular growth when consuming a vegan diet, it's in the best interests of such advocates to say that protein requirements for athletes or those engaged in regular exercise are overstated. The most extreme version involved a medical doctor who has written a few popular books. He says that no one needs to ingest more than 25 grams of . . .