Protein - A Guest Blog by: Denis Faye
Sunday, October 30, 2011 at 3:18PM Protein! It burns fat! It builds muscles! It slices! It dices! It cleans ring around the collar! It manages your stock portfolio!
If you believe everything you read, protein is quickly becoming the number one panacea of the nutrition world. Whether or not piling on the fat or carbohydrates is a good thing remains hotly contested, but protein? Bring it on!
The only problem is, this macronutrient, as miraculous as it is, just doesn't do all that stuff they say it does. Yes, it's vital to human life and a fantastic fitness tool. But if you think it's going to make you super skinny or ultra ripped, I have bad news. It'll be about as useful to you as a yoga bolster in a Crossfit gym.
So let's take a look at what, exactly, protein is good for.
What is protein, exactly?
All Protein is made up of 20 amino acids, 9 of which are essential, meaning the body can't produce them, so you need to eat them. Digesting protein breaks it down into these individual amino acid components. The body then reassembles the 20 into different proteins that it uses for countless tasks, including providing structure, regulating fluids and pH balances, and ? yes - building muscle.
Contrary to some current wisdom, we don't pee out excess protein. This isn't exactly true. If you're running low on dietary carbs and fat, dietary protein is converted to energy. However, if you already have enough calories otherwise, protein is converted to fat and stored in body fat.
What you do pee out is something called urea, which is made of the waste products from old, used-up amino acids as filtered by the kidneys.
What can a high-protein diet do for you? Weight loss!
It's generally accepted that high-protein diets can aid weight loss (http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/high-protein-diets/AN00847). There are a number of reasons/theories why this happens. One is that while excess protein can be stored as body fat, it does this less readily than carbs. Second, because protein digests slower than carbs, it tends to promote satiety, so you eat fewer calories. Less calories means you lose weight.
But if you take this route, be smart about it. If your kidneys are healthy, they should be able to cope with a bunch of extra protein. It's not what you're getting that should concern you; It's what you're not getting. When you're eating a varied diet of carbs, protein, and fats and not minding calories, odds are you'll hit most of the nutrients you need. If you're favoring one macronutrient and eating at a deficit, odds are that some vitamins and minerals, not to mention phytonutrients, fiber, and fatty acids, will suffer. So stick to a legitimate, established plan like the South Beach Diet and limit the high protein phase.
What won't a high protein diet do for you? Make you buff!
As discussed earlier, yes, protein is vital for building muscle, but a vastly overwhelming body of scientific research shows that this can only happen to a degree. The average person absorbs around 30 gram of protein at a time for protein-specific purposes (http://www.adajournal.org/article/S0002-8223(09)00769-X/abstract). Anything beyond that goes to energy. Generally, people should consume about .8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight daily (not pound of body weight ? welcome to the metric system). According to the International Society of Sports Nutrition, that number goes higher for athletes, peaking at about 2 grams per kilogram (http://www.jissn.com/content/4/1/8).
So why do bodybuilders feel compelled to dog-pile protein and why does it appear to work? Well, I think the motivation comes from three sources.
- A lack of understanding of nutrition.
- A lack of understanding of the metric system. (How often do you see the recommendation of 2 grams per pound of bodyweight?)
- Devotion to "informational" websites that happen to sell protein powder.
Yes, these guys eat a lot of protein and they're huge ? but the truth is, they're eating a lot of everything. In bulking stages, they're taking in thousands and thousands of calories of protein, fat, and carbs. They're getting a lot of everything they need to build muscle. Sure, that extra protein makes it 100% they're getting all the amino acids they can use, but it's mostly benefiting them when it's converted to energy.
But if you must protein stack, that's probably okay. Like I said, all current science shows that healthy kidneys can handle processing the extra amino acids. But don't do it to the point that you lose other vital nutrients. Start with a baseline of solid nutrition, then make the extra calories protein. It probably won't benefit you all that much, but you'll get really good at making omelets and grilling chicken, so there is an upside.
Formerly "weight challenged," Denis Faye dropped 50 pounds following a 5-year jaunt through Australia, a trip that helped him become the extreme sports and fitness enthusiast he is today. His sports include swimming, scuba, rock climbing, spelunking, mountain biking, trekking, and -- most importantly -- surfing. He's been a professional journalist for 20 years, writing for Outside, the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Magazine, Wired, Men's Health, Men's Journal, GQ, Surfer, and Pacific Longboarder. Denis now writes for Beachbody, which provides effective home workout videos such as the very popular P90x program and the cardio fitness dvd, TurboFire.
Reader Comments (7)
I like your points Denis. It is nice to have a voice of reasoning with most of the other voices screaming "more PROTEIN!!"
The high themic effect of protein makes it much better to stock up on, if you are wanting to build muscle, rather than empty calories such as cola drinks. As much as 30% of the energy from the protein is burnt just from simple digestion.
Of course lean meats and vegetables are best if you want to lose weight, but your point about making sure that you don't lose vital nutrients through not eating a good baseline diet.
Thanks for the interesting post,
Johnny
Thanks for information
Good Information Regarding Protein .
You have explained perfectly !! !!
Hi Denis,
Very informative blog on proteins. Protein is essential for healthy life style and we must note proteins on label before buying anything. Protein is great to gain weight and built muscles.
Protein is a good for health, If one wants to shred his extra weight , then he/she must consume protein as well as follow some good and natural weight loss plans.