Popular protein shakes will not be as helpful in your muscle building efforts as you think, and they may even make you fat. Here is what you should know about their key ingredients and how to make up for their deficiencies.
Protein supplements are favorite topic for most so-called experts in bodybuilding and nutrition. Protein powder reviews are typically overhyped so much that these supplements seem to be the greatest miracle food for building muscle. It is because that dietary protein supposedly gets incorporated directly into new muscle tissue. The more you consume, therefore, the bigger you muscles will be.
This claim is only partly true.
The key point that I'm going to make rests on the ingredients that protein supplements normally contain. To keep things simple, just consider the following sample products for the amount of the three main food groups: protein, fat, carbohydrate (as sugars).
Product 1: Serving size (34.6 g), Protein (20 g), Sugars (4 g), Total Fat (1 g)
Product 2: Serving size (29 g), Protein (24 g), Sugars (1 g), Total Fat (1 g)
Product 3: Serving size (30 g), Protein (22 g), Sugars (0 g), Total Fat (0 g)
All of these products offer plenty of protein in each serving. The glaring deficiency is: NOT ENOUGH FAT! Fat is absolutely a crucial food group for taking with a high amount for protein for building muscle.
Everything you eat or drink is absorbed and used better in the presence of fat. Just today a research article appeared that showed the importance of using oil-based dressings for optimizing the antioxidant benefits of spinach salad. (By the way, we chemists classify fats and oils as the same kind of food group, the only difference being whether they are solids or liquids at room temperature.)
The simplest recommendation, therefore, is to get some fat or oil with your protein shakes. And get plenty of it. In fact, there are only two rules about consuming fat in your diet:
Rule 1) Consume all the fat you want if it is a product of Mother Nature. Saturated fats or unsaturated fats, plant or animal sources. It does not matter. The best sources are flax oil (cold-pressed and kept refrigerated), real butter, fish oil (either from fish dishes or from supplements from sources that are low on the food chain, such as krill), coconut oil (solidifies below 75 degrees), and CLA supplements (i.e., conjugated linoleic acids).
Rule 2) Stay away from fats and oils that are processed or synthetic. Trans fats (partially hydrogenated oils) are the worst. Margarine and other fake butter products are close behind. Most common vegetable oils are processed by heat or clarifying agents and are typically solvent-extracted. These include corn oils, canola oils, cottonseed oils, and soybean oils. Avoid all of them. Be sure to get only oils that are cold-pressed.
Finally, watch out for excess carbs in your protein shakes. They will undermine your muscle building metabolism. The product examples above are fine in that regard. You will find products on the market, however, that contain as much as 10 grams of sugars per serving (!).
Products that are artificially sweetened pose too many threats to mention, especially if they contain aspartame. Ideally, bodybuilding supplements should contain no sugars or sweeteners or flavoring at all. High quality products like these are sometimes hard to find, so just be persistent.
Protein supplements are favorite topic for most so-called experts in bodybuilding and nutrition. Protein powder reviews are typically overhyped so much that these supplements seem to be the greatest miracle food for building muscle. It is because that dietary protein supposedly gets incorporated directly into new muscle tissue. The more you consume, therefore, the bigger you muscles will be.
This claim is only partly true.
The key point that I'm going to make rests on the ingredients that protein supplements normally contain. To keep things simple, just consider the following sample products for the amount of the three main food groups: protein, fat, carbohydrate (as sugars).
Product 1: Serving size (34.6 g), Protein (20 g), Sugars (4 g), Total Fat (1 g)
Product 2: Serving size (29 g), Protein (24 g), Sugars (1 g), Total Fat (1 g)
Product 3: Serving size (30 g), Protein (22 g), Sugars (0 g), Total Fat (0 g)
All of these products offer plenty of protein in each serving. The glaring deficiency is: NOT ENOUGH FAT! Fat is absolutely a crucial food group for taking with a high amount for protein for building muscle.
Everything you eat or drink is absorbed and used better in the presence of fat. Just today a research article appeared that showed the importance of using oil-based dressings for optimizing the antioxidant benefits of spinach salad. (By the way, we chemists classify fats and oils as the same kind of food group, the only difference being whether they are solids or liquids at room temperature.)
The simplest recommendation, therefore, is to get some fat or oil with your protein shakes. And get plenty of it. In fact, there are only two rules about consuming fat in your diet:
Rule 1) Consume all the fat you want if it is a product of Mother Nature. Saturated fats or unsaturated fats, plant or animal sources. It does not matter. The best sources are flax oil (cold-pressed and kept refrigerated), real butter, fish oil (either from fish dishes or from supplements from sources that are low on the food chain, such as krill), coconut oil (solidifies below 75 degrees), and CLA supplements (i.e., conjugated linoleic acids).
Rule 2) Stay away from fats and oils that are processed or synthetic. Trans fats (partially hydrogenated oils) are the worst. Margarine and other fake butter products are close behind. Most common vegetable oils are processed by heat or clarifying agents and are typically solvent-extracted. These include corn oils, canola oils, cottonseed oils, and soybean oils. Avoid all of them. Be sure to get only oils that are cold-pressed.
Finally, watch out for excess carbs in your protein shakes. They will undermine your muscle building metabolism. The product examples above are fine in that regard. You will find products on the market, however, that contain as much as 10 grams of sugars per serving (!).
Products that are artificially sweetened pose too many threats to mention, especially if they contain aspartame. Ideally, bodybuilding supplements should contain no sugars or sweeteners or flavoring at all. High quality products like these are sometimes hard to find, so just be persistent.
About the Author:
Get Dr. Dennis Clark's free report on the best muscle building diet now, plus his professional advice on where to find the best bodybuilding supplements anywhere.
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