Protein Intake
Evaluation of Protein Requirements for Trained Strength Athletes
by Mike Nystrom
Alright ladies and gentleman, its time for a wake up call. I know we all love our protein powders and bars, and don't get me wrong they function perfectly when you eat numerous meals throughout the course of the day, but how much of that California gold do you really need? Well I'm gonna enlighten everyone to the true story on protein intake. I have reviewed a study from the American Physiology Society that uses a group of sedentary people, and compares them to a group of strength athletes in the body’s capacity for protein synthesis and Leucine oxidation. Leucine is an essential amino acid, meaning it is one that the body does not produce and must be consumed through diet in animal products like milk, cheese, chicken, and beef. I mainly wanted to discover how much protein is truly needed in an active person or weightlifter versus a normal individual. It is my firm belief that more protein is needed than the RDA prescription and that much more is needed in a weightlifter or bodybuilder in training, however, lets see what science says.
To continue, “For SA, the LP diet did not provide adequate protein and resulted in an accommodated state (decreased WBPS vs. MP and HP)” (Journal of Applied Physiology). (SA = strength athlete, LP, MP, HP = the different protein diets, WBPS = whole body protein synthesis) This states that the low protein diet was not adequate for the strength athletes and resulted in a decrease in whole body protein synthesis. The moderate protein diet resulted in an adaptation which was an increase in whole body protein synthesis, and no chance in Leucine oxidation. The high protein diet in the strength athletes did not produce an increase in whole body protein synthesis over the moderate protein diet, but did generate a large increase in Leucine oxidation. This indicated a severe nutrient overload, or too much protein. In the sedentary individuals the low protein diet proved adequate because both the moderate and high protein diets caused leucine oxidation increase, which again pointed to a nutrient overload.
I expected the results of some aspects of the experiment while others left me a little bewildered. I figured that the low protein diet would be sufficient for sedentary individuals because from what I know of protein its principal uses replacing old cells and building all the tissues of the body. Especially cells damaged during training, a condition not suffered by sedentary people. This damage and tissue breakdown however, no matter the level of DOMS experience, is not as great as people think. I will discuss that point further in part two of this article. My main surprise came from the fact that the high protein diet caused an amino overload in the strength athletes. The diet was little over a gram of protein per pound of which is a number I have been told by many people, including certified trainers, to use as a minimum daily intake.
I was under the impression that even more should be ingested on days when large muscle groups are trained. The fact the moderate protein diet caused a whole body protein synthesis increase in the strength athletes also surprised me. This is about .65 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight. I have always thought more was needed, especially when I see premiere bodybuilders who ingest 600-700 or so grams a day, nearly 3 grams per pound of bodyweight, and maintain extremely low body fat percentages. If anyone has ever told you that protein can't be stored as fat, well, thats another myth and they are sorely mistaken. Any unused excess calorie, no matter the macronutrient of it's origin, it will be store as fat.
"Pro-Strong man, Mark Felix Takes in 600g+ of Protein a day"
Premiere athletes, like professional bodybuilders swear by their protein intake and maintain that weight will be lost weight if it drops much lower. This leads me to question the fact that a highly trained, muscular individual would have a nutrient overload while ingesting 2.4 grams of protein per kilogram of bodyweight. (the amount eaten in the high protein diet) However, there is research that concludes a diet more like the HP I have discussed could be beneficial for an individual that is training in conjunction with anabolic steroid use. I believe much more detailed studying is needed going from person to person, for individual body types, muscularity, training frequency and type, desired results, and body fat percentages. I believe that the daily intake is vastly different for the entire range of parameters, and the bottom line from the field of science is save your money. There is no compelling evidence suggesting that regular healthy adults would need to undertake any more protein than normal when participating in a strength training program.
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Source References
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- Atkinson, Chesley, Phillips, Schwacz, Tarnoplsky. Evaluation of Protein Requirements for Trained Strength Athletes. Journal of Applied Physiology. Volume 73, Issue 5. 1986-1995. American Physiology Society. Retrieved 05, 27, 2007.
