Many protein shakes will slow down your muscle building efforts in their tracks and may even promote fat gain. Here is what is missing and how to overcome the deficiencies of these products.
So-called experts in nutrition and bodybuilding all talk about protein supplements as one of their favorite subjects. Protein powder reviews sometimes seem breathless with overhyped recommendations, almost as if these supplements are a miracle food group for building muscle. The reasoning is the dietary protein goes straight into building muscle, so the more you consume the more muscle mass you will have.
This is only partly true.
The main point here is to know what the main ingredients of protein supplement are. To keep it simple, I have listed the quantities per serving of the three main food groups in the example products here: 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)
These products all provide a good amount of protein in each serving. The most glaring item, however, is: TOO LITTLE FAT! Yup, this is a critical food group for promoting muscle building.
You get more nutritional value from everything you eat or drink in the presence of fat. Not too long ago, for example, scientists showed that using oil-based dressing on spinach salad provided greater antioxidant benefits. (We chemists, by the way, classify fats and oils as the same, the only difference being whether they are liquid or solid at room temperature.)
The easy advice is to get some fat or oil with your protein shakes. Lots of it. There are only two rules to follow regarding dietary fat:
Rule 1) Eat as much fat as you want as long it is made my Mother Nature. Plant or animal fat, saturated or unsaturated. It makes no difference. The best ones are fish oil (either from fish dishes or from supplements from sources that are low on the food chain, such as krill), real butter, flax oil (cold-pressed and kept refrigerated), 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.
So-called experts in nutrition and bodybuilding all talk about protein supplements as one of their favorite subjects. Protein powder reviews sometimes seem breathless with overhyped recommendations, almost as if these supplements are a miracle food group for building muscle. The reasoning is the dietary protein goes straight into building muscle, so the more you consume the more muscle mass you will have.
This is only partly true.
The main point here is to know what the main ingredients of protein supplement are. To keep it simple, I have listed the quantities per serving of the three main food groups in the example products here: 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)
These products all provide a good amount of protein in each serving. The most glaring item, however, is: TOO LITTLE FAT! Yup, this is a critical food group for promoting muscle building.
You get more nutritional value from everything you eat or drink in the presence of fat. Not too long ago, for example, scientists showed that using oil-based dressing on spinach salad provided greater antioxidant benefits. (We chemists, by the way, classify fats and oils as the same, the only difference being whether they are liquid or solid at room temperature.)
The easy advice is to get some fat or oil with your protein shakes. Lots of it. There are only two rules to follow regarding dietary fat:
Rule 1) Eat as much fat as you want as long it is made my Mother Nature. Plant or animal fat, saturated or unsaturated. It makes no difference. The best ones are fish oil (either from fish dishes or from supplements from sources that are low on the food chain, such as krill), real butter, flax oil (cold-pressed and kept refrigerated), 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:
Find out what Dr. Dennis Clark recommends on how to eat for a muscle building diet in his free report. Also see what Dr. Clark recommends on how to find the best bodybuilding supplements anywhere.
