Protein Supplements: How they work and what to look for when buying

This week I want to discuss briefly about protein supplementation, sense it seems to be that just about everyone who works out will at some point begin taking this vital supplement. What people don’t realize is that there are huge differences in the protein supplements that are available to buy. Just to name a few, these differences include prices, ingredients, and sources of protein. Sales of protein supplements continue to rise each year, adding to the estimated $25 billion U.S. dietary supplement industry (Dennis, 2010). According to a survey conducted by the Ipsos-Public Affairs for the Council of Responsible Nutrition (CRN), 65% of adult Americans (approximately 150 million) label themselves as supplement users (CRN, 2009). Taking a protein supplement while following an exercise program can have beneficial outcomes, so let’s take a look at what these may be and how protein works to benefit you.

First, we must discuss what is protein? Protein is an organic compound composed of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen. There are two types of proteins: complete and incomplete. Complete proteins contain all the essential amino acids, whereas incomplete proteins do not. Amino acids are the building blocks of protein and muscle tissue. Amino acids are broken down into essential (body does not produce enough naturally to support growth, therefore must be supplemented), non-essential (produced naturally by the human body in sufficient amounts and therefore do not need to be supplemented), and conditionally-essential (cannot be produced by the human body in sufficient amounts during illness and during times of extreme emotional stress, so therefore may need to be supplemented) (ISSA, 2008). Complete protein sources include: whey, casein, milk, eggs, beef, cheese, chicken, fish, yogurt, cottage cheese, and turkey. Incomplete protein sources include: vegetables, fruits, rice, grains, oats, pasta, some nuts, bread, and sunflower seeds. Proteins in the body are responsible for synthesizing structural proteins like muscle and also responsible for synthesizing structural hormones (insulin, growth hormone, Insulin Growth Factor-1). In essence, this all means that proteins are responsible for muscle growth, recovery, strength, and absorption of nutrients into your muscle cells.

When consuming a proper diet, your bodies live in a net protein balance (NPB), where protein synthesis vs. protein breakdown, balance each other out. When you work out, especially in a resistance training program or endurance activity, you increase the opportunity for muscle protein synthesis -- an anabolic state where you grow/increase skeletal muscle mass. At the same time, muscle protein breakdown occurs which is a catabolic state when skeletal muscle mass decreases due to stresses placed on the body. Using protein, the body is able to repair the skeletal muscle mass to bring you back into a net protein balance, or a positive protein state which means bigger muscle mass. It is when you do not consume enough protein that your body goes into a negative protein balance (catabolic), and you decrease muscle mass. It has been shown that doing acute heavy resistance exercise (intermittent exercise of repeated short, high-intensity of 60-90% 1 RM) will stimulate an increase in muscle protein synthesis (Hulmi, Lockwood, Stout, 2010). Consuming a pre- or post-exercise protein supplement or essential amino acid (EAA) supplement will help increase the protein synthesis, aiding to new growth. One research study showed that individuals who consumed 15 g of whey protein isolate immediately before and after resistance exercise, for 21 weeks, increased muscle cross-sectional area and seemed to accelerate increases in muscle thickness more than ingestion of a non-energetic placebo (Hulmi et al, 2009). There are several studies that support the use of EAA’s and protein supplements when used with the context of exercise, in order to enhance recovery and reduce muscle soreness (Nosaka, Sacco, Mawatari, 2006; Buckley et al, 2010; Etheridge et al, 2008).

Now that we know that protein is good, when should we use it and how much? Studies vary on the best time to intake protein, but for the majority, research agrees that protein supplementation should be consumed within 1-3 hours post-exercise (Tipton et al, 2007). In addition, during a fasted state, muscle protein synthesis during or immediately after resistance exercise may be prevented by provision of EAA’s before and/or during exercise (Beelen et al, 2008). What research has found, is that as little as 10 g of protein supplementation has shown to be beneficial for muscle hypertrophy (growth). According to ISSA (2008), recommended protein quantities for light to moderate physical activity people tend to be between .8-1.0 g/kg of body weight and for endurance and strength-trained athletes between 1.2-1.8 g/kg of body weight. The amount of protein in your diet will change significantly depending on activity levels, workout programs, body types and goals. This is where I highly recommend a person to speak with a personal trainer and/or a fitness nutritionist to determine the right amount of protein for your diet. This reason for this is that just like too little protein can cause muscle catabolism, too much protein can cause increases in fat. The same goes with inadequate amounts of carbohydrates and fat in the diet. Now this is not suggesting that people have to start counting calories to ensure they are getting the right nutrients, but it does mean that you should be very mindful of what you eat every day and try to get into the habit of eating the right portions of food. This brings us to the last part of the topic on protein supplementation, which includes reading labels. Below are two examples of popular protein whey supplement labels, one good and one bad.

Label 1

Label 2

By quickly looking at the supplement facts section of each of these protein supplements, they both appear to be pretty good. At first glance I would see that they are both relatively low in sugar and have about the same amount of protein (doubling the serving size of label 2 will give us 34 grams). The big discrepancy of the two would be fat, 12g vs. .5g. That’s a difference of 11.5 g of fat! Where I see people make the largest mistakes in buying supplements is a failure to look at the “other” ingredients, which may explain why there is so much more fat in label 1. You’ll immediately notice that label 1 has almost 3 times the amount of ingredients vs. label 2. Even though label 1 shows 4 g of sugar, does that really mean there are not sweeteners? Reading the ingredients immediately show proof that there may be little natural “table” sugar but a ton of other artificial sweeteners that causes the same responses to the body (aka fat storage): maltodextrin, sucralose, fructose, resistant maltodextrin; not to mention the artificial flavorings and sunflower/canola oils. Cocoa powder is a sweetener that is used in both products, because it not only lightly sweetens but also has been proven to help aid in recovery and restoring muscle glycogen. So the lesson here is to not simply buy a product on cheap prices, and great tastes, but read the labels and buy something that is going to give you the most bang for your buck. Supplement companies know that people tend to buy products based on tastes and looks; therefore they get away with avoiding high quality ingredients into their supplements. The benefit of creating a poor quality protein with a great advertising campaign just means it allows the manufactures to increase their profit margin while bleeding your pockets. My technique is I try to buy supplements that have the shortest ingredient labels, that way I know that I’m not doubling up on my supplements (such as caffeine and vitamins) and not putting useless, harmful substances in my body.

I know this may seem overwhelming with all the research, but I want to give you the best information as possible to make an educated decision. The take away is learn to read labels, and find out what exactly you’re buying. I will have future discussions about Amino Acids and different types of proteins, so if you got a little confused, then don’t worry, we’ll clear that up next time. I hope this post helped, and have a great week of training!

References

The Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN). (2009). Issues Surrounding Healthcare Key Priority for Supplement Users. Retrieved from http://www.crnusa.org/CRNPR09_ConsumerHC011509.html.

Dennis, J. (2010). Dietary Supplements 2010. Nutraceuticalsworld.com. Retrieved from http://www.nutraceuticalsworld.com/contents/view/17971.

Hulmi, J.J., Kovanen, V., Selänne, H., Kraemer, W.J., Häkkinen, K., Mero, A.A. (2009). Acute and long-term effects of resistance exercise with or without protein ingestion on muscle hypertrophy and gene expression. Amino Acids, 37, 297-308.

Etheridge, T., Philp, A., Watt, P.W. (2008). A single protein meal increases recovery of muscle function following an acute eccentric exercise bout. Appl Physiol Nutr Metab, 33, 483-488.

Buckley, J.D., Thomson, R.L., Coates, A.M., Howe, P.R., DeNichilo, M.O., Rowney, M.K. (2010). Supplementation with a whey protein hydrolysate enhances recovery of muscle force-generating capacity following eccentric exercise. J Sci Med Sport, 13,178-181.

Nosaka, K., Sacco, P., Mawatari, K. (2006) Effects of amino acid supplementation on muscle soreness and damage. Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab, 16, 620-635.

Tipton K.D., Elliott, T.A., Cree, M.G., Aarsland, A.A., Sanford, A.P., Wolfe, R.R. (2007). Stimulation of net muscle protein synthesis by whey protein ingestion before and after exercise. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab, 292, 71-76.

Beelen, M., Tieland, M., Gijsen, A.P., Vandereyt, H., Kies, A.K., Kuipers, H., Saris, W.H., Koopman, R., Van Loon, L.J. (2008). Coingestion of carbohydrate and protein hydrolysate stimulates muscle protein synthesis during exercise in young men, with no further increase during subsequent overnight recovery. J Nut, 138, E2198-2204.

Beelen, M., Koopman, R., Gijsen, A.P., Vandereyt, H., Kies, A.K., Kuipers, H., Saris, W.H., Van Loon, L.J. (2008). Protein coingestion stimulates muscle protein synthesis during resistance-type exercise. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab, 295, E70-77.