Supplements

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Dikon

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Supplements

Whilst training has anyone ever dabbled with supplements like protein and various others on the market?I know to build muscle you need to be taking protein in your diet etc.What else should you be taking to enhance a work out at the gym or to recover from a hard gym session?
 
Re: Supplements

Apologies to Harrowdrivers for the repeat :D

For those of you who do not know, whey protein is a pure, natural, protein from cow's milk and a rich source of branched chain amino acids (BCAAs). BCAAs are important for athletes since unlike the other essential amino acids, they are metabolised directly into muscle tissue and are the first ones used during periods of exercise and resistance training. It is commonly used by athletes desiring to accelerate muscle development, improve body composition, enhance athletic performance and aid recovery.

Whey protein is also an excellent source of the essential amino acid, leucine. Leucine is important for athletes as it plays a key role in promoting muscle protein synthesis and muscle growth. Research has shown that individuals who exercise benefit from diets high in leucine and have more lean muscle tissue and less body fat compared to individuals whose diet contains lower levels of leucine. Whey protein isolate has approximately 50% more leucine than soy protein isolate.

Whey protein is a soluble, easy to digest protein and is efficiently absorbed into the body. It is often referred to as a "fast" protein for its ability to quickly provide nourishment to muscles.

Whey protein helps athletes maintain a healthy immune system by increasing the levels of glutathione in the body. Glutathione is an anti-oxidant required for a healthy immune system and exercise and resistance training may reduce glutathione levels.

In its purest form, whey protein contains little to no fat, lactose or cholesterol. The best time to consume this protein is post workout because your body absorbs it at a much faster rate than any other type of protein. For this reason, avoid consuming it at any other time as it is not able to keep you adequately energised throughout the day.

Having spent all this time promoting whey protein, it is, after all, a supplement and no substitute to consuming good quality protein from foods within your daily diet.
 
Re: Supplements

Protein is important and should be at the top of everyone’s grocery list and getting enough protein is most important when trying to develop a good body shape. If you are serious about achieving your fitness goals then you will do whatever it takes to achieve them. Eating five to seven meals daily is tough at first but once you get into the habit of it, everything will become second nature.

Lean proteins, low in fat, should be eaten throughout the day. Good lean protein sources include egg whites, chicken breasts, tuna, and lean steak. There are many other good sources of lean and veggie protein but those examples will give you an idea of what to eat.

The obesity epidemic would lessen if people simply started eating more protein. It does not matter if you weight train or not, not getting enough protein will cause health problems.

A loss of muscle tissue is the main problem and you will gain fat because of increased cortisol levels, which are associated with a lack of protein. Your immune system will start deteriorating, your body’s cells will weaken and you will be more susceptible to illness.

However, protein intake significantly above the recommended values can prove harmful because excessive protein breakdown places a strain on the liver and kidney functions through the production and elimination of urea and other solutes. Approximately 10 – 15% of your total diet (depending on your fitness schedule) should be set aside for protein.
 
Re: Supplements

David can tell you all about Precision Nutrition or go to the Harrowdrive website to get the details. ;)

The only supplement I would recommend is Fish oil, EPA/DHA, not cod liver oil or any other fish product.

Fish oil is incredibly important for so many health reasons as it contains the omega-3 fatty acids, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and supplements are the best way to consume it!

Unfortunately, the fish high in omega-3 fatty acids such as mackerel, trout, herring, sardines, tuna, salmon etc can accumulate toxic substances. I do not wish to alarm you, fish is great and I eat a lot, often raw, but as it can be contaminated with mercury, dioxin, PCBs and Chlordane, some people limit their intake, preferring to take the ‘distilled’ oil but do not mistake this for products such as cod liver oil!

It has been suggested that these kinds of fatty acids are responsible for the neuronal growth of the frontal cortex of the brain which, it is also suggested, is the seat of personal behaviour. Many schools have recommended its use and are convinced that it makes a huge difference in the learning environment. It has also been suggested that they may help protect the brain from cognitive problems associated with Alzheimer's disease and it has been shown to aid in the treatment of people suffering with depression.
 
Re: Supplements

Liz Ward said:
Having spent all this time promoting whey protein, it is, after all, a supplement and no substitute to consuming good quality protein from foods within your daily diet.
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You are dead on again Liz.

This is the most important message. There are no supplements that can make up for a diet that suffers from lack of adequate veggies, animal protein (meat, fish etc) and healthy fats.
 
Re: Supplements

Liz Ward said:
However, protein intake significantly above the recommended values can prove harmful because excessive protein breakdown places a strain on the liver and kidney functions through the production and elimination of urea and other solutes.
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This is one point I disagree with Liz.

I have never found any studies that show this to be the case in healthy people with healthy kidney function.

Although the total amount of protein is a matter of great debate with people much brainier than me, I lean towards the higher protein option.

A Higher protein diet as part of an overall healthy eating plan has a number of benefits you can see here: http://www.harrowdrive.com/why-you-may-need-more-protein
 
Re: Supplements

Unfortunately this is one of those sticky issues that the experts will take some time to agree on and I guess we are left to come to our own conclusions :).

It should be remembered though, that athletes involved in resistance training (not to be confused with muscle builders) do require more protein, especially when training the large muscle groups, eg legs and lower back. Research experts generally recommend between 1.2g–1.7g/kg of bodyweight per day, whereas Eastern bloc coaches/nutritionists recommend up to 4g/kg, (compared with 0.8g/kg for mere mortals). That is quite a range! It is basically a case of trying to maintain the nitrogen balance, which is the indicator of protein use in the body to promote anabolism rather than catabolism. It should be said that these athletes do tend to use protein in a more efficient way.

Bear in mind that during the initial 10-12 days of training, there is a small increase in protein breakdown and less body protein is broken down if the amount of protein in the diet is increased at this time. After about 12 days of training though, protein balance is restored, and the body is likely to start building extra protein into the muscles if strength training continues.

A study compared a group of experienced strength-trained athletes with a group of sedentary controls. Both groups were tested at three protein intake levels - low, moderate and high (0.86, 1.4 and 2.4 g/kg body weight respectively). The protein intake required to maintain body protein levels was 1.4g/kg for strength athletes and 0.69 for sedentary subjects. An increase in protein intake from low to moderate increased the rate of protein synthesis in strength athletes, but increasing to the high level did not have any further effect. ('Evaluation of protein requirements for strength trained athletes', Tarnopolsky et al, J App Physiol, Vol 73, pp1986-95).

This agrees with Peter Lemon’s work, a researcher based at Kent State University, Ohio. He concludes that strength training athletes need to consume more protein than the RDA, recommending levels of 1.5-2.0g/kg. He emphasizes that although increasing protein intakes above the RDA (in tandem with resistance exercise) may enhance muscle gain, this increase is not a continuing linear relationship - the effect appears to plateau out at relatively modest increases.

In her study, Janet Walberg-Rankin concludes, 'it is prudent for the resistance trainer to consume at least 1.2g protein per kg body weight per day, but not more than 2g/kg' ('A review of Nutritional Practices and Needs of Bodybuilders', Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, Vol 9 pp116-124).
 
Re: Supplements

A protein requirement which is higher than the RDA does not mean that resistance trainers need to consume protein supplements. Although the protein requirements may be higher in absolute terms, athletes in training need to be eating more food overall than their sedentary counterparts - this will automatically increase protein intake. The extra protein can easily be obtained when a variety of foods are eaten and the total energy intake is high enough.

Protein foods should be chosen with other nutritional goals in mind, too. A mistake some strength athletes make when focusing exclusively on protein is to end up eating lots of high-fat foods. For the sake of general health as well as stamina, it's best to go for lower-fat protein foods which also provide a range of other nutrients such as the following.

All foods have low to moderate fat content, and provide 10g of protein:

grilled fish 50g
tuna/salmon 50g
lean beef or lamb 35g
veal 35g
turkey or chicken 40g
game meat 35g
eggs 2 small
cottage cheese 70g
non-fat fruit yogurt 200g carton
skimmed milk 300ml
wholemeal bread 4 slices
muesli 1 cup (100g)
cooked pasta 2 cups
cooked brown rice 3 cups
cooked lentils .75 cup
red kidney beans .75 cup


I tend to go along with the research that eating more protein than your body needs for building muscle will just mean that the extra protein is burned for energy, or converted straight into fat. But I must emphasise more protein than your body needs for building muscle. Also, excessively high intakes (more than 20 per cent of the total energy in the diet) have been linked to various medical problems, such as increased loss of calcium from the body, kidney stones and gout but I appreciate that not everybody will do so. :laugh:
 
Re: Supplements

It's a complex area for sure.

I think the take away message is to get plenty of protein from a variety of animal and non-animal sources as part of a balanced diet with lots of vegetables, healthy fats and unprocessed food.

Supplements should only be considered once you have 'dialled in' your diet.

(As a side noite, I use protein powder as an ingredient for healthy bars and shakes, but in that case I don't consider it a 'supplement' it's a foodstuff.)
 
Re: Supplements

Reading Dave’s Food Blog brought a couple of things to mind.

Firstly, Iron.

Dave [sorry Dave, I hope you don’t mind me using you as an example] has tea with all his meals and I am aware that this is not uncommon.

Iron absorption from plant foods is inhibited if tannin is present, best to leave the tea until about half an hour after the meal. A deficiency of Iron really reduces performance.

Eating foods high in Vitamin C with the meal, however, assist absorption.

Sports performers who undertake a tough training programme have a larger blood volume than mere mortals. This means that their haemoglobin [measure of circulating iron] is diluted so require even more iron.

Again, this should be consumed in food form not from supplements, which can have side effects such as constipation.
 
Re: Supplements

Secondly, Calcium.

The milk in Dave’s tea is really important, especially for Dave :)

There is a continual process of calcium deposit and removal in the body. Until about 20 to 30 years of age, more calcium is deposited than removed; after this age the process is reversed.

For most people, one pint of milk a day will ensure they have the majority of the required calcium. Of course, there are alternatives.

Also, remember, fat does not make you fat!

Calcium is really important for muscle contraction too, but I might leave that for another time ;)
 
Re: Supplements

Liz Ward said:
Reading Dave’s Food Blog brought a couple of things to mind.
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Not to pick on you Dave but also...

More veggies!

5 a days the MINIMUM in my book. Aim for 10-15 portions of veg every day and you are looking good.

Then a couple of portions of fruit on top of that ;)
 
Re: Supplements

Quick question... Ive been ill for the last 12 days and i'm taking some vitamin stuff is it correct that once your body takes up its daily intake of Vitamin C the rest is just release out the body as waste? Is this the same with other vitamins?
 
Re: Supplements

Harrowdrive said:
Not to pick on you Dave but also...

More veggies!

5 a days the MINIMUM in my book. Aim for 10-15 portions of veg every day and you are looking good.

Then a couple of portions of fruit on top of that ;)
Click to expand...

What constitutes a portion of fruit or veg? For example is one carrot a portion or do you need more?

I have looked it up but seem to get slightly varying answers.
 
Re: Supplements

Sorry, the Quote object is being a little temperamental!

Yes, Vitamin C is not stored.

No, some vitamins are stored and too much is damaging, such as Vitamin A.

Not sure what your concoction contains but you probably do not need all of it.

If you are deficient in a particular vitamin, target it. I do not know the details of your illness but if you are now eating well, you are probably not deficient in any.

Hope this helps; sorry it's a bit rushed!
 
Re: Supplements

Depends on the size of the carrot; whatever people tell you, size does matter ;)

A portion is usually a palm full; fill your palm with sliced carrot [not straight from the saucepan] and that is a portion.

If an apple fits in your palm, it's a portion; if it is smaller, it is not!
 
Re: Supplements

A portion is generally a cup of something. So a large carrot would probably be about right but you would need a handful of baby carrots.

Remember to get the full health/fitness benefits it's a minimum of 5 (ideal 10-15) portions of just veg plus an optional 1-2 portions of fruit.
 
Re: Supplements

Almost_Austwick said:
Thanks for that Liz, it might be a stupid question but sometimes it's hard to visualise things.
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Not a stupid question at all; sometimes, when I'm hungry, I kid myself that a portion is a plateful... especially if it's chocolate cake :D

Remember that a child's or lady's portion is relative to their size; what would fit in to the palm of your hand would be too much for them!
 
Re: Supplements

Harrowdrive said:
A portion is generally a cup of something. So a large carrot would probably be about right but you would need a handful of baby carrots.

Remember to get the full health/fitness benefits it's a minimum of 5 (ideal 10-15) portions of just veg plus an optional 1-2 portions of fruit.
Click to expand...

I know that it's good for you but at times it does seem like a lot :D.

Liz Ward said:
Not a stupid question at all; sometimes, when I'm hungry, I kid myself that a portion is a plateful... especially if it's chocolate cake :D
Click to expand...

I'm with you on the cake!
 
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