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BODY A

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PROTEIN
fter learning about the importance of post-workout protein, you took that big first step and started packing a shaker cup in your gym bag. Congratulations! That puts you ahead of a surprising number of recreational athletes who go at it regularly on the cardio machines, on the basketball and racquetball courts, up the climbing walls and in the weight room. Theyre still wondering why they lack energy for the next days session and cant build up muscle mass exactly the way theyd envisioned. As with any learning process, you cant go to the head of the class until you immerse yourself in the science of sports nutrition. What follows is a protein primer that should get you well on your way to mastering the art of fueling continued progress.

HERE'S AN EXERCISE THAT INVOLVES MORE BRAIN POWER THAN PHYSICAL EXERTION.

Next time youre heading out of the fitness center, take a detour to your facilitys retail section where workout gear and sports nutrition products are sold. Not counting the different brands, how many types of protein do you see? Its often hard to tell from the labeling, so youll have to check the Nutrition Facts or Supplement Facts panel to find out for certain. In addition to whey, casein, milk, egg and soy options, youll discover a variety of blended proteins including weight gainers, meal replacement powders and specialty selections.

These blends contain some or even all of the single source proteins. In addition to these more common powders, look hard enough and you can find buckwheat, beef, even hemp protein. Before we jump into the differences between the different protein sources, lets back up for a minute and examine whats meant by the designations supplement and nutritional facts. If your protein powder has a Nutrition Facts panel boxed off on the label, its considered a food. All of the ingredients are GRAS approved, an acronym that stands for Generally Recognized As Safe. This basically means that the food additive in question has either been proven safe for the intended application through clinical testing or long established industry use. Conversely, if the protein powder in question has a Supplement Facts panel it doesnt imply that the ingredients arent safe. All this really means is that one or more of the products ingredients has yet to be recognized as GRAS. A subtle difference, but one worth noting.

How Your ingredients STACK up


Now lets build on your expanding Facts Panel knowledge base by examining the Ingredients list that typically appears directly underneath or along side the panels rectangular border. By law, each ingredient must be listed in descending order of predominance. In other words, in terms of volume, theres more of the ingredient that appears first than any of the other ingredients. The ingredient listed second accounts for a greater portion than all the but the first ingredient, and so on. Whats the gram weight difference between the first two, or the first and last ingredients listed? It could be a little or a lot. The way ingredients line up on the list is only intended to give you a general idea of what goes into your protein powder. Say youre interested in buying a whey protein for its fast-acting qualities. The first ingredient on the list might be whey protein concentrate, whey protein isolates or hydrolyzed whey peptides. Theyre all whey proteins, but each has distinctive characteristics. Whey protein isolates have had much of the fat, cholesterol and lactose found in whey concentrates isolated out, making them a better choice for people concerned about fat, cholesterol and lactose. Whey peptides have been hydrolyzed, a process that breaks the already quickly digesting whey into smaller pieces for even more rapid assimilation. So whey peptides are the fastest type of whey. Following this logic, you can be sure that hydrolyzed whey protein isolates are the purest, fastest whey proteins available. If theyre the first or only protein listed on the label, youve got yourself one serious high-performance protein.

those meals between meals or for lasting protein support when you arent going to be able to eat for a while. One of the most basic and useful protein stacks you can apply to your diet is fast-acting whey first thing in the morning, before and/or after training coupled with slower digesting casein between meals and before turning in for the night. In between these fastest and slowest proteins is an array of intermediate choices that many active people find useful. Soy is one of the few proteins that vegetarians can rely on to provide the full complement of the EAAs, including the BCAAs. Its often referred to as a complete protein for that reason. Soys

also recognized as heart healthy. If you adhere to a diet low in saturated and trans fats, consuming 25 grams of soy protein daily may help reduce your risk of heart disease. Then theres egg protein. For eons, nutrition experts have been putting eggs on a pedestal. Theyre considered the gold standard of protein quality. In addition to having an impressively high biological value, eggs are easily digested and provide abundant levels of EAAs. Theyre also lactose free, making egg protein a very worthy substitute for milk-based proteins like whey and casein.

BLENDED proteinS
Your All-In-1 Stack
Earlier in this article we brought up the concept of stacking, which is combining one or more ingredients to produce a supplement with greater potential than any of its individual components. A stack can be applied at different times during the day, like whey pre-workout and casein before bed, or it can be consumed all at one time as a single shake. Blended proteins are an example of this all at once stacking philosophy. There are a couple of very good reasons to opt for a blended protein over a shake powder produced from a single protein source. Convenience and versatility are two obvious arguments for going the blended route. For example, a blended protein with 10 unique sources can provide you with the benefits of fast, intermediate and slowly digesting proteins without having to purchase more than one product. You could use a protein like that any time, day or night, before or after training and between meals too. It might not be able to outperform single source proteins in one particular application, but overall this end-to-end blend might work well enough for you over the course of your busy day. It just depends on what youre trying to accomplish. While were on the subject of goal attainment, you might be surprised to learn that there are professional athletes at the top of their game who swear by blended proteins. Those blends arent formulated for convenience or versatility. Some are weight gainers, others are augmented high-protein blends. They might feature an extensive amino acid profile, or include vitamins and minerals to enhance macronutrient utilization. Some blended proteins include compounds like creatine for supporting strength enhancement and recovery objectives. You can find proteins blended for very broad and very specific uses. Of course, proteins arent the exclusive domain of bodybuilders and power lifters. Endurance athletes need protein as well. So do athletes who subject their bodies to rigorous physical demands ranging from conquering a military obstacle course to succeeding in team sports. While distance runners and cyclists rely on quick carbs to power their long runs and rides,

they still require protein to repair and rebuild their muscles, just as it does for strength athletes. This is why protein/carbohydrate blends are formulated in ratios very conducive to promoting muscle recovery and glycogen replenishment. Glycogen is the bodys preferred fuel source for long duration exercise and its replenished with fructose, sucrose, waxy maize starch and other carbohydrate sources. While these blended proteins could be considered factory stacked, you can customize any protein powder by stacking it yourself. For example, to get more Omega-3 essential fatty acids in your diet, you could prepare your protein shake in an electric blender and toss in a handful of almonds just before mixing. Add a couple ice cubes while youre at it to enhance your shakes consistency and temperature profile. Theres pretty much no limit to what you can add to any protein shake using this common household appliance. For an ever-expanding list of shake stacking ideas, visit OptimumSmoothie.com.

The Scoop On
The example of whey protein being the preferred choice for speed of delivery is only half the story. Whey is also a potent source of essential amino acids (EAAs) and branched chain amino acids (BCAAs), both of which play very significant roles in muscle recovery. These amino acids provide anti-catabolic support that helps limit the breakdown of muscle during physical training while at the same time triggering protein synthesis to boost the muscle rebuilding effort that follows this breakdown. In a nutshell, thats how muscle size and strength are developed. Wheys quick absorption and potency make it ideal for before and/or after weight training. At this point, youre probably wondering why anyone would want to use a protein other than whey. Seems like

protein Sources
its absolutely perfect for every shakemaking occasion. Depending on your goals, your dietary regimen and your budget, sometimes a slower digesting protein is better suited. Considering that the majority of muscle rebuilding takes place while youre asleep, wheys speed of delivery doesnt quite match up with the fact that you wont be consuming anything for the 7 to 9 hours youre in bed. The solution? Micellar casein. Casein digests up to 7 times more slowly than whey protein. It tends to gel in the stomach and release amino acids steadily over time, so you can see how drinking a casein shake would be advantageous right before going to bed. Because this gelling also creates a sensation of satiety, or fullness, casein is also a smart choice for

While you're online, take your protein know-how even further by logging onto Optimum Nutritions ProteinReport.com website. But before you click on your browser, read the protein timing story in this issue of Optimum Lifestyle. Its the next logical step in your protein schooling.

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