The local TV New Story based on two recent scientific studies is easy to predict. The reporter will stand in front of a shelf full of whey protein tubs and confidently say, “If you take protein supplements you are wasting your money and placing your health in danger!”
The report will feature a quote by some doctor or professor saying that a person only really needs 60 grams of protein a day.
The template of the TV report will be a less nuanced version of this Live Science column and like the column, will not feature an informed counter point because, “hey, the science is settled right?”
Wrong. As researchers from McMaster University pointed in a paper published in the International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, the science of protein in people who exercise, especially those who lift weights, is as about as settled as man-made global warming.
PROTEIN IS DANGEROUS!?!
The news media loves the ‘Health Risk’ story, especially local TV news. If it wasn’t for the ‘Health Risk’ story local affiliates would never be able to fill the 10-minute-news hole of the modern Eye Witness News format.
The Live Science column dutifully cites the health risk:
“No studies have identified definitively short-term health problems from excess protein, but this has been associated with kidney failure, osteoporosis and heart disease.”
The problem is high-protein diets have been found in other studies to reduce the risks of renal failure and heart disease.
“In establishing the RDA, the IOM report reviewed the impact of high protein intake on renal disease and concluded that levels of dietary protein are not related to progressive decline in kidney function with age. Other studies examining protein intake and renal function support this conclusion…in fact, preliminary studies show a positive effect of higher protein diets on risk factors for kidney disease, including obesity, hypertension, and diabetes.” (Phillips, et.al, McMaster University)
The Canadian and Alaskan Inuit populations have incredibly high protein intake throughout their lives without any negative health effects.
But those facts get in the way of a good story.
If the health risks of a high-protein diet are overblown, how does the claim of added protein being a waste of money stack up?
MEASURING THE PROTEIN BENEFIT
Compared to the seemingly omni-present high fructose corn syrup, protein is not cheap. The wholesale price of HCF is about 32 cents per pound compared to wholesale box beef cut-out of $1.40 per pound. Whey protein concentrate wholesales for about 93 cents per pound.
Switching from carbs to protein will affect your waist and your wallet.
In our book Fit for Combat, Nita and I advise men to eat 1.5 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight once they get into the more intense weight lifting workouts. The professors and health pundits recommend half a gram of protein per pound of bodyweight for athletes.
The protein consumption we advise is based on consensus among trainers of competitve physique athletes and what a normal person can reasonably shove down their throat in a day.
That may not seem incredibly scientific, but trainers like Tim Sparkes of Die Hard Gym in Phoenix prepare dozens male bodybuilding and women figure competitors for competitions every year have a large data set on what works.
The practitioners of building muscle and strength all agree–it takes a lot of protein to build muslce.
Dr. Mauro Di Pasquale, a medical doctor and former professor, advises 2 grams of protein per pound to maximize muscle gains.
Some huge bodybuilders on massive quantities of steroids will eat up to 4 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight. They can eat that much because they have so much muscle to begin with and are taking massive doses of drugs that enhance muscle protein synthesis.
Obviously there is a divide between the practitioners and the professors. Part of the divide is in how they view the role and purpose of protein.
Phillips et.al point out the recommended daily allowance for protein was arrived at in a curious fashion–measures of nitrogen balance.
The goal of the recommended daily allowace is to prevent a protein deficiency. That is to balance protein intake with protein use. The commonly cited flaw in nitrogen balance measures is that body will adapt to a lower protein intake by down-regulating nitrogen loss.
Because the RDA is based on nitrogen equillibrium in prevention of deficiency, the studies in athletes also focus on the minimum required for balance in protein consumption compared to protein used. For weight lifters who want to increase muscle tone and size the goal is not mere equillibrium.
“Although attaining nitrogen balance per se is likely a healthful and adequate endpoint for sedentary individuals, it is questionable whether the same can be said for athletes. For those wishing to gain lean mass, for example, positive nitrogen balance is the desired goal. This is presumably because of the periodic stimulation of muscle protein synthesis, which, if it is to support the net gain of new proteins, would require net extra amino acids.” (Phillips, et.al)
Which is exactly what the practitioners like Tim Sparkes and Glenn Krog are saying.
“Ninety grams of protein a day may be fine if you just want to survive, but if you want supraphysiological health and body conditioning, then more protein is a prerequisite,” Krog said referring to the Live Science column.
The goal of the professors is maintenance, nitrogen balance. The goal of the practitioners is body recomposition to a lean, muscular physique. Krog offers this simple explanation of the RDA divide using the same numbers provided by the Live Science columnist.
“Ninety grams of protein is 360 calories, assuming the the average male eats a measly 1700 calories a day, and 15%(255calories – 28g) comes from fat, then the balance is carbohydrate -1085 calories or 271g of carbs, I want to see an average man eat 271 grams of carbs a day and lose fat.”
The McMaster University researchers even pointed to a volume of studies showing that a low carbohydrate, high protein diet resulted in the subjects losing fat while retaining muscle. But they stopped well short of endorsing the larger quantities of protein advocated by the practitioners.
“Quite simply, in the absence of evidence suggesting that higher intakes are beneficial, it is not yet possible to say that they will be beneficial.”
It is also not possible to say they are a waste of money as there are no controlled studies comparing high protein intake to moderate protein intake during a strength training exercise program.
To the professors, anything beyond balance is a waste, to the practitioners the added protein beyond balance the goal–making the expense worth it.
This would make the whole debate seem like a wash, but there is actually a lot of common ground that the professors and practitioners agree on, especially when protein consumption can maximize benefits and how find out for yourself if extra protein works for you.
SYNTHESIS SYNERGY
Of all the quirks and contours of the debate, one aspect of protein is often overlooked, an aspect that lends support to what the practioners and bodybuilders are saying–just eating protein increases muscle protein synthesis.
In an article in Applied Physiology, Nutrition and Metabolism, researchers from McMaster University report on the effects of protein after it is ingested.
They found through a large body of research that protein consumption stimulates muscle protein synthesis stating, “stimulation of MPS is driven almost exclusively by the hyperaminoacidemia.” Hyperaminoacidemia being an abundance of amino acids in the blood stream.
The mere ingestion of protein leads to protein synthesis in the muscles and halts muscle breakdown.
There is also a synergy between exercising Type II muscle fibers, eating protein and protein synthesis.
Type II fibers, also known as fast twitch fibers, are the ones used in weight lifting and sprinting. They are also the ones that increase in size and tone in response to weight training.
After reviewing a long list of peer reviewed studies Phillips concludes working the fast twitch fibers is most likely a “prerequisite condition to maximize the anabolic effect of resistance exercise.”
When protein is consumed before and after weight training that activates the Type II Fibers, the accrual of muscle protein spikes. The optimal timing is one hour before and immediately after training. The optimal dosage is ~20 grams of protein before and ~20 grams after, which would get a person almost halfway to the 90 grams cited by the Live Science columnist.
But if you look at the chart again, the protein utilization rate that spikes at around 20 grams does not stop. Test subjects who consumed up 40 grams were still showing synthesis.
The extra synthesis between 20 grams and 40 grams is something that could add up over the course of weeks and months and be the difference between a plateau on consistent progress.
The synergistic effect of weight training and protein consumption is not disputed–only the optimal amount of protein is. Professors see the reduced “rate of return” and say 20 grams is enough after working out. The practioners see the trend line still going up and ask, “why stop at 20?”
Muscle protein synthesis caused by just eating protein backs of the practitioner’s strategy of frequent consumption of protein rich meals. If everytime a person eats protein MPS is induced, why just consume protein three or four times a day?
But none of this answers the most pressing question: Will increased protein yield results specifically for you?
To answer the question you need to move beyond the thinking of TV News reporter or columnist and think the way a research scientists should, but usually fail to.
AN IN-ELEGANT EXPERIMENT
The heart and soul of our book Fit for Combat and the Fit for Combat System is a simple thesis–people need to find the workout and eating plan that works for them.
Because everyone has different genetics, Nita and I take people through a series of steps that are actually mini-experiments to get them dialed in on a workout plan that works for them.
To determine the amount of protein that yields results for you, you need to experiment.
Take a look at the chart below.
Much of human physiology conforms to the standard bell curve. In fact the bell curve was created to display human physical characteristics.
In this curve, each dot represents a person. The people on the left have less natural ability to synthesize protein, the people on the right are protein synthesizing machines.
If you are on the left hand side, increased protein consumption will not benefit your efforts to increase msucle tone or size. If you are on the right, your body will gladly turn massive amounts of protein into muscle tissue.
But if you are somewhere in the middle, how do you figure out what amount of protein will work for you?
By conducting your own personal experiment. Like all experiments you need to control and manage some of the variables–like your workout and caloric intake. Keep your workout the same and do not decrease your total caloric intake.
If you are consuming less than 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight, increase the protein.
If you are consuming a lot of protein, ratchet it down the the RDA for athletes of .5 grams per pound of body weight.
Run the experiment for say eight to 16 weeks and see what happens.
Now, this proposed self experiment seems pretty simple and straight forward, but for all the back and forth between the professors and the practitioners, I have yet to find a university study that actually compares the results of protein intake on weight training test subjects.
You would think for all the certainty stated by some researchers and journalists, a study like the one described above could be cited. But as McMaster University’s Phillips stated just a year ago, “It is clear that we are beginning to understand how feeding and exercise influence changes in MPS and, ultimately, muscle mass.”
At least the practioners have strong anecdotal data sets.
The science of increased protein intake on muscle mass is far from settled, but there is one statement by the Live Science columnist that I and other serious practitioners agree with — “Supplements, usually sold as a powder with testosterone-fueled names like Muscle Max 500 or Mega Monster Mass” are a waste of money. The best sources of protein are real food like eggs, steak, chicken, fish and good old fashioned generic whey protein.
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