Protein: The Key to Muscle Growth

Have you ever had a protein shake after playing sports or doing exercise? Do you know what the purpose of drinking that protein shake is? Let's find out! In this blog post, I'll be going over the basics of protein and its role in daily nutrition, especially for athletes.

Function of Protein

Protein is the third and final macronutrient featured in my blogs. (The first two I discussed were carbohydrates and fats: check them out in the previous blogs if you haven't already!) We can consume protein through a variety of food sources, including chicken, steak, fish, eggs, and milk. Why is it important for us to consume protein every day? Because dietary protein is the fundamental driving force of muscle protein synthesis, which is the formation of new muscle proteins from their building blocks (amino acids). In other words, dietary protein largely contributes to our muscle growth.

Synthesis & Breakdown

When we eat a meal with protein, protein synthesis increases in our muscles. However, a few hours after that meal, muscle protein synthesis decreases (protein breakdown) because of a lower supply of amino acids. Then, you eat another meal to boost protein synthesis, and the cycle continues. Due to periods of both protein synthesis and protein breakdown, there is no net change in our muscle mass.

Why Drink Protein Shakes After Exercise?

Another important thing to know about this cycle of protein synthesis and protein breakdown is that protein breakdown occurs when we exercise or play sports. Afterwards, protein breakdown returns to normal as protein synthesis starts to occur. However, by drinking a protein shake or consuming protein via another source right after exercise, we can boost our protein synthesis in this post-exercise period so that it actually exceeds the amount of protein breakdown we previously experienced during exercise. Ultimately, the net change in our muscle mass is positive, not zero, because of the extra protein that we consumed right after exercise. This is exactly what leads to muscle growth over time!

Recommendations

Now, we know that the main role of protein is to facilitate muscle growth. So, how much should we eat every day? For healthy adults, the Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) is about 0.35 grams per pound of body weight. To find out how many grams of protein you should eat every day, multiply your weight (in pounds) by 0.35. For example, a 140-pound individual should eat about 140 * 0.35 = 49 grams of protein per day. However, athletes typically have greater nutritional needs due to frequent exercise, so the RDA for athletes is about 0.55-0.90 grams per pound of body weight. Athletes that do endurance exercise (long-distance running, cycling, and other low-intensity exercise) should aim for the lower end of that range, whereas athletes that do power exercise (weightlifting, sprinting, and other high-intensity exercise) should aim for the higher end of that range. To optimize protein synthesis after exercise, it's recommended to consume 15-25 grams of protein within about two hours. By following these recommendations, you should be able to not only meet your daily protein needs but also maximize your protein synthesis after exercise, leading to muscle growth!

That's all! I hope you've learned some fascinating information that you can use to enhance your protein synthesis and, as a result, your muscle growth. Thank you for reading this blog post!