For a while I've been meaning to get to post-workout recovery, so here it is.
Quick recap
In last week's post, I mentioned that when you lift weights, you actually break down muscle fiber and your muscles become weak. When you rest, the muscles recover by building slightly more muscle, creating muscle filaments to assist the recovery, and then become stronger so the body can adapt the next time it is put under stress.
To help the muscles recover, the body utilizes the essential amino acids from protein. The body cannot make essential amino acids by itself, so they come from protein found in animal sources such as meat and eggs.
Finding the right time
Immediately following a productive workout, your muscles become sponge-like and can absorb nutrients through the blood stream to start repairing muscle. According to mcnewsletters.com, studies show that the body has about a two-hour window of opportunity when it is in its best position to build and repair muscle, so post-workout nutrition is vital to building muscle.
A post workout meal should have a high amount of protein and some carbohydrates, but little to zero fat or fiber as possible because both slow down digestion.
The question then becomes what form of protein should you take?
Foods that have a high Biological Value promote the most lean muscle gains. Biological Value (BV) is a measurement of how well the body can absorb and utilize protein. An egg for example has a BV of 100, which is the highest of any natural food, so there is a reason why Rocky Balboa drinks three eggs from a glass (don't eat raw eggs though, you could get salmonella). Other foods that have a high BV are milk protein (91) and beef (80).
Whey -- A whole different can of worms
Then there are dietary supplements like whey protein, which has a BV of 104, that people can mix with milk or water and drink right after their workout.
Whey protein is a dietary supplement that is derived from milk. There are two types of whey protein: whey protein concentrate and whey protein isolate. Whey protein concentrate is the most affordable protein that you see in stores like GNC and Vitamin World and have a BV around 100. Whey protein isolate is completely fat free and lactose free and has a BV close to 170. About 20 percent of milk protein is whey and the rest of it is casein protein, which triggers milk allergies.
As I said earlier, there are essential amino acids that you must get through the food you eat, and whey protein provides all of the essential amino acids. The body absorbs and uses the nutrients found in whey the same way it would from ingesting a steak -- the difference is that whey doesn't have nearly as much fat and the body absorbs it much faster.
The benefits of whey protein
There are many benefits of using whey protein as a supplement to your regular diet. Aside from being rich in essential amino acids and quick absorption, whey can also help the immune system.
According to a 2008 study, two groups of clinically obese people were monitored as they lost weight, one group using whey and the other not. While both groups lost about the same amount of weight, the difference was in the kind of they weight lost: The whey users were able to lose body fat and retain more lean muscle mass than the group of non-whey users.
So how should whey protein supplements be used in conjunction with a regular diet?
Using whey with your diet
What's important to remember about supplements like whey is that they are supposed to do exactly that -- supplement your daily diet, not become your diet. Protein found in regular foods are also important because they offer the body greater quantities of nutrients because they are digested at a slower rate.
Controversy
There is ongoing debate and controversy as to whether protein supplements like whey are necessary and if there are any long-term effects from its use.
When you go into smoothie shops and health stores like GNC and Vitamin World, countless jugs of protein, Muscle Milk and other weird supplements like HMB line the shelves. What's important to know about supplements is that the FDA does not regulate them. The Food and Drug Administration does not regulate anything that you see on the shelves. Is this a reason to worry, and why doesn't the FDA regulate dietary supplements?
In 1994, President Clinton signed the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA) that states, "... a firm is responsible for determining that the dietary supplements it manufactures or distributes are safe and that any representations or claims made about them are substantiated by adequate evidence to show that they are not false or misleading."
According to the book "Current Controversies in the Biological Sciences" by Karen F. Grief and Jon F. Mertz, the reason for this legislature was because of an outbreak of eosinophilia-myalgia syndrome in 1989, which causes muscle pain and scarring, and was linked to a dietary supplement called L-tryptophan (an amino acid). The FDA pulled the supplement off the market and wanted more regulation of the supplement industry, but the manufacturers of dietary supplements lobbied that proposed FDA regulations would drive them out of business.
Basically, it is up to the manufacturer to decide if its product is safe or not and what constitutes a serving size of the supplement. The exception to this rule is if a "new" dietary ingredient not previously seen on the market is included in a supplement, then it is required by law to be reviewed for safety and data before it hits the market.
Manufacturers and distributors have to record, investigate and forward any reports they receive of any adverse events associated with their products to the FDA, but once a product is on the market, the FDA must prove that a supplement is unsafe before it can ban it from stores.
Another example of a supplement pulled from the shelves as cited in the aforementioned book is ephedra, which was banned in 2004, because it was linked to an increased risk for psychiatric, gastric and cardiovascular problems. This was highlighted by the deaths of several professional baseball and football players and was a subject of FDA warnings since 1997.
So is it worth it?
As for me, I take two gummy multi-vitamins with my breakfast and I take whey protein concentrate after I workout. I usually mix one scoop of chocolate whey with a cup and a half of low fat chocolate milk, a scoop of reduced fat peanut butter and a banana. I have to say that for me personally, whey has done its job of building lean muscle mass since I was 17. In high school I ran track for three years and played football for two, and a lot of my teams' strength and conditioning revolved around weight training and taking care of your body after workouts. I personally have never experienced any health problems from protein supplements, but that is just anecdotal and shouldn't be taken as expert advice.
The most important thing to get out of this blog post is that if you plan to put anything into your body, whether it is a powder or a pill, you should do the research. It's also important to remember that the job of supplements is to do exactly that -- supplement your diet, not become a meal replacement because you still need to eat nutritious and healthy food to achieve your fitness goals.
Check out the FDA's Web site regarding supplements and the health industry and here is a list of 65 products that the FDA called in for testing.
To shed some more light on the world of dietary supplements and what many companies want you to believe about their products, here is a clip from the 2008 documentary "Bigger, Stronger, Faster." The clip and the movie are both worth watching.
Next week, I will get into the differences between free weights and machines and how to use either for your fitness goals.
Stay healthy, Gators!
