Protein Powder - The King of Supplements

One of the fastest ways to improve health and performance is through diet. Dietary changes can be made on both micro and macro levels. Making “macro” , or large scale changes to your diet is fast and easy way to start seeing the results your after. Looking at basic dietary needs from a macro level reveals the three nutrient groups the body uses for fuel: carbohydrates, fats, and proteins. Today’s diets include far to many of the first two and not enough of the last.

When carbohydrates and fats begin to dominate your caloric intake, the body natural reaction is to create fat stores. The reason for this is two fold:

#1. rapidly assimilating carbohydrates, ie: sugars, cause the body to release the hormone insulin. Insulin release signals to the body that a whole lot of energy is coming this way, lets store some for a rainy day, to guard against possible starvation. Complex carbohydrates release insulin slowly, allowing the body to metabolize the sugars more slowly slow they are used as energy and not stored as fat.

#2. Fat has over twice as many calories per gram as sugar, 9 and 4 respectively, so a little fat goes a long way. Now when fat is consumed in combination with sugar you have the perfect recipe for fat storage. High insulin levels with a ton of extra calories the body can't use....the result, slow steady weight gain over time that takes along time to get rid of.

So, now we look at our remaining macro nutrient component, protein. Protein has as many calories per gram as sugar – 4, but is not utilized primarily as an energy source like the other two. Proteins' role in the body is to rebuild tissue and help you recover from activity. Supplementing your diet with additional protein and balancing out your daily caloric intake will ensure you can properly recover from any exercise or training you do. Adding an additional 50 grams of protein from protein powder supplementation can pay huge dividends for your body, but what type should you get?

There are several types of protein powders out there, but we will focus in on the 3 most popular.

• Whey protein: is a fast digesting protein with a bio-availability (BV) score of 104 out of 100. This means the body can readily use and assimilate this protein source quickly and efficiently. Whey is typically categorized by the speed of its assimilation: Concentrate, isolate, and hydrosylate are three types of whey protein in order from slowest to fastest assimilating. Speed is a relative term in this case as Concentrate may take 20 minutes to absorb and hydrosylate may take only 7 minutes, both are extremely fast compared to say beef protein which may take over an hour. Whey, because it moves through the body so efficiently can sometimes lead to gastrointestinal issues, like gas or bloated feelings in some people.
• Egg Albumin: egg white protein is a great alternative to whey. It does not absorb quite as fast but still has a high bio availability rating of 91 in powdered form. Egg protein is offered in flavored forms like vanilla and chocolate and mixes easily with water or milk to make shakes.
• Casein: this is the left over milk protein when whey has been removed- it is a slow digesting protein with a BV of 77. Why would you want a slow digesting protein? For nighttime replenishment...faster digesting proteins like whey would leave the body wanting for protein shortly after sleep begins, so supplementing with a slower digesting protein like casein gives the body a “slow drip” throughout the night to help fight catobolism. This protein source is for advanced trainers whose diet and meal regularity would allow for this type of precision to be effective.

No matter what your activity level, adding protein powder to your diet is a great idea if you want to improve general health as well as speed recovery from activity. People who supplement with as little as 50 grams a day of additional protein report feeling stronger during activity as well as showing steady decreases in fat stores over time. Choose a protein powder supplement today and get on the road to better health and vitality.