Whether you’re a guy or a girl, you’ve
probably been told that you need protein to
get the most out of a workout.
And you’re definitely not the only one at
the gym using a protein supplement.
In 2017, 9.4 billion dollars was spent on
whey protein globally.
So is protein powder actually helping you
build muscle, or are you turning your money
into dust?
Let’s talk about how your body uses protein
to build muscle and whether protein shakes
are helping you get the best out of resistance
training.
Welcome to DocUnlock where we help you make
better decisions about your health.
So how exactly does your body build muscle?
When it comes to increasing the size of any
organ, the body only has two options: you
can either increase the number of cells, called
hyperplasia.
Or you can make each cell bigger, called hypertrophy.
When it comes to building up new muscle, your
body can’t build new muscle cells, so your
body relies on muscle hypertrophy.
So how does muscle hypertrophy work?
If you look at a muscle cell under a microscope,
what you will see are long tubes of fibres
running along the length of the cells.
These are called myofibrils and are full of
protein-based fibres.
When a muscle cell builds more of these protein
fibres, it gets bigger and stronger.
To achieve muscle hypertrophy there’s a
simple rule, Muscle Protein Synthesis (MPS)
needs to outweigh Muscle Protein Breakdown
(MPB).
And to trigger Muscle Protein Synthesis, you
need 2 ingredients: resistance training and
protein from your diet
If your body doesn’t get enough protein
from your diet, then it can’t trigger muscle
protein synthesis effectively.
And this is where the advice comes from to
include protein in your diet especially if
you’re doing a lot of resistance training.
Most people living in high income countries
get enough protein from their diet for normal
body function.
But we know that protein needs are higher
in those people who are deliberately trying
to achieve muscle hypertrophy.
But does adding protein powder to your diet
help you get better results from resistance
training?
Well there have been so many studies done
on the topic!
If only there was a meta-analysis that put
all the results together so that we can get
the best answer possible.
Ah HAH!
Found it!
Published in 2017 in the British Journal of
Sports Medicine, this is the largest review
so far on whether protein supplementation
leads to gains in muscle mass and strength.
It combined the results of 49 randomised controlled
trials.
In these trials, almost 2000 people were put
on a resistance training program.
In these people, the average protein intake
even before supplementation was approximately
1.4 grams of protein per kilogram, per day,
and this is already above the recommended
dietary allowance of 0.8 grams per kilogram,
per day.
The experimental group received an additional
protein supplement of 36 gram per day on average,
with almost half of the trials using whey
protein.
The control group most commonly received a
carbohydrate supplement to make sure that
the total calories were the same as the experimental
group.
The average resistance program was 13 weeks
long, with training sessions 3 times per week.
On average each session had 7 exercises, 4
sets per exercise and 9 reps per set.
And the results?
Well, protein supplementation improved strength,
muscle size and lean body mass.
So you aren’t wasting your money after all,
protein supplementation does lead to some
benefit.
BUT WAIT – there’s a catch.
First, there is a point where adding more
protein doesn’t lead to more benefit.
The researchers found that the benefit of
protein supplementation plateaued after a
total daily intake of 1.6 grams of protein
per kilo, per day.
For someone weighing 70 kilos, that would
mean a total protein intake, both from food
and supplements, of 112 grams per day.
And the second thing: even though protein
supplementation did have a benefit, it’s
not as impressive as you might think.
When it came to improvement in strength, participants
who didn’t use a protein supplement increased
their 1 rep max by an average of 27 kilos
just through resistance training alone.
Those who were given a protein supplement
had an additional benefit of 2.49 kilos.
In other words, protein supplementation contributed
an additional benefit of only 9%.
What does this mean?
Well the researchers tell the story best:
“the practice of Resistance Exercise Training
is a far more potent stimulus for increasing
muscle strength than the addition of dietary
protein supplementation”.
If you’re a professional athlete where every
last bit of strength counts, then yes absolutely
optimise your protein intake.
For serious athletes, this study recommends
supplementing protein intake to an upper limit
of 2.2 grams per kilo, per day, to get the
maximum possible benefit from protein supplementation.
But if you’re an average person like me
just trying to stay fit, then protein shakes
will help you a bit, but not as much as getting
to the gym and actually doing the work.
So the next time you see someone at the gym
drinking some protein, the real question is:
hey bro, do you even lift?
In this video I’ve only looked at the effect
of protein supplementation on strength training.
There are some other reasons why people use
protein shakes: to boost protein intake without
eating a lot more calories, to suppress appetite
or to aid in recovery after cardio.
If you’re interested in these topics, drop
a comment below and if you’re interested
in getting specific advice about your particular
situation and protein intake, then I would
suggest seeing a sports dietician.
A common concern about a high protein diet
is whether there are any negative effects
on your health.
For example, could a high protein diet cause
lead to worse acne, hair loss or even cause
kidney damage?
In the next episode, I’m going to look at
the science behind these questions so make
sure you’re subscribed for that and the
video will be up there to your right when
it’s released.
Thanks for watching and I’ll see you in
the next one.
