Why take Protein Supplements?

When it comes to a bodybuilder's diet, protein is number one! You must eat lots of protein rich foods like meat, fish and dairy products each day. Most bodybuilders supplement their protein intake with protein powders in order to be sure they are consuming enough for maximum muscle growth

The popularity of supplemental protein has grown for many reasons. Let's look at a typical 200 pound bodybuilder. Our bodybuilder must consume 1 to 1.5 g of high quality protein per pound of body weight each day. That works out to 250-300 grams of protein every day. This protein intake should be divided into 5 or 6 meals to be consumed throughout the day. Six meals per day, our bodybuilder needs to consume an average of about 40 g of protein at each meal.

This is why supplemental protein comes into play. Protein "shakes" are an extremely convenient, fast and cheap meal to help you get two or three more servings of protein a day. Fortunately, most of the better protein powders taste great! Protein powder supplements come in many different types, formulations, and flavors.

Protein consists of amino acids, which are the very building blocks of muscle tissue. There are 22 amino acids, some of which the body can make on it’s own, and some that must be provided in the diet. The combination of the different amino acids in a protein source is called the amino acid profile. Each type of protein has a different amino acid profile. This is why it is best to eat a variety of proteins sources as well as use a variety of protein powder supplements. The most popular types of protein powders are whey, casein, egg, and soy.

Whey protein is by far the most popular and most heavily used protein supplement. Whey protein is cheaper per gram of protein than most other types of protein. Whey protein is absorbed very quickly by the digestive system and reaches the muscles quickly. Whey protein is best used as the first meal of the day because your body has not had any protein for many hours during the night and you want to get it in your bloodstream right away. Use whey protein immediately following a workout because this is the most important time to take in a large quantity of protein and you want to get to your muscles as soon as possible.

Egg protein is not nearly as popular as whey or casein mostly because of its cost. It is, however an excellent supplement with a high BV (Biological Value is used to indicate how much of the protein is actually used by the body) and excellent amino acid profile. I like to add egg protein to my whey and casein shakes for variety or occasionally as a substitute.

Soy Protein, which comes from the soy bean, while popular with vegetarians, is slightly inferior to whey, egg and casein protein. While this may be true based upon its incomplete amino acid profile, it is still an excellent way to add variety to your protein intake, and is recommended as an addition to your overall supplement diet.