So many apprehensions are floating around the health supplements such as Whey Protein. Let’s do some reality check and burst out the myths about protein supplements in general.

With only rigorous physical training you cannot expect complete fitness. Your body demands a sufficient amount of protein intake. Either you can compensate with the diet or from other reliable sources of health supplements for complete body wellness. Although, protein supplements are mainly considered for bodybuilding, and also to vanish the deficiency of protein in your body, but there are some prominent apprehensions about its consequences. With the regular usage of protein supplements, a fitness regime can be balanced out by any fitness buff. However, there are various misconceptions, especially about Whey protein supplements or other sports nutrition supplements offered in the market, which must be wiped out completely from the minds of fitness enthusiasts and people in general.

Protein supplements are a great source to keep your body organs healthy, but here’s a list of the most common myths about protein supplements that people might not believe strongly but must have heard from people around them. In order to acknowledge the reality, time to fade off some frequent myths mentioned as below:

1.       Protein supplements are Unnatural or artificial

One of the oldest and yet most prevalent rumors about protein supplements is that they are curated from artificial sources of protein, which might be unhealthy. On the contrary, it is not true at all. Please note that Whey protein or any other protein supplement is formulated from a dairy derivative such as cottage cheese (casein), an extract from cow’s milk. The remaining extract is a liquid form, which is rich in protein. In fact, it is a highly recommended protein supplement that helps in fulfilling the protein requirements of a human body, irrespective of the workout regime it follows. These well-fortified protein supplements are digestion-friendly and amalgamate in the body without any complication.

 2.       Not essential for athletes or bodybuilders

Since protein supplements are available in the market, the rumor is roaming around that these sports nutrition supplements are not useful for bodybuilders. Generally, protein supplements are being associated with adding bulk to the body, which is not the only role of protein powder. Rather, regular consumption of protein powder leads to the repair of muscles and fosters energy in the athletes’ body when lost in the workout session. Otherwise, it might lead to fatigue and weak immunity. With the help of protein serving, any such issue gets sorted out, which is a major reason for suggesting high-protein supplements to athletes, players, swimmers, bodybuilders, or heavyweight champions.

 3.       Needed for those who workout

This is the most unfortunate misconception about protein intake. To ensure complete health and wellness, Protein is a major contributor in functioning of the body in perfect way. Other than repairing and building muscles, it also helps in preventing harmful enzymes and hormones. Also, protein supports bone strength, healthy skin, and other body organs. Hence, you must know that without protein, the healthy functioning of body organs would be impossible. Those who workout definitely needs protein, but those who do not, need it as much as them. When you do not have sufficient protein intake in your diet, supplements are mandatory.

4.       Consumed only after exercise

Most of the gym trainers and fitness lovers can’t do their exercise without protein shake, but they must know the timing of consumption. It is advised to be consumed before or after the workout. Pre-workout supplements are helpful in boosting up the energy level throughout the workout session, whereas Post-workout supplements recover muscle breakdown. Make sure that along with the regular protein dose during a workout, you need to nourish the body with the essential protein deposits for complete body growth. 

 5.       Likely to damage kidney

The formation of crystal substances in the kidney results in stones, which can be formed due to the lack of water and fiber intake. To blame it all on protein supplements is not fair, as there is no evidence as such that says protein powder causes stone in kidney. Rather, kidney stones are formed due to the inability of a body to flush out excessive amino acids. Consumption of high fiber foods and sufficient amounts of water can prevent the formation of kidney stones.

To fade off any doubt, it is advised that you rely on the trusted brands of Whey Protein. There are many contaminated products offered in the market. Therefore, find out the certified and authentic health supplements by the industry standards.

Conclusion

When you search for the suitable supplements, make sure you conduct detailed market research on your end. In this way, you can shortlist the best products in the industry. Please note that other than maintaining sufficient protein deposits for the body, you also need to follow a healthy workout regime, so as to achieve desired muscle growth and overall fitness.

To know about the muscle-building process, find out some useful facts of protein in the body and role in the muscle growth.

Protein is much more than just being an essential macronutrient. For any bodybuilder, protein is the most preferred workout partner along with the instant energy drinks. Yet the results are not as favorable as expected, as the execution of the diet plan is not efficient enough. There are certain questions that you must find answers for, such as how much protein intake is required. At what time the protein supplements should be served? 

Go through the following facts and know about the changes you must adapt. 

What’s Protein?

Irrespective of whether you are a fitness enthusiast or not, protein is a macronutrient mandatory for the overall health and wellness of the body. Protein contains nitrogen, Sulphur required by the body cells. Interestingly, the human body has no scope of storage for protein, hence, it is required to be consumed on a daily basis. For all age groups, such as adults, teenagers, children, expecting mothers, senior citizens, and undeniably a must for any bodybuilders/ athletes / fitness aficionado.

Guide for beginner

To know whether you are following the right protein diet, you should know about the best protein sources accessible and what type of training you must adapt to build muscles. Whether your daily routine diet is enough for the protein intake your body requires or not. All these doubts can be resolved by following details of minimum dietary allowance that a human body needs to recover muscle breakdown.

For an average adult 0.8g protein per kg of body weight is mandatory. But this proportion of protein is not suitable for a heavyweight trainer, bodybuilder, athlete or any sport player. Anyone who follows long duration workouts needs more than double the average protein intake. The following guidelines are strongly recommended by the International Society of Sports Nutrition:

Know your protein type

Remember that all proteins are not the same, they might lead to different results. To evaluate the density of protein in a specific food item, PDCAA Score (Protein Digestibility Corrected Amino Acid Score) is measured. For instance, the food with a score of 1.0 are the best protein for a human body, as it indicates the digestion and absorption ability of a particular food. The volume of amino acids in any protein food determines the quality of protein offered in the food/meal. High-quality protein food contains 9 essential amino acids, which a normal body cannot process. Therefore, you should go with the best protein foods i.e. whey, soy, and egg white with 1.0 score on PDCAAS.

What type of protein supplement do you need?

The most crucial part while evaluating protein quotient in the food is whether it is enough for the day or not, if not, what protein supplements should be consumed? This problem magnifies if you gave a fast-metabolic rate, less appetite. In such a case, you are suggested to have high-quality dairy protein like Whey, which offers protein per serving with no carbs or fats. This is strictly for high metabolism, otherwise, protein foods with a score of less than 1.0 can also be added into the diet plan.

For those who follow physical training on a regular basis, it’s essential to fuse a sufficient amount of protein deposits in the body for muscle recovery and growth. For example, in a one-hour workout session, a high-digestive protein shake/ supplement is suggested, which supplies amino acids and stimulates muscle strength. Health supplements like Whey protein are the fastest to digest, which indicates that they can potentially increase protein synthesis and enhance fat loss. Please note that proteins are not directly responsible for the fat loss, rather they add to the volume of muscles. When muscle starts to grow, gradually the fat starts to burn. Hence, with expert physical training, you get to achieve the sculpted avatar you were waiting to be in. Quite convincingly, Whey Protein is the most reliable to burn fat and gain muscles for both beginners and experts.

Intake time of protein

To keep up a balance between muscle repair, growth and nitrogen level in the body, the protein intake has to be in moderate quantity to ensure that. Make sure you take the protein supplement during different times of workout, mentioned as below:

Pre-workout: before 30 minutes from a workout, you should eat food with enough protein nutrients (refer PDCAAS)

Post Workout: The most critical time to instill energy in your body and revitalize the organs. Make sure you add the necessary amount of protein components in the diet.

Between meals: To keep your insulin level stable, you can add mini-meals in the diet. This also prevents craving to eat during unsuitable day-time.

Before sleep: To support the scope of muscle recovery, you are suggested to eat nutrients that increases metabolism of the body.

When you are aware about the optimum protein intake during and after the workout, the results are more likely to be favorable in terms of sustainability and growth of muscles. 

To grow the muscle mass in a smart way is what a bodybuilder or athlete looks forward to. Find out some scientifically proven facts to improve the growth and expansion of the muscles.

Most of the average athletes might now know about the best route to follow while building muscle mass. Whereas, a smart bodybuilder knows well about using food, fluids and health supplements in suitable proportions. All those who are willing to shift the gear from being average to a smart bodybuilder, note down the rules and techniques to implement while building your muscles in an unadulterated manner.

What’s the science behind muscle gain?

Firstly, you need to know about the fundamental basics of muscle gain progress. With at least 500+ calories would start to fulfill the requirement of muscle maintenance, and stimulate the development of muscle size. If you need constant growth of muscles, additional 500 calories per day are essential. Also, the food or meal should consist of rich carbohydrates, proteins, and good fats. Due to an unbalanced diet, excess of insulin starts to flow in the bloodstream. 

In simple words, insulin is a crucial hormone, which works as a deciding factor for the conversion of food ingredients into muscle or fat. In a meal, elements like amino acids, fatty acids, and glucose can either add to muscle or fat. Therefore, muscle cells, which are sensitive towards insulin immediately grasps all the glucose and amino acids with the help of anabolic hormone. While, excess of insulin deteriorates muscle cells, and start to store the food as fat in the body, as conversion of food into fat is the simplest process for the metabolic system. When the body starts to gain irrespective of the nutritional value, the testosterone level naturally starts to fall down. Hence, the intake of food has to be carefully incorporated to maintain balance of both muscle and fat volume in the body.

The ability to synthesize muscle from protein needs to sustain as it determines the muscle volume in a body. For instance, a body can develop 0.25 to 0.5 pounds of dry muscle in a week in suitable conditions like, balanced diet, training, and supplementation. Otherwise, minimum 1 or 2 pounds of muscle is processed in a month, regardless of the calories consumed.

(image of Muscle blaze – veg & non veg chart)

Here are some tips to enhance your muscle mass in the healthiest way:

1.       Keep your calorie intake restrained

You must take least calories to avoid fat and develop muscles. The only rule for calorie intake is that it totally depends on the body weight. Here’s the formula:

Multiply your bodyweight (in pounds) with 15-17.

For example, If your weight is 110 pounds i.e. 50 kg

15 x 110 pounds = 1650 calories

2.       Depend on the high nutrient foods

If you want to prevent gaining fat, add more of healthy foods in your diet, as they competently instill protein essentials with minimum fat. You must plan to gather the calorie intake of proteins, complex carbohydrates, good fats only. The best examples are whole grains, nuts, oats, milk, vegetables, fruits, eggs, chicken or meat.

3.       Prefer protein and fats over carbohydrates

When you eat rich protein nutrients and good fat meals first, and carbohydrates later, the post meal glucose and insulin level goes down automatically. With glucose and insulin level the fat deposit increases in the body. This also improves sleep quality, as the protein intake stimulates serotonin, a neurotransmitter that determines the sleep quality.

Please note that before or during a workout session, you are suggested to take rich carbohydrate foods for instant surge, as it helps in charging up the energy level during workout. It’s always good to have dense carbohydrate nutrients before your workout session.

Bonus tip: 

• For muscle building, high intensity exercise is mandatory such as squats, pull-ups and dead-lifts. These workouts help in burning out glucose, fatty acids i.e. carbs and fat, hence, supports muscle building and increases the muscle fiber size. By maintaining consistency in the workout and diet, you can build muscle mass conveniently. A significant transformation in muscle building is possible with the help of modest diet, optimum exercise and effective sports nutrition supplements. You need to decisively curate the essential fuel, and exercise regime, depending on the target you have set.
• Most of the muscle repair and hormonal growth takes place during sleep. Also, good sleep helps in releasing stress. Therefore, at least 7 to 8 hours of sleep is mandatory.
• All the above recommendations are as per an average human body of an adult. In case of any special condition, or requirement, you must follow the instructions of a gym trainer or dietician. These tips are for your reference; however, the results might vary depending on the body weight, age and other circumstances.