Are protein supplements really better than protein
foods? Before attempting to answer this question, I should first
preface it by mentioning that I do not sell supplements, nor am I
associated with any supplement company, so you’re getting an honest and
unbiased opinion. Don't get me wrong; I am not anti-supplement by any
means. It would simply be more accurate to say that I am "pro-food."
There are a lot of good supplements on the market, and I've used many
of them, including a multi vitamin, creatine and essential fatty acid
(EFA) supplements such as Flaxseed oil. Protein powders and meal
replacements can also be indispensable if you don't have time to eat
every three hours. However, protein supplements are not the master key
to your success, real food is!

Did you ever notice how articles about protein in
certain bodybuilding magazines are seldom objective? Instead, they all
seem to be slanted towards hyping some "revolutionary" new product. Did
you ever wonder why? In my opinion, most articles on protein
supplements are nothing more than thinly disguised advertisements (some
very thinly). Sometimes they give you a very persuasive-sounding
argument, replete with dozens of references from scientific studies
(mostly done on rodents, of course). They even give you an 800 number
at the end of the article to order. (How convenient!)

When protein manufacturers throw around fancy words
like cross flow microfiltration, oligopeptides, ion-exchange, protein
efficiency ratio, biological value, nitrogen retention and
glycomacropeptides, it sure sounds convincing, especially when scores
of scientific references are cited. But don't forget that the
supplement industry is big business and most magazines are the
supplement industry. Lyle McDonald, author of "The Ketogenic Diet," hit
the nail on the head when he wrote "Unfortunately, the obsession that
bodybuilders have with protein has made them susceptible to all kinds
of marketing hype. Like most aspects of bodybuilding (and the
supplement industry in general), the issue of protein is driven more by
marketing hype than physiological reality and marketing types know how
to push a bodybuilder’s button when it comes to protein "

 Many nutrition "experts" (read: people who sell
supplements), state that there are distinct advantages of protein
supplements (powders and amino acid tablets) over whole foods. For
example, they argue that whey, a by-product of the cheese-making
process, is a higher quality protein than most whole food sources.
There are many different methods of determining protein quality,
including biological value (BV), protein efficiency ratio (PER), Net
Protein Utilization (NPU), chemical score, and protein digestibility
corrected amino acid score (PDCAAS). If you have ever seen
advertisements for protein powders and supplements, you have
undoubtedly heard of one or more of these measures of protein quality.

BV is one of the most commonly used and is arguably,
the best measure of a protein's quality. BV is based on how much of the
protein consumed is actually absorbed and utilized by the body. The
higher the amount of protein (nitrogen) that is actually retained, the
greater the BV. If a protein has a BV of 100, it means that all of the
protein absorbed has been utilized with none lost. Whole eggs score the
highest of all foods with a BV of 100, while beans have a BV of only
49.

Protein quality is certainly an important issue, but
it is one that has been enormously overstated and even distorted for
marketing purposes. Whey protein is truly an excellent protein with a
biological value at or near 100. Many advertisements list whey as
having a BV between 104 and 157, but if you look in any nutrition
textbook it will tell you that it is impossible to have a BV over 100.
In "Advanced Nutrition and Human Metabolism," BV is defined as "a
measure of nitrogen retained for growth and/or maintenance that is
expressed as a percentage of nitrogen absorbed."

When a protein supplement is listed as having a BV over 100, the
company has intentionally manipulated the number for marketing purposes
or unintentionally confused BV with another method of rating protein
quality. Certain whey proponents claim that whey is "superior to whole
egg" so the percentage sign on BV had to be dropped and the scale
extended beyond 100. It was noted by bodybuilding writer Jerry Branium
in IRONMAN magazine that in a study where the BV of whey was reported
to be 157, the author confused BV with chemical score. Chemical score
is a comparison of the amino acid pattern in an ideal reference protein
to a test protein and therefore the number can exceed 100. 157 was
actually the chemical score and not the BV.

Most bodybuilders and strength athletes already
consume more than enough protein (an understatement if there ever was
one), so the importance of BV to these athletes who are already
consuming copious amounts of protein has been overplayed. Even though
whey has a higher BV than chicken breast, fish or milk protein, if the
total quantity of protein you consume is sufficient, then it is not
likely that substituting whey for food proteins will result in any
additional muscle growth.

Whether you choose a whole protein food or a
protein supplement isn’t as important as some would like you to
believe. For the purposes of developing muscle, the only guidelines for
protein that you must follow are: (1) consume a source of complete
protein with every meal, (2) eat at frequent intervals approximately
three hours apart (about six times per day) and (3) consume a minimum
of .8 grams to 1 gram per pound of body weight. There are times when it
would be beneficial to consume more than one gram per pound of body
weight, but that will have to be the subject of another article.

Because whey protein does have a high BV, it
probably offers the most benefits when you are dieting on very low
calories. When your energy intake and correspondingly, your protein
intake, are reduced, whey protein could help you get greater utilzation
of the smaller amount of protein that you are taking in. In other
words, choosing proteins of the highest quality is more of an issue
when you are dieting than when you are focusing on mass gains when
total calories and protein are being consumed in abundant amounts. Whey
protein also provides a way to get high quality protein without the
fat, which is also important when dieting.

It has been suggested that whey may have other
advantages besides high protein quality, although they are frequently
overstated. These benefits include enhanced immunity, increased
antioxidant activity and quick absorption. Several studies in "Clinical
and Investigative Science" by Dr. Gerard Bounous of Montreal have shown
that whey protein provides anti carcinogenic properties, protection
from infections, and other enhanced immune responses. Whey protein was
also been shown to raise levels of Glutathione, an important
antioxidant that can offer protection from free radical oxidative
damage. While such findings are very promising, all these studies,
which are frequently quoted in whey protein advertisements, were
performed on mice, so it is unclear how well the results extrapolate to
humans.

Another acknowledged benefit of whey protein is its
fast absorption rate. Although there isn’t any evidence that protein
supplements digest more efficiently than whole foods (as is often
claimed), they are definitely digested faster. This is most important
after a training session when the rates of protein synthesis and
glycogen re-synthesis are increased. This is the reason it is often
recommended that a liquid meal containing protein and a high glycemic
carbohydrate be consumed immediately post-workout and that whey is the
ideal protein for this purpose. Even in considering post-workout
nutrition, there is still little proof that a liquid protein-carb
complex will actually produce better muscular growth than whole foods,
as long as complete whole food protein foods and complex carbohydrates
are consumed immediately after the training session and every three
waking hours for a period of 24 hours thereafter.

Speaking of protein absorption rates, the discussion
of fast acting versus slow acting proteins seems to be the latest hot
topic these days in bodybuilding circles. The interest was sparked by
studies in 1997 and 1998 that examined the differences between the
absorption rates of whey versus casein. The researchers concluded that
whey was a fast acting protein and was considered to be more "anabolic"
while casein was slower acting and was considered to be more
"anti-catabolic. " It was further hypothesized that consuming a
combination of these two types of proteins could lead to greater muscle
growth. These findings have prompted the supplement companies to market
an entirely new category of protein supplements; casein and whey mixes.
The problem with drawing such conclusions so quickly is that these
studies looked at the speed of whey and casein absorption in subjects
who had fasted for 10 hours before being fed the protein. Any
suppositions drawn from this information are probably irrelevant if you
are eating mixed whole food meals every three hours. Obviously, more
research is needed.

This recent fascination with various rates of
protein absorption could be compared to the interest in the glycemic
index. The glycemic index is a scale that measures the rate at which
the body converts various carbohydrate foods into blood glucose. The
higher the glycemic index, the faster the food is converted to glucose
and the larger the insulin response. Therefore it is said that high
glycemic foods should be avoided in favor of low glycemic index foods.
The error in relying solely on the glycemic index as your only criteria
for choosing carbohydrates is that the index is based on consuming a
carbohydrate food by itself in a fasted state.

When carbohydrates are consumed in mixed meals that
contain protein and a little fat, the glycemic index loses some of its
significance because the protein and fat slow the absorption of the
carbohydrate. That’s why the glycemic index is really much ado about
nothing and the same could probably be said for the casein and whey
argument. It's just the latest in a long string of new angles that
supplement companies use to promote their protein: free-form vs
peptides, concentrate vs isolate, ion exchange vs microfiltration, soy
vs whey, casein and whey mix vs pure whey and so on. Every year, you
can count on some new twist on the protein story to appear. Certainly
there are going to be advances in nutrition science, but all too often
these "new discoveries" amount to nothing more than marketing hype.

What about amino acid pills? Amino acids pills are
simply predigested protein. Proponents of amino acid supplementation
claim that because the amino's are predigested, the body will absorb
them better, leading to greater improvements in strength and muscle
mass. It sounds logical, but this is a gross underestimation of the
body's capacities and actually the reverse is true: The human digestive
system was designed to efficiently process whole foods; it was not
designed to digest pills and powders all day long. Amino's are absorbed
more rapidly in the intestine when they are in the more complex di and
tri-peptide molecules.

Your body gets better use of the aminos as protein
foods are broken down and the amino's are absorbed at just the right
rate for your body's needs. In "Exercise Physiology; Energy Nutrition
and Human Performance," authors Katch and McArdle state that "Amino
acid supplementation in any form has not been shown by adequate
experimental design and methodology to increase muscle mass or
significantly improve muscular strength, power, or endurance."

Furthermore, consuming predigested protein when you
are seeking fat loss is not necessarily advantageous because it
shortchanges you of the thermic effects of real food. Whole foods have
a major advantage over protein supplements; they stimulate the
metabolism more. This is known as the "thermic effect of food." Protein
has the highest thermic effect of any food. Including a whole protein
food with every meal can speed up your metabolic rate as much as 30%
because of the energy necessary to digest, process, and absorb it. This
means that out of 100 calories of a protein food such as chicken
breast, the net amount of calories left over after processing it is 70.
In this respect, the fact that protein foods digest slower than amino
acid tablets is actually an advantage.

A final argument against amino acid supplements is
the cost. Amino's are simply not cost effective. If you don’t believe
it, pick up a bottle and do the math yourself. One popular brand of
"free form and peptide bonded amino acids" contains 150 1000mg. tablets
per bottle and costs $19.95. 1000 mg. of amino acids equals 1 gram of
protein, so the entire bottle contains 150 grams of protein. $19.95
divided by 150 grams is 13.3 cents per gram. Let's compare that to
chicken breast. I can buy chicken breast from my local supermarket for
$2.99 a pound. According to Corinne Netzer’s "Complete Book of Food
Counts," there are 8.8 grams of protein in each ounce of chicken, so
one pound of chicken (16 oz) has about 140 grams of protein. $2.99
divided by 140 grams equals 2.1 cents per gram. The amino acids cost
more than six times what the chicken breast does! I don’t know about
you, but I’ll stick with the chicken breast.

The biggest advantage of protein supplements is not
that they can build more muscle than chicken or egg whites or any other
whole food protein, the biggest advantage is convenience. It is easier
to drink a protein shake than it is to buy, prepare, cook and eat
poultry, fish or egg whites. Consuming small, frequent meals is the
optimal way to eat, regardless of whether your goal is fat loss or
muscle gain. To keep your body constantly in positive nitrogen balance,
you must consume a complete protein every three hours. For many people,
eating this often is nearly impossible. That's when a high quality
protein supplement is the most helpful.

Aside from convenience, the truth about protein
supplements is that they offer few advantages over protein foods. There
is no scientific evidence that you can't meet all of your protein needs
for muscle growth through food. As long as you eat every three hours
and you eat a complete protein such as eggs, lean meat or lowfat dairy
products with every meal, it is not necessary to consume any protein
supplements to get outstanding results. Whey protein does have some
interesting and useful properties and supplementing with a couple
scoops each day is not a bad idea, especially if you are on a low
calorie diet for fat loss or when you're using a post workout shake
instead of a meal. Aside from that, focus on real food and don’t
believe the hype.

Your friend and coach,

Tom Venuto

www.BurnTheFat.com

About the Author:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tom Venuto is a lifetime natural bodybuilder, an NSCA-certified
personal trainer (CPT), certified strength & conditioning
specialist (CSCS), and author of the #1 best-selling e-book, "Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle"
Tom has written more than 200 articles and has been featured in print
magazines such as IRONMAN, Australian IRONMAN, Natural Bodybuilding,
Muscular Development, Exercise for Men and Men’s Exercise, as well as
on hundreds of websites worldwide.

For information on Tom's Fat Loss
program, visit: www.BurnTheFat.com

 

References

1) Groff, James, et al, Advanced Nutrition and Human Metabolism, West Publishing company, 1995.

2) Fruhbeck, Gema. Slow and fast dietary proteins. Nature, 391: 843-844

3) Boirie, Y. et al. Slow and fast
dietary proteins differently modulate postprandial protein accretion.
Proc National Acad Sci, 94: 14930-14935, 1997

4) Lemon, Peter, Protein and Exercise: update, Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, Vol 19, No. 5, S179 - S190, 1987

5) Carraro, F., et at, Effect of
exercise and recovery on muscle protein synthesis in human subjects.
Amer Journal of physiology, 259: E470, 1990

6) Lemon, Peter, Is increased dietary
protein necessary or beneficial for individuals with a physically
active lifestyle? Nutrition reviews, 54:S 169-175, 1996

7)Bounous, G., et al, The
immunoenhancing property of dietary whey protein concentrate. Clinical
and Investigational Medicine, 11: 271-278. 1988.

8) Sadler, R., The benefits of
dietary whey protein concentrate on the immune response and health. S
Afr. J Dairy Sci, 24: No 24, 1992

9) Bounous, G., Dietary whey protein
inhibits the development of dimethylhydrazine-induced malignancy.
Clinical and Investigational Medicine, 12: 213-217, 1988

10) Bounous, G., et al, The
biological activity of undenatured dietary whey protein; role of
glutathione. Clinical and Investigational Medicine, 14: 4, 296-309, 1991

11) Netzer, Corinne. The Complete Book of Food Counts. Dell Publishing, 1997

12) Katch, Katch & McArdle, Exercise Physiology; Energy, Nutrition and Human Performance, Wiliams and Wilkins, 1996.