Potential protein problems

Photo by: Henoc Kivuye

 

Despite advertising promises like “bulk up fast” and “gain muscle mass faster,” health and nutrition experts are questioning the validity of claims made by protein supplement retailers.

Popular sources of protein supplements include DHEA, which is a testosterone booster, creatine, HMB, which is a leucine amino acid supplement and L-arginine, another amino acid supplement.

But experts are beginning to seriously question these supplements.

“With the individual amino acids, you need all nine essential amino acids to make a complete protein,” Kara Boswell, adjunct faculty for biology and a registered dietician and nutrition teacher at Oklahoma Christian University, said. “When you only take one of these nine, you aren’t really getting the benefits because you need all of them unless you are getting the rest of them from your meal. So even if you take a high dosage of one, you are only going to get so much use out of it.”

Other professionals agree. In an article by Men’s Health magazine, Chad M. Kersick, an exercise physiologist at the University of Oklahoma, supports Boswell’s position.

“Even though there’s a tiny bit of supportive research for [arginine’s] increasing performance, it’s not overwhelmingly positive,” Kerksick said.

Even purchasing the popular protein supplement powders don’t weigh in well with the professionals.

“I think that [buyers] are mostly wasting their money,” Boswell said. “A lot of the protein shakes and powders taste terrible and you can get the same amount of protein from eating a chicken breast or drinking some milk. They’re expensive and you can get the protein you need from real food without having to do the supplements.”

Nutrition professionals are proponents for getting protein and amino acids from eating a balanced diet, but do not completely discredit results obtained from protein powders.

“Protein supplements do have post-workout, recovery and muscle repair value,” Boswell said. “But like I said, you can get the same amount of protein with foods like milk, eggs, cheese, beef and chicken.”

According to an article in the Huffington Post by clinical dietician Jessica Jones, many Americans consume nearly twice the amount of protein recommended by the Food and Nutrition Board.

“Before gulping down that protein shake after a workout, or subbing a large steak for carbs and fats at lunch and dinner, calculate your actual needs to make sure the extra protein is really necessary,” Jones said in her article. “It probably isn’t.”

Despite opinions and research from the professionals, loading up on protein before and after strength workouts continues to be a popular practice.

“I take [protein] after my workout every day and I work out six times a week,” junior Brady Ross said. “I usually go get food and then go back to my room, put it in a shaker bottle with some water and take it. It works well for me.”

Ross isn’t the only one who has obtained positive results from protein supplements.

“I took protein shakes to build muscle after my workouts,” junior Roxie Gonzalez said. “Mine was flavored cookies and cream, so it was something sweet for after my workout. It was more like a treat than a chore to drink them.”

Many people, like Ross and Gonzalez, use protein supplements post-workout and have achieved positive results from it, causing the continual purchasing of the powders and supplements. They also would recommend the supplements to others who aim to use them correctly.

“I use protein for both recovery and muscle building, but primarily for building muscle,” Ross said. “I would recommend buying protein to anyone who is actually going to put the work in and go to the gym to get the results, too. The powders can’t be your only method of building muscle.”

Gonzalez agrees.

“If people use the protein shakes correctly to get the results they want, then yes, I would recommend protein to others,” Gonzalez said. “You can’t just take them without working out and expect results.”

So are the consumers of these products really “bulking up faster?” Or are they wasting their money?

According to the experts, most forms of protein supplements are a waste of money but there is some validity in some of the supplements’ claims.

Creatine and protein powders, mainly whey powders, are the two sources that the experts seem to find the most validity in. But there are correct ways to use these supplements.

The main thing people need to remember is that these are “supplements” and need to supplement the diet. When extra protein is needed in the diet or is being used for muscle recovery, there are benefits of these products. If that is not the case, most of the time, the supplements are a waste of money.

The main advice most nutritionists and health experts give is to assess personal needs before purchasing these products or save money and eat extra foods rich in protein.