Do muscle builders really build muscles?
Laying to rest the age-old bodybuilder's myth.
Dave is getting ready for his daily weight training session. He pours a glass of ice cold milk, adds three heaping teaspoons of "protein powder" and drinks it on his way to the gym. By the time he arrives he doesn't feel hungry from skipping lunch that day. Halfway through his workout he starts to feel fatigued but decides it's because he didn't sleep well. He is beginning to feel frustrated because he's been using the protein powder for three weeks and hasn't noticed a significant difference in his strength or power.
What is wrong with this scene? Dave, like a lot of weight trainers and bodybuilders, is laboring under the misconception that eating a ton of protein will create a ton of muscle. However, favoring protein while sacrificing other essential nutrients creates undue fatigue, poor performance and an excess of toxins. Working muscles may call on two sources of energy in the body, glycogen stored in the muscles and body fat. Protein is used as a source of energy only when the preferred sources of carbohydrate or fat are not readily available.
Some athletes believe they need extra protein because they are trying to build bigger muscles. In reality, they only use 10% more protein for muscle growth than the average person. Bodybuilders might argue they need extra protein to protect their muscle protein from breaking down. What is needed is additional calories from foods other than protein (i.e. complex carbohydrates) to meet their caloric needs, so the protein from muscles will be spared.
The average American far exceeds the recommended amounts of protein in his or her daily diet. The Senate committee on Dietary Goals for Americans recommends 12% of our total calorie intake consist of protein. The National Research Council recommends we take in only .8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight. This means a 150 pound (68 kilogram) person needs only 54 grams of protein a day. Consider the standard steak serving in many restaurants is 12 ounces, and each ounce contains seven grams of protein, the 12 ounce steak contains 84 grams of protein!
(To calculate your own protein needs, divide your weight in pounds by 2.2 and multiply the resulting figure by .8 grams.)
Understanding the role of protein in the body can lead to an appreciation for how muscle is made and maintained. Protein is responsible for growth and repair of muscle. Composed of little "building blocks" called amino acids, protein is composed of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen atoms, arranged in a multitude of chains. Different arrangements of the chains result in the 22 different amino acids. Bodybuilders are aware of some of the amino acid names such as arginine, ornithine and tryptophan, because health food establishments have promoted them for various reasons. Protein in food does not automatically become muscle protein. Instead, it serves as the supply from which the body manufactures its own protein. The body manufactures a wide range of proteins as long as other amino acids are available. The amino acids the body can't make are known as "essential" amino acids. Foods that contain all of these essential amino acids are called "complete" proteins. To make body protein, all of the amino acids needed must be available to the cell at the same time and in the right amount. If one amino acid is in short supply, the total protein that could be made from the others is limited.
The amount of protein you need depends on the amount of lean tissue you have. Because protein is the only one of the energy producing nutrients that has nitrogen, it can be measured in the body. "Nitrogen balance" refers to the amount of protein kept in the body and used for protein synthesis. Most healthy adults have exactly the right amount of nitrogen. If a person is in positive "nitrogen balance" this means the nitrogen taken in the body through food exceeds what nitrogen is excreted as waste. No matter how good a diet is, it will not be used efficiently by the body if other energy producing nutrients are lacking.
A common claim for amino acid supplements is that they are more readily digested than the amino acids from food. Manufacturers claim supplements are more rapidly absorbed and used by the body. In reality, digestion is an efficient process, and the protein from foods also contain other nutrients that help make the amino acids available for use by the body. Free amino acids do not contain the other nutrients necessary to make them fully used by the body. In addition, long term use of amino acid supplements can be harmful because the excess amino acids cause more urea or waste matter to be formed. This excess urea can result in gout, loss of calcium or kidney problems, since the kidneys work overtime processing excess urea into urine and excrete it.
Promoters of single dose amino acids argue they will "stimulate the release of growth hormone from the pituitary gland in the adult resulting in increased muscle mass." However, no legitimate evidence has been shown that would verify this claim. It has been found injecting large amounts of arginine and ornithine causes a temporary rise in growth hormones, but the small amounts found in food supplements do not.
Dave is getting ready for his daily weight training session. He pours a glass of ice cold milk, adds three heaping teaspoons of "protein powder" and drinks it on his way to the gym. By the time he arrives he doesn't feel hungry from skipping lunch that day. Halfway through his workout he starts to feel fatigued but decides it's because he didn't sleep well. He is beginning to feel frustrated because he's been using the protein powder for three weeks and hasn't noticed a significant difference in his strength or power.
What is wrong with this scene? Dave, like a lot of weight trainers and bodybuilders, is laboring under the misconception that eating a ton of protein will create a ton of muscle. However, favoring protein while sacrificing other essential nutrients creates undue fatigue, poor performance and an excess of toxins. Working muscles may call on two sources of energy in the body, glycogen stored in the muscles and body fat. Protein is used as a source of energy only when the preferred sources of carbohydrate or fat are not readily available.
Some athletes believe they need extra protein because they are trying to build bigger muscles. In reality, they only use 10% more protein for muscle growth than the average person. Bodybuilders might argue they need extra protein to protect their muscle protein from breaking down. What is needed is additional calories from foods other than protein (i.e. complex carbohydrates) to meet their caloric needs, so the protein from muscles will be spared.
The average American far exceeds the recommended amounts of protein in his or her daily diet. The Senate committee on Dietary Goals for Americans recommends 12% of our total calorie intake consist of protein. The National Research Council recommends we take in only .8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight. This means a 150 pound (68 kilogram) person needs only 54 grams of protein a day. Consider the standard steak serving in many restaurants is 12 ounces, and each ounce contains seven grams of protein, the 12 ounce steak contains 84 grams of protein!
(To calculate your own protein needs, divide your weight in pounds by 2.2 and multiply the resulting figure by .8 grams.)
Understanding the role of protein in the body can lead to an appreciation for how muscle is made and maintained. Protein is responsible for growth and repair of muscle. Composed of little "building blocks" called amino acids, protein is composed of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen atoms, arranged in a multitude of chains. Different arrangements of the chains result in the 22 different amino acids. Bodybuilders are aware of some of the amino acid names such as arginine, ornithine and tryptophan, because health food establishments have promoted them for various reasons. Protein in food does not automatically become muscle protein. Instead, it serves as the supply from which the body manufactures its own protein. The body manufactures a wide range of proteins as long as other amino acids are available. The amino acids the body can't make are known as "essential" amino acids. Foods that contain all of these essential amino acids are called "complete" proteins. To make body protein, all of the amino acids needed must be available to the cell at the same time and in the right amount. If one amino acid is in short supply, the total protein that could be made from the others is limited.
The amount of protein you need depends on the amount of lean tissue you have. Because protein is the only one of the energy producing nutrients that has nitrogen, it can be measured in the body. "Nitrogen balance" refers to the amount of protein kept in the body and used for protein synthesis. Most healthy adults have exactly the right amount of nitrogen. If a person is in positive "nitrogen balance" this means the nitrogen taken in the body through food exceeds what nitrogen is excreted as waste. No matter how good a diet is, it will not be used efficiently by the body if other energy producing nutrients are lacking.
A common claim for amino acid supplements is that they are more readily digested than the amino acids from food. Manufacturers claim supplements are more rapidly absorbed and used by the body. In reality, digestion is an efficient process, and the protein from foods also contain other nutrients that help make the amino acids available for use by the body. Free amino acids do not contain the other nutrients necessary to make them fully used by the body. In addition, long term use of amino acid supplements can be harmful because the excess amino acids cause more urea or waste matter to be formed. This excess urea can result in gout, loss of calcium or kidney problems, since the kidneys work overtime processing excess urea into urine and excrete it.
Promoters of single dose amino acids argue they will "stimulate the release of growth hormone from the pituitary gland in the adult resulting in increased muscle mass." However, no legitimate evidence has been shown that would verify this claim. It has been found injecting large amounts of arginine and ornithine causes a temporary rise in growth hormones, but the small amounts found in food supplements do not.
How to make light work of bubbly
When Cole Porter complained of getting no “kick” from champagne, he was obviously drinking non-vintage varieties, according to a new diet which recommends the consumption of four bottles of vintage champagne a week.
Debrett’s Peerage has now launched the Champagne Diet for health improvement and weight loss.
However, the diet has raise eyebrows in the medical profession which believes it could be an unnecessary encouragement to take risks with personal health. For more reference on knowing how to build abs you may read http://weightmanagementexperts.com/exercise-equipment/best-ab-workout-machines/.
Joan Oliphant-Fraser, a former ballerina and author of the diet, says: “Champagne contains minerals, acids and enzymes which help the metabolism of fat and aid the digestive system. “ She claims to have been drinking at least four bottles a week since she was 16 and believes that bubbly can “change your outlook on life by promoting a champagne personality - effervescent, positive and larger than life”.
Oliphant-Fraser says the (immense) cost of the diet is justified by the lasting benefits of consuming only champagne and gourmet foods.
The diet includes advice on general health and posture, such as the “champagne pose,” which involves sitting upright, relaxing the shoulders and breathing in, to give the appearance of weight loss. There are also suggestions such as speaking to the permitted daily chocolate - “murmur “I love you, I think you’re beautiful“. Oliphant-Fraser claims to have lost 5lb in the two weeks she was on her diet.
Her market could be large. The British public drank record 16m bottles last year, compared to only 5m 10 years ago. Britain is now the world’s largest consumer of champagne, outside France, whose tipplers drank a very slimming 125m bottles last year.
The possibility of health problems from the diet’s champagne content is dismissed by the author, who claims that the amount of water recommended at each meal reduces the build-up of alcohol. “Champagne also acts as a diuretic, but I didn’t like to mention that because it’s do dreary and medical,” she says.
But Helena Champion, a dietician at Champneys health farm, appointed by Debrett’s to advise on the diet, said: “Half a bottle of champagne a day is really too much. We recommend a maximum of two bottles a week, and no more than one glass a day on a calorie-controlled diet”.
The Royal College of Psychiatrists, whose report on alcohol, released last year, prescribed lower limits for women than men, said his alcohol intake in the diet was entering the “risk zone”. The psychiatrists added that, for women, more than 14 alcoholic units, or two battles of champagne a week, can contribute to death from liver disease, cancer of the gullet and pancreas, and a 47% increased likelihood of a fatal fall.
Debrett’s however, are not dismayed by the advice of dieticians. “Four glasses a day is perfectly permissible,” said a spokesman. “But nobody can seriously think they will lose weight if they get blind drunk every day. “
You can also visit us at weight management for more information on the best abs workout machine that could help you build your dream abs.
Debrett’s Peerage has now launched the Champagne Diet for health improvement and weight loss.
However, the diet has raise eyebrows in the medical profession which believes it could be an unnecessary encouragement to take risks with personal health. For more reference on knowing how to build abs you may read http://weightmanagementexperts.com/exercise-equipment/best-ab-workout-machines/.
Joan Oliphant-Fraser, a former ballerina and author of the diet, says: “Champagne contains minerals, acids and enzymes which help the metabolism of fat and aid the digestive system. “ She claims to have been drinking at least four bottles a week since she was 16 and believes that bubbly can “change your outlook on life by promoting a champagne personality - effervescent, positive and larger than life”.
Oliphant-Fraser says the (immense) cost of the diet is justified by the lasting benefits of consuming only champagne and gourmet foods.
The diet includes advice on general health and posture, such as the “champagne pose,” which involves sitting upright, relaxing the shoulders and breathing in, to give the appearance of weight loss. There are also suggestions such as speaking to the permitted daily chocolate - “murmur “I love you, I think you’re beautiful“. Oliphant-Fraser claims to have lost 5lb in the two weeks she was on her diet.
Her market could be large. The British public drank record 16m bottles last year, compared to only 5m 10 years ago. Britain is now the world’s largest consumer of champagne, outside France, whose tipplers drank a very slimming 125m bottles last year.
The possibility of health problems from the diet’s champagne content is dismissed by the author, who claims that the amount of water recommended at each meal reduces the build-up of alcohol. “Champagne also acts as a diuretic, but I didn’t like to mention that because it’s do dreary and medical,” she says.
But Helena Champion, a dietician at Champneys health farm, appointed by Debrett’s to advise on the diet, said: “Half a bottle of champagne a day is really too much. We recommend a maximum of two bottles a week, and no more than one glass a day on a calorie-controlled diet”.
The Royal College of Psychiatrists, whose report on alcohol, released last year, prescribed lower limits for women than men, said his alcohol intake in the diet was entering the “risk zone”. The psychiatrists added that, for women, more than 14 alcoholic units, or two battles of champagne a week, can contribute to death from liver disease, cancer of the gullet and pancreas, and a 47% increased likelihood of a fatal fall.
Debrett’s however, are not dismayed by the advice of dieticians. “Four glasses a day is perfectly permissible,” said a spokesman. “But nobody can seriously think they will lose weight if they get blind drunk every day. “
You can also visit us at weight management for more information on the best abs workout machine that could help you build your dream abs.