Protein Supplements Cause Bad Bodybuilding and Fat Gain
By FitScientist | Posted under Bodybuilding Supplements | 24 CommentsProtein Supplements – Great Expectations
Protein powders and protein shakes are a favorite subject of thousands of so-called experts in nutrition and bodybuilding. They treat this food group as if it is a miracle for muscle building. The reasoning is that muscle is made out of protein, so you have to eat protein to build more muscle.
This is only partly true.
All-Important Ingredients List
The key point that I’m going to make rests on the ingredients that protein supplements normally contain. To keep things simple, just consider the amount of each food group: protein, fat, carbohydrate (as sugars). This will be an eye opener if you have never read labels before.
Supplement Facts Labels of Three Protein Powders
Product 1: Serving size (34.6 g), Protein (20 g), Sugars (4 g), Total Fat (1 g)
Product 2: Serving size (29 g), Protein (24 g), Sugars (1 g), Total Fat (1 g)
Product 3: Serving size (30 g), Protein (22 g), Sugars (0 g), Total Fat (0 g)
These products all contain plenty of protein per serving. They also offer lots of fodder for me to write about regarding the folly of protein shakes as bodybuilding supplements or meal replacements. However, I just want to focus on one glaring item at the moment, which is:
…NOT ENOUGH FAT!
Key Missing Ingredient for Muscle Building
Fat.
Why is This So Important?
Everything you eat or drink is absorbed and used better in the presence of fat. Just today a research article appeared that showed the importance of using oil-based dressings for optimizing the antioxidant benefits of spinach salad. (By the way, we chemists classify fats and oils as the same kind of food group, the only difference being whether they are solids or liquids at room temperature.)
Here is the flip side of that comment: The low-fat craze and all of the low-fat diet plans are a plague on human health. There is no way you can be healthy without substantial amounts of fat in your diet, regardless of how much you weigh. Two hundred years of clinical and scientific research backs me up on this.
How to Make Protein Work for You
The easy advice is to get some fat or oil with your protein shake. Lots of it. Also keep in mind that carbs will undermine your effort, so keep them to a minimum. The products above are just fine in that regard. Some products will contain higher amounts of sugars, sometimes as much as 10 g per serving (!), so avoid those.
Products that are artificially sweetened pose too many threats to mention, especially if they contain aspartame. Ideally, protein supplements should contain no sugars or sweeteners or flavoring at all. These are hard to find.
Recommended Types of Fat
Of all the written nonsense about fats, you only need to follow these two rules for choosing dietary fats:
1. Eat all of the fats you want if they are made by Mother Nature.
Saturated, unsaturated, polyunsaturated, plant or animal – none of this matters. Eat them all.
2. Don’t put a single molecule in your mouth if it is synthetic or processed in any way.
Trans fats or partially hydrogenated oils are obvious no-nos. Margarine and other fake butters are awful, too. Not so obvious are the vast majority of vegetable oils on the market. The worst of the worst are corn oil, canola oil, soybean oil, and cottonseed oil. If an oil is not cold-pressed, it is most likely processed by heat and clarifying agents. It is probably solvent-extracted, too.
Best Fats and Oils to Take With Protein Supplements
Flax oil (cold-pressed and kept refrigerated).
Coconut oil (solidifies below 75 degrees). Best for cooking, too.
Butter.
Fish oil (preferably from sources low on the food chain, such as krill).
CLA supplements.
The Latest Story on Eggs
Egg whites are widely acknowledged as a great source of protein. Egg yolks, on the other hand, have a Jekyll and Hyde history that is rather idiotic.
Egg yolks contain cholesterol. Dietary cholesterol is not the evil danger that the brainwashed masses (including medical doctors) believe it is. It is just part of the cholesterol myth that supports the multibillion dollar cholesterol drug industry. No judgment here – drug companies have invested billions of dollars into getting you to believe that cholesterol is a problem and that it can be solved by drugs.
More importantly, egg yolks contain a high level of a particular fatty acid, called arachidonic acid, that your body uses to make certain kinds of hormones. Some of these hormones regulate blood pressure and other cardiovascular functions. Others are highly inflammatory. Too much of them will cause a lot of pain.
The bottom line is that your basic health determines how much of the arachidonic acid from egg yolks goes into the synthesis of inflammatory, pain-causing hormones. It is not the amount of arachidonic acid that you get from egg yolks.
If you want to have a steak and four eggs for breakfast, go ahead. I do so on a regular basis.
Muscle Building vs. Fat Gain
Although this article may seem a little wordy to get the main point across, the information here is important so you can understand how to best use protein supplements for bodybuilding and for just staying lean.
If you want something simple to post on your billboard as a reminder, here are the keys to success:
1. Eat fat and/or oil with your protein shakes.
2. Avoid carbs when you have your protein drinks.
That’s it!
All the best in bodybuilding supplements,
FitScientist
by Charlie
Could you explain why carbs will undermine your effort in protein intake? thank you!
by FitScientist
Hi, Charlie:
Another great question! Carbs really hinder what you want to accomplish when taken in too large an amount (or refined). Insulin drives where the resultant blood sugar goes, which can overwhelm protein uptake. It also drives fat gain when glycogen stores are maxed out.
All the best,
FitScientist
(Dennis)
by Paul
Interesting that you say carbs undermine your effort. I’ve read a few articles which state that carb intake with protein increases protein synthesis higher then just protein alone. It’s also a common belief to take a high gi carbohydrate (dextrose for example) post workout with your protein shake to increase insulin, anabolism ect. Just wondering your views on this?
by FitScientist
Hi, Paul:
Thanks for your input. My views are … sometimes all the variables make my head swim! Here’s what I’m thinking in general, though: How any guy’s body handles the combination of diet, exercise, health status, and lifestyle depends a lot on age and hormone balance. When I refer to hormones I mean growth hormone and other of its protein hormone sidekicks (esp. IGF-1 and insulin), steroid hormones (esp. testosterone and testosterone/estradiol ratio), leptin and the level of leptin resistance (insulin resistance, too, for that matter), if any, SHBG (the new kid on the block: sex hormone binding globulin), and whole raft of neurohormones. Research rarely looks at combinations of variables, so we are left to figure it out for ourselves. The keys for me, at 63 years old, entail a low carb diet, as grain free as I can make it, lots of protein and fat, a Body by Science style workout no more than once per week, interval training using a barefoot running style, intermittent fasting (optimally, twice per week). Regarding your comment specifically about carb intake increasing protein synthesis, it depends on many variables that such a generalization only applies to some guys. Without even surveying the literature, I’d bet that the research that supports what you suggest only involves world-class athletes or other high-fitness men. I doubt if it applies to me.
I hope I haven’t rambled too much. Thanks again, Paul.
All the best,
Dennis
by FitScientist
Hi, again, Paul:
I’ve been looking around for credible information on your question about post-workout carb intake and protein synthesis. Here is a starter for good research:
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/post-workout-fasting/. It seems that post-workout carbs are unnecessary and may be detrimental, depending your reaction to the insulin spike. Even fasting is better. Just more food for thought, if you pardon my pun.
All the best,
Dennis
by Paul
Thanks for the reply Dennis.
That’s interesting I’ve never heard of fasting post workout, I’ll definately give some research into it. Regarding the carbs increasing protein synthesis I may have got mistaken, what I meant to say is a carbohydrate meal combined with protein increases the anabolic effect of the protein. Dr Layne Norton discusses it quickly in this article http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/teen_bodybuilding_guide2.htm stating “In fact, research has shown that protein is actually MORE anabolic when it is combined with carbohydrates as opposed to consuming protein by itself.” and talks about it a bit more in his other article on the importance of carbohydrates when trying to lose weight (http://www.simplyshredded.com/layne-norton-the-most-effective-cutting-diet.html). If your unfamiliar with his work he’s got a phD in nutrional science with a specialization in skeletal muscle protein metabolism. Interesting how there’s so many views.
by FitScientist
Hi, Paul: I love these kinds of discussions, so I appreciate your commentary and how you back it up with links to great sources of information. Layne Norton is clearly an intelligent and well-educated man with great personal results to support his advice. It is, indeed, interesting how there are so many different views. It just supports my thoughts on how many variables there are and how individual variation leads to different responses. Layne’s advice for teenagers and bodybuilding competitors misses oldies like me. One thing I think is that the food-group discussion relative to bodybuilding or lean body mass is certainly oversimplified. A comment that Layne made about cell size is an example of a complicating factor. Cells shrink on a ketogenic (ultra low carb) diet, which eventually inhibits muscle growth. Cells also shrink due to aging, partially due to age-related dehydration. My normal hydration status is much less than that of someone who is 40 years younger than I am. Hydration is an interesting topic that I started looking into when I posted on hyper-hydration. This came in part after I started finding out about how creatine helps to hydrate muscle tissue. Carbs, in particular glucose (aka, blood sugar), are important as co-transporters. In other words, carbs have a role that is not directly related to being a source of dietary calories. Insulin is big in this scenario, too. Somewhere in all this is an explanation of why carbs help with the anabolic effects of dietary protein for building muscle tissue. Whew! Are we having fun yet?
All the best,
Dennis
by Paul
Definately interesting. Here’s something I came across when I was looking into it. A study on fasting before working out. http://www.leangains.com/2009/12/fasted-training-boosts-muscle-growth.html
by FitScientist
Hi, Paul…this is VERY interesting stuff for a lot of reasons. Thanks for the link. I went to PubMed to see what else I could find on this topic and quickly found these:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20187284 (the original article cited in the post at leangains.com that you provided). The title of the journal article is: Increased p70s6k phosphorylation during intake of a protein-carbohydrate drink following resistance exercise in the fasted state. And the overall conclusion is: Our results indicate that prior fasting may stimulate the intramyocellular anabolic response to ingestion of a carbohydrate/protein/leucine mixture following a heavy resistance training session.
This led me to:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21132439, Training in the fasted state facilitates re-activation of eEF2 activity during recovery from endurance exercise. This article ended with: In conclusion, training in the fasted state, compared with identical training with ample carbohydrate intake, facilitates post-exercise dephosphorylation of eEF2. This may contribute to rapid re-activation of muscle protein translation following endurance exercise.
and…
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21051570, Beneficial metabolic adaptations due to endurance exercise training in the fasted state. This one concluded, In conclusion, F is more effective than CHO to increase muscular oxidative capacity and at the same time enhances exercise-induced net IMCL degradation. In addition, F but not CHO prevented drop of blood glucose concentration during fasting exercise.
Interestingly, the author of the post at leangains.com, Martin Berkhan, went on to extrapolate all kinds of advice about when and what and how much to eat for workouts. Obviously, the science is VERY limited, the conclusions are VERY tentative (the favorite word for conclusions among us scientists is ‘may’ … as if we are scared to state anything definitive). This doesn’t keep Berkhan from being definitive, even if the scientists or the research is not. Hmm.
Finally, at the bottom of Berkhan’s post, he cited another interesting article on fasting and taking BCAAs. Based on this article, he states, So by training fasted, with BCAA intake prior to sessions, we get a double whammy of increased p70s6k phosphorylation that should create a very favorable environment for muscle growth in the post-workout period.
The article itself is, unlike a lot of scientific publications, available at no charge. I have loaded it up here if you want to take a look at in all its glory:
http://personalfitnessresearch.com/reports/Branched-chain-AAs-and-resistance-exercise-2004.pdf
The title is: Branched-chain amino acids increase p70S6k phosphorylation in human skeletal muscle after resistance exercise. The main conclusion is, In conclusion, BCAA, ingested during and after resistance exercise, mediate signal transduction through p70S6k in skeletal muscle.
I found this VERY interesting comment in the discussion section of that article:
However, because the exercise regimen employed in the present study involved eccentric and concentric movements, other factors including exercise intensity or nutritional status may account for differences between responses in humans (present study) and rodents (1a, 10, 18). Future studies to explore whether exercise effects on p70S6k activity in human skeletal muscle are dependent on mode of contraction (eccentric or concentric), exercise intensity, nutritional status, or skeletal muscle fiber type composition per se are warranted.
So what do we have after all this? Scientists are looking for and finding biochemical/molecular markers that represent the responses of muscles to different stimuli. They HOPE that these markers mean more muscle mass is on the way. They don’t actually measure muscle mass, nor do they run projects for a long enough period of time to show it in the first place (as pointed out by Berkhan).
Finally, what I would say about the approach by biochemists/molecular biologists in this realm (and all other realms, for that matter), is that they abuse the scientific method. They do not set up experiments to test hypotheses. They provide suggestions for explaining how things might be working (i.e., hypotheses) at the end of studies, not at the beginning according to the scientific method. (Thanks for reading my vent on that…it is clearly a bur in my saddle.)
Then, on top of all that, we have posts that require a leap of faith equivalent to jumping over the Grand Canyon, regarding how to apply the science. Whew! What are we to do? This is where I advocate self-experimentation. Keep track of what you do and the results you get. At least you don’t have to succumb to ‘muscle biopsy’ to measure yourself. Those poor students! That’s gotta hurt. I know that working with one data point, yourself, is not scientific. Nevertheless, when you can get a clear cause and effect, then your experience trumps all the weak science (which most of it is) and molecular mumbo-jumbo out there.
Is that enough food for thought for now? Keep your great comments and questions coming, Paul.
All the best,
Dennis
by siteman
They treat this food group as if it is a miracle for muscle building. This will be an eye opener if you have never read labels before. They also offer lots of fodder for me to write about regarding the folly of protein shakes as bodybuilding supplements or meal replacements. Two hundred years of clinical and scientific research backs me up on this. The products above are just fine in that regard. Eat all of the fats you want if they are made by Mother Nature. Not so obvious are the vast majority of vegetable oils on the market. It is just part of the cholesterol myth that supports the multibillion dollar cholesterol drug industry. Some of these hormones regulate blood pressure and other cardiovascular functions. Others are highly inflammatory. Too much of them will cause a lot of pain. It is not the amount of arachidonic acid that you get from egg yolks. Avoid carbs when you have your protein drinks. It also drives fat gain when glycogen stores are maxed out. It just supports my thoughts on how many variables there are and how individual variation leads to different responses. A comment that Layne made about cell size is an example of a complicating factor. This came in part after I started finding out about how creatine helps to hydrate muscle tissue. Somewhere in all this is an explanation of why carbs help with the anabolic effects of dietary protein for building muscle tissue. A study on fasting before working out. They HOPE that these markers mean more muscle mass is on the way. They do not set up experiments to test hypotheses. Keep track of what you do and the results you get.This is a great post. href=”http://gettingfitnow45.blogspot.com”>google
by FitScientist
Thanks for your thoughtful comments, siteman. As you point out between the lines, it is about metabolism and results. I would say that research often fails to set up hypotheses and test them properly. It’s a shame, isn’t it?
All the best,
Dennis
by Brandon
Hey first of all I love the article. between the myth of high reps cutting and toning muscles as opposed to low reps and the myth of carbs playing a vital role in muscle synthesis I don’t know which one makes my head spin more. These kind of articles are few and far between.
BUT to my point. About the fat consumption with your PWO . About how many grams do you recommend taking with your PWO meal/shake? Because I have a CLA product and a EFA product and one serving is only 1g of fat. Taking 3 would boost it up to 3gs. What would you recommend?
by FitScientist
Good points and questions, Brandon. To be most effective, acc. to research, CLA should be 4 grams. An amount of EFA product depends on the actual DHA and EPA contents, although 4-5 grams would be standard, too.
All the best,
Dennis
by Terrie
This photo made me hungry, particularly because I happen to love steak and eggs. In fact, I love steak at all times. Besides loving the taste, my friend, a trainer, once told me that it is a good thing to eat steak when you are working out to build muscle. He said it is because of the protein and because of the steroids they inject into live stock.
by Lessie
People don’t understand that if they get to much protein it can cause problems too right? I have been doing the no carb diet for a long time now so I am all about the protein. Thank you for posting this article this is some information that I didn’t know and it is good to know this stuff when you are doing a low carb diet. Thank you so much for your help.
by Rene
Doesn’t protein work better for you if you are working out lifting weights etc. if you are just dieting and eating a lot of protein isn’t it possible to get to much? I know that protein without proper hydration can constipate you horribly bad so I assumed that you could actually get to much protein. And how do you find protein without hormones in it?
by Dale
This was very interesting, I always thought that if you ate to much protein with out working out that you would start putting on weight in some way I just didn’t figure on this. I am confused I think because protein is muscle correct, how do you gain weight from eating muscle basically? Thank you for getting me started on this subject I will start researching immediately.
by John
You can get sufficient protein from beans, eggs and milk right? I was trying to find things that my son will eat because he is not a huge meat fan but he wants to build muscle. Is it possible to do or is he wasting his time until he gets over this meat thing. He used to eat it until he met his girlfriend who is vegan.
by Terry
I have heard that if you drink those protein shakes and don’t work out then you can gain weight, would it be the same case for just regular protein? This is very interesting and I am going to have to do some more research on this so I can say for sure that eating to much protein is a bad thing. Thank you for posting this because I look forward to sharing with my friends.
by Kristin
It doesn’t surprise me that protein powders contain a certain amount of sugar. After all, these supplements have to taste good and the inexpensive’ way to do that is to use sugar or fructose syrup or other artificial flavoring. It does surprise me that fat is a key ingredient in absorbing nutrients. I actually don’t mind eating a steak along with its fatty parts.
by Robert
The photo just wet my appetite. I love steak and eggs. In fact, I love steak anytime of the day. So when I heard that meats, particularly beef, is a favorable protein source because of its fat content, I was thrilled knowing that I could eat steak guilt free. I may as well scarf down a few flame broiled hamburgers while I am at it.
by Joshua
This is the best nutritional fact I have ever heard. This is music to my ears. I am a beef lover. To hear that protein is better digested when ingested with some measure of fat is wonderful news. It means I can enjoy steak and eggs, steak sandwiches and steak dinners without guilt – not that I ever felt any guilt.
by FitScientist
Hi, Lessie: People often forget about the importance of dietary fat. The right balance among the three food groups will be low carb, of course, with the right quality and quantity of protein, plus plenty of good fats.
All the best,
Dennis
by FitScientist
Good point, Rene. In fact, just about everything works better when you are working out.
All the best,
Dennis