Clyde, After doing many hours of research into strength training recovery drinks, mixture and amounts of CHO/Pro/AA, and timing the following trends have emerged: 1) Intake of a CHO/Pro drink of at least a 3:1 and at most 4:1 has been shown to increase glycogen storage and protein synthesis, while reducing protein degredation,and decreasing cortisol levels just to name a few. 2) The amount of CHO/Pro or AA is all over the place ranging from 0.8-2.0g/kg of CHO; .8-1.2 g/kg of Pro; and 6-12 g of AA. My question is this, what research do I believe and how much and in what combination should I be recommending. Thanks
John, When looking at the bell curve of protein needs in the Dietary Reference Intakes, it becomes obvious that humans protein needs under average conditions range from individual to individual by as much as a factor of 10. Again, this is under average conditions, and not due to special circumstances such as heavy exercise or recent surgery. This should not come as a surprise to us because needs depend on the quality and timing of protein consumption. The lower the quality and less frequently we eat protein, the more we need to achieve a positive nitrogen balance i.e. tissue growth. Consuming more protein than the body can use for tissue growth at any one time does not result in extra tissue growth and cannot compensate for going many hours without protein consumption because the body does not have a protein storage site. Amino acids are either coming from the intesting during digestion, from free amino acids in the blood (which run out after a couple hours) or from the break down of tissues. Someone consuming high quality protein every hour would only need the RDA of 0.8 g/kg body weight even during intensive training. Someone eating low quality protein every 6 hours would need to gorge on protein at the 1 g / lb we keep hearing about in gyms from weight lifters. The lack of scientists looking at protein quality and timing comparisons when reporting on protein needs has resulted in a confusing range of intake. My recommendation: 10% minimum to 25% maximum quality protein of total calories in meals and also in powder form with maltodextrin (glucose) after training. During training protein is optional. I hope this helps.
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