Why is Protein King for Building Muscle?
Why is protein important? How much should I consume? I heard protein ruins your Kidneys?
What is Protein?
Protein can come from many different sources of foods and each protein source has a different biological value. Many sources of protein come from animal products, soy products, and legumes. Picking the source of protein for your needs is where it might get tricky. Animal products usually carry the most biological value of protein in it’s given source, where soy products and legumes don’t carry as much. That saying, you can still get enough protein from soy and legume products.
3 Reasons why Protein is essential
1. Stay Full Longer: Having protein with each meal ensures that you stay satisfied and less hungry, helping with not overeating. The reason for this is because protein takes the longest to digest in your body. Studies show that protein is the most filling macronutrient compared to carbohydrates and fats. With this said, carbohydrates and fats are still optimal. It’s about finding the balance for your specific needs.
2. Thermic Effect of Protein: Protein has the highest thermic effect of any macronutrient. Thermic effect of food is the energy required for digestion, absorption, and disposal of ingested nutrients. Protein has approximately 3 times the amount of thermic effect of carbohydrates and fat, which means that it takes your body more energy to digest protein, ultimately leading to more energy expenditure (calories) being burned.
3. Builds Lean Muscle: Protein is the building block for increasing lean muscle combined with resistance training. This ensures for better recovery and overall better lean muscle gained depending on your body composition.
How much protein should I be eating?
This question gets asked a lot and it really depends on your specific goals. Body composition, your goal of weight gain or weight loss will all dictate how much protein your body needs. Increasing resistance training and activity level will also play a big role in the amount of protein you will need. A chart that I found and like to follow shows a good representation of the amount of protein you should have depending on your bodyweight and your athletic goals.
CHI Protein Dosage Guideline Chart
Protein is bad for my Kidneys!
The reason people say this is because people think that the kidneys need to work even harder to clear the metabolites of protein when in hindsight the kidneys are always under stress. Studies show that only people with pre-existing kidney problems have had issues with a higher protein intake compared to individuals who are healthy and have no kidney problems. Eat the amount of protein that is best for your goals and body composition and you will notice a difference in how you feel, perform and look.
My top 5 favorite Protein Sources and BV
•Whey Isolate Protein: 110–159%
•Chicken: 79%
•Egg Whites: 88%
•Halibut: 83%
•Tuna (Water): 83%
*BV: Biological Value
Written By: Jereymi Longpre