Lets start explaining what
protein shakes are. Below is the list of questions this article tries to give answers.
- What are the main ingredients?
- What protein shakes are good for?
- Who should use protein shakes?
- Is there any health risk involved?
- Where to buy them?
Protein Shakes Ingridients
As you could guess the main ingredient of protein shakes is of course protein. The amount of protein in the shake depend of the protein shake type. Some of them contain 100% protein but usually there are added fats and carbohydrates also. Still there is some shakes out there that have other ingredients more that protein. Protein shakes may also contain flavoring ingredients. Typical protein shake is sold in form of powder which can be mixed with water or milk to make the actual shake. Also there are ready to drink shakes packed to cans or foil packs.
Benefits Of Protein Shakes
Protein shakes are mainly used by athletes who need to consume more protein before and especially after hard workouts. Protein is the main building block for your body (muscles, bones, skin, etc). So in order to build you muscles you need to get protein from your diet. One good way to do so is to drink protein shakes before workout. Another benefit of protein after bodybuilding session is the repairing effect. So your muscles will be repaired faster if you body has enough protein after the workout.
Health Risks
There are some case studies saying that protein can be harmful for your kidneys. This can be true if the patient diet consist too much proteins. Also the known fact is that taking in too much protein could make you fat. It is because body stores extra protein that is not needed as fats. So you should not take in more than recommended daily allowance to keep healthy.
Where To Buy
You can find protein shakes in usual supermarket. Although I would recommend to buy all the extra nutritions from specialized vendors. Of course you can order them online from e-shops. But remember to consult with expert and don't hesitate to ask for advice.
As you probably know that protein is one of the most important muscle building blocks. So it is quite clear that if you want to build muscles then you need to have enough protein in your diet. This is the part where
protein shakes come in. Not every meal consists enough protein. In fact majority of meals have less or none protein compared to other nutrition's. So if you are not up to making all your daily meals by yourself, then you should consider taking in some sort of protein shakes to get your daily doze of protein.
How Much Protein Is Enough
General rule is that you should try to eat at least one gram of protein per one pound of your total body weight. Gaining all the protein from special protein shakes is not so good idea. You should rather try to get as much protein as possible from regular food.
Protein shakes are good to go when you have no time nor opportunity to make yourself a protein rich meal or for cases like immediately after workout when eating regular meal is not the option at all. Yet it is quite important to give your body decent amount of protein just after workout. It helps rebuild and repair your muscles.
Conclusion
In my opinion regular food that came from nature is the best source for nutrition's. Yet, considering the fact that everyone has not enough time to cook four or five decent meal for themselves then the good alternative is to drink protein shakes. But you must remember that protein shakes will never be the best substitute for nutrition's from real food.
There have been many discussions whether taking in
protein shakes helps to loose weight or not. Actually it is not so easy to answer this on as the subject is much wider when it seems at first glance. Firstly you could take in protein shakes more than five times per day but this could result gaining weight instead of loosing it. Doctors have found out that the extra protein that your body doesn't need will be converted into body fat. The general rule is that you should take in about a gram of protein per pound of body weight if you are trying to build muscle. Here is another catch. If your trying to loose weight then it means that you body needs to use more calories you are eating. This also means that your muscles will not grow. Still you can use your body to transform fat into muscles by having a strict diet and calorie burning workouts regularly. What I am trying to say here is that
protein shakes are mainly meant for athletes whose goals are to build up muscles. Protein shakes are not some kind of miracle cure for overweight.
Do not forget that protein shakes will give your body calories like other foods. If you think that you will simply start drinking protein shakes with you regular diet then you can be quite sure that you will gain some extra pounds soon. As I stated before - the main key to loose weight is to reduce calorie intake just below the calorie consuming. If you are not willing to give up from the food then you must add some physical activity. As simple as that.
Most of the
protein shakes came in the form of powder. So you need to mix it up with milk or juice and drink the
shake. There are some protein shakes that are sold in liquid form packed to can or foil. If you have ever wanted to buy some kind of protein powder you must know that there is hundreds of different powders available. It is quite hard to choose a proper one for yourself. So how to choose a good one. Lets start with the price. Price is far by the most important factor when choosing among protein shakes. In general higher price indicates for higher quality product but it could be inappropriate for you. I will not give here any real recommendation for certain protein shake. As everyone is kind a different and everyone's goals are different, they should consult with specialist before starting to take some nutrition supplements in my opinion. If you are looking to build muscles and are attending to gym then you should probably consult with your personal trainer. Personal trainers have usually good knowledge about nutrition's and food supplements in general. They will probably recommend you some product you can take in and be sure that it is not bad for your health. If you want to take some extra protein for some other reason you should probably consult with your personal doctor or diet doctor. They can also indicate the flaws of your current diet. I personally think that healthy person should not take in extra supplements if you are not doing it for some special reason like body building. Remember that all the good nutrition's come from the food you eat daily. Don't try to replace them with artificial ones.
What Is Protein Powder?
To put it in simple words protein powder is powdered form of protein. You probably know that protein is a dietary supplement which is responsible for building the muscle tissue. Protein powders are usually used by bodybuilders and athletes who need extra proteins in order to increase muscle growth and to help repair muscles after hard workout. These days protein powder is widely taken in by individuals who want to have nice bulked up body. Protein powder is usually taken in liquid form mixed with water, milk or juice called
protein shakes.
Consistent Of Protein Powder
Of course the main ingredient of protein powder is protein. But the source of protein can vary noticeably. Main sources for proteins are:
- Whey – most commonly used protein source in powders. It contains high levels of needed amino acids. It also contains quite a lot cystein, which helps to boost body immune system. Another advantage of whey protein is the fact that it is absorbed by the body quickly and easily.
- Milk – contains amino acids that help to recover and helps body to absorb amino acids over long time.
- Soy – contains estrogens which have a weak estrogenic activity.
- Egg – egg-white protein is a lactose- and dairy-free protein.
- Hemp seed - contains complete and highly-digestible protein.
Protein Powder Cons
Some experts say that protein powders are not the best option for most of the users. It is so because most of protein powder users does not need it at all as all the protein needed are absorbed from regular food intake. As stated above protein powder is good for bodybuilders as they have hard workouts during the day and because of that they would have to eat a tremendous amount of regular food to get all the needed protein for decent muscle growth.