The Vegan Consultant

Why Whey Protein is the best Whey to GO!

 Whey protein is the Way and here’s why. Anyone that has been around the gym long enough has heard over and over how important protein is to building a quality muscle. Most pro body builders feel they need to ingest 1.5 grams to 2 grams of protein per pound of body weight in order to grow muscle at its optimum potential. But this is not always as easy as it sounds. After all, you don’t want to take in a bunch of fat calories in order to get your protein, do you? So while peanut butter is an excellent protein supplier, it is also loaded with fat, albeit good fat. Protein can be found in many other foods as well such as soy beans, baked beans, tuna, chicken and all types of fish and shellfish, and of course milk, cheese, and eggs.

 We know that we need protein in order to build muscle and bone and to be able to utilize carbohydrates and we know that he functions of protein in the body are so important and so various, that it is beyond the scope of this article to even attempt to cover. For this reason we will focus right on the point, the best way to get enough protein into our bodies without eating a lot of fat in the process.

 First, we are concerned with learning the importance of consuming complete proteins in their proper quantities. Now, the word complete, is in italics for a very good reason. You see, all proteins are not created equal. All proteins cannot readily be used in our bodies as they are found in nature for building quality muscle mass. So lets us now explore just a few simple terms and concepts that will change the way you think of protein as a necessary dietary substance.

 Proteins are comprised of amino acids. We as humans need about twenty of these amino acids in order for the body to produce and utilize this protein, and to sustain a healthy life style. The human body is capable of synthesizing eleven of these amino acids on its own. These amino acids that the body can manufacture on its own are termed, Non Essential Amino Acids. Now the term Non Essential, does not mean that we do not need them! What it does mean is that with proper diet, the body will manufacture these amino acids on its own, pure and simple.

 Now, in addition to the non essential amino acids that the body produces for us, there are also the Essential Amino Acids.  The essential amino acids are the additional nine amino acids that the human body cannot produce and therefore we must obtain them in our diet. The good news is that beef, lamb, pork, poultry, fish, shellfish, eggs, milk, cheese, yogurt, and other milk products are sources of complete proteins. For strict vegans, soybeans are also a source of complete protein. All other plant sources of proteins are incomplete.

 Please do not think that incomplete proteins are a waste of your time. As long as you combine different types of plant proteins together in order to ingest all of the nine essential amino acids that the body is not capable of producing, you will be perfectly fine.  The first obvious question arises as to how do you know which plants contain which amino acids and which amino acids are missing from any one plant source so that you may match that source with its proper mate? Well, let me make this really easy for you. If you are a strict Vegan and you are trying to build muscle, eat a couple of pounds of soybeans every day to ensure completeness of all your other plant-source proteins such as peanut butter and legumes. If you are not a Vegan, or at least if you allow yourself to drink cow’s milk, this along with eating eggs is the best and by far the easiest whole food to ingest in order to make sure your body has the full complement of necessary amino acids. You see, if some of these amino acids are missing from your diet, the ones missing are medically known as your Limiting Factor, because when certain essential amino acids are missing from your diet, your body becomes limited in its ability to produce and utilize its protein. When this happened, guess where the body gets its protein from? Your Muscles! Yes, your body will turn toward your hard earned muscle during times of limited amino acids, or more specifically, when  the necessary amounts of amino acids used for the body’s protein needs are lacking. Your body will literally eat the protein that comprises your hard earned muscle.

 Remember up above where I mentioned that beef, lamb, pork, poultry, fish, shellfish, eggs, milk, and milk products are complete proteins? Well, fortunately, all you need to do in order for your body to fully utilize your plant proteins is to include a fair amount of any of the complete protein sources on that list. But which source is the best? The answer is simple, in their proper quantities; they are all great sources of complete protein.

 The real concern here lies in the convenience of obtaining enough of the complete and incomplete protein sources during the day and night as you eat your six small body building meals that are all high in protein and complex carbohydrates and fiber. (More on complex carbohydrates in my next article) But for now, let is suffice to say that complex carbohydrates are very important in building muscle and in fact work together with protein. Again, more later on this subject.

 Now we come to the main point of this article, using Whey Protein as your Go To source of quality, complete protein for muscle building enthusiasts, both recreational, and pro. Whey Protein is the way to go. Whey protein is a derivative of milk, and has one of the highest bioavailability rating surpassed only by eggs. Eggs however, unlike milk, are relatively high in cholesterol, and so it is undesirable to eat a dozen or more eggs a day in order to obtain enough protein for the body builder’s daily needs.

Bioavailability is really the key issue in this article. After all, the main difference as far as we as body builders are concerned, between complete and incomplete proteins is their bioavailability, or, the how easy the body can use various protein sources.

 This is a good time to point out that it is important and suggested by many doctors and professional body builders that you attempt to obtain as much regular food source protein as possible. In other words, do not rely solely or even mostly, on your

Whey protein supplement. That is not what this article is intended to suggest. A Whey protein supplement is in fact as the name implies, only a “supplement,” to be used in addition to a healthy, high protein, medium complex carbohydrate, low-fat diet, a great contributor to your overall diet plan.

 Using Whey protein each day assures you that you obtain the full complement all of the essential amino acids. In addition, a good quality Whey supplement shake mix will often include taurine, glutamine, and even Creatine in some brands, which are additionally important muscle building substances. The particular Whey Protein brand that I use contains 52 grams of protein in two scoops and is flavored with vanilla, chocolate, or strawberry for great taste, includes taurine and glutamine, calcium, magnesium, potassium, Creatine monohydrate, leucine, valine, isoleucine, and only 2 grams of fat and costs a lot less than buying steak or tuna. The whole container supplies about 728 grams of high quality complete protein.

 There are many top quality brands of Whey Protein on the market.  Many can be found @ www.blueworldanabolics.com 

 It is generally accepted that anyone serious about building a nice mass of muscle should take in 1.5 to 2.0 grams of proteins that include as a whole, all twenty of the amino acids necessary for building that muscle. But this may not be all that easy without the use of a good Whey protein product and here’s why. Let’s do the math. If you weigh 170 lbs, you will need to eat during your day anywhere from 255 grams to 340 grams pf protein! If you are closer to weighing 200 lbs, which you will be if you lift enough weights, have a clean high quality diet, and get the necessary rest needed, (more on rest as a great muscle builder in an upcoming article) you will most likely reach the 200 lb level at sometime in your weightlifting career. That said, you would then need to ingest each-and-every-day, anywhere from 300 grams to 400 grams of protein. Let’s face it, that’s a lot of tuna. In fact, a five once can of name brand solid white albacore tuna contains about 26 grams of protein. That comes out to 11/ ½ to 13/ 1/3 cans of tuna for a 200 pound man, but try eating better than a half dozen cans of tuna or more each day, depending on your weight, and see how soon you tire of it. Even I, who absolutely love a good deli-made tuna salad, will tire of it after the third day. In fact, I just purchased a pound and a half this afternoon.

Including a quality source of complete Whey protein in your diet makes it simple and foolproof to obtain 100 grams of complete protein each day. The rest should come from whole foods, including milk, which I happen to mix my Whey shakes with.

 Building muscle is a three part plan including a clean healthy diet, a proper workout plan, and plenty of rest. Even those that choose to use prohormones and steroids must incorporate these three ideals in order to grow quality muscle in any noticeable sense. If you are an all-natural body builder, you need to work twice as hard to gain the same muscle as someone using hormones, but you CAN get there with enough determination. Always give it your best, and you will reap the best results. Stay positive; eat right, work hard, rest. Enough said?

 Boston Paul

@ www.blueworldanabolics.com