Protein powders are much more than just big tubs of powder used only by fitness freaks and body builders fanatics. If your quest is to live a healthy life full of strength and energy, then protein powders are the super darling tool to help you.
The Power Of Protein
Proteins are the chains of amino acids and act as building blocks of tissues for the body. Proteins are used to make cells, skin, bone, hair, nails, muscle, and play a crucial role in the production and action of enzymes involved in almost every function of the body.
Eating adequate amount of protein-rich food triggers protein synthesis, builds muscle tissues and can eliminate hunger, improve body composition and reduce the body fat. High protein foods also improve brain functioning and many other health issues like cardiovascular health, blood pressure, immune functioning, eliminate hunger, and reduce body fats.
Despite protein’s prominent influence in sustaining various health problems, people still wonder if protein is safe and get confused whether it will help them lose weight. In this post, I’m going to touch on the very amazing health reasons you should eat more protein-rich foods.
- More Muscle Mass And Lean Tissue: Eating foods rich in protein boosts muscle protein synthesis and cracks down protein breakdown for several hours so that you end up with more lean tissue. There is a constant fluctuation of muscle loss and gain in our body; the more amino acids, the more it replenish the building blocks; promoting the muscle development.
- Great Muscle Development With Protein Supplements: The two primary factors that help build muscle are consuming protein and strength training when done separately. And, combining them together gives a synergistic effect giving you more muscle growth.
Dairy products such as milk and whey are better than the plant sources such as pea, soy and rice for building muscle. Supplementing New Zealand protein by Nexpharmasport helps you produce greater muscle development.
- Less Belly Fat: A variety of studies show that consuming at least 10 gms of high quality protein with every meal is associated with less belly fat. A threshold of 10 gms is good to protect against fat gain because this much amount is needed to stimulate the protein synthesis maximally and eventually yield more muscle mass, good energy expenditure and thermic effect of food.
- Better Bone Density: Higher protein intake directly relates to decrease the risk of osteoporosis and increase the bone density. Protein increases acid in the body and the acid is neutralized when the body releases bicarbonate ions from the bone matrix. You must have noted the indication of eating a lot of plants rich in anti-oxidants such as fruits and vegetables to mark the acid load for optimal health.
- Prolonged Lifespan and Healthy Lifestyle: You may be familiar with the protein qualities that increase longevity like muscle mass, physical strength, bone health, leanness, better brain function and lower blood pressure are all the primary players to keep us alive. Certain proteins like whey are proved to improve longevity by increasing the levels of the most powerful element produced by our bodies, glutathione. Individuals with higher glutathione have less risk of catching diseases and they have a better quality of life.
Some Practical Points
- Eat more plants that are high in antioxidants to counter the acid and oxidative stress produced from eating protein.
- Choose a variety of whole foods to meet your protein requirements including eggs, fish, poultry, beef, dairy, beans, nuts and dairy products.
- Consuming high amounts of protein can increase pro-inflammatory gut bacteria as the bad bacteria feeds off amino acids. So, pair up the protein with foods which are rich in indigestible fiber such as fruits, vegetables and some grains. This way, it helps in optimizing the health of anti-inflammatory good gut bacteria.
- If you’re working hard to put on muscle by strength training, go for at least 2 g/kg/d of protein.
- If you’re on a weight loss regime, opt for 1.6g/kg of protein a day which is almost double the RDA and preserves lean muscle mass during fat loss and calorie restriction.