Everything You Need to Know About Protein! (really)

My title may seem to be somewhat grandiose but this short 28 minute video by Stuart Phillips PHD from McMaster University pretty much covers it all.  It deals with hypertrophy of muscle in general.  It deals with how much, how frequent, what type, and what the best sources are.

As importantly, or perhaps even more so, it deals with how maintaining, or at the very least slowing down the loss of muscle as we age, which is arguably the closest thing we have to the actual fountain of youth, is influenced by both resistance training, and even higher protein requirements as we get older.

Finally, it very convincingly dispels some commonly held myths about protein.  The first one is that protein will make our bones softer.  This is simply not true, and in fact, in combination with resistance training, the exact opposite is true.  Note that a large portion of bone is collagen which is protein.  The second one is that consuming high protein will contribute to weakening our kidneys.  Again, according to multiple health organizations, there simply is no evidence for this long held erroneous belief.

There is, as Dr. Phillips points out, an optimum amount above which there is no additional benefit, however, that upper range appears to be at least twice, and perhaps as high as three times the recommended daily allowance.  If you are already at this optimum level, more will not provide additional benefits.

So, while more is not better, in this age of processed food, more and more people, particularly in younger age groups seem to be barely consuming even the minimum RDA.

So if you are already at optimum (2 or 3 times the RDA), and your consumption is spread out throughout the day, including adequate Leucine (see video), more will not help, but if you are actually below that or even below the RDA, increasing protein intake in terms of quantity, quality and frequency, in combination with resistance exercise will have a dramatic effect on your results, health and quality of life!

Feel free to reach out to learn more about how safe Sustainable strength training can change your life! richard@sustainablesuccess.ca or 613-218-6420 (text of call) or 613-215-0531 ext 2