A balanced meal that includes the appropriate amount of vegetables, fruits, carbohydrates, fats and proteins is important for a healthy living. To bring a specific lens of population into focus, athletes require particular and specific quantities and qualities of food for their performance in their sports career. Coming from the sports world, it is imperative to consume the appropriate amount of calories and eat lots of protein. I have been told to eat more protein to build stronger muscles and to play better in my sport. But can eating too much protein actual be detrimental to the way you play?
A couple of observational studies have reported that the consumption of protein, or too much, actually inhibits the peak performance of an athlete. Carbohydrates, which are seen as the culprit to weight gain and slow performance in the diet and fitness world, are actually proclaimed to be the best source of energy and strong play for athletes. Protein taken with carbohydrates before or during exercise has concluded to not better or enhance an athletes performance than just consuming purely carbohydrates (van Loon 2014). With the overconsumption of protein, along with other cutting of carbohydrates or adding in too much fats, can result in limitations to an athletes endurance, ultimately fatiguing sooner than what their actual maximum capability would be if eating the proper amounts of nutrients (Kanter 2018).
Nutritionists are still coming out with the correct amounts of carbohydrates, proteins, etc. for athletes’ diets and any non-athletes’ diets. Each person metabolizes, digests, and stores food differently which plays a part in determining the proper macro and micro-nutrients that someone should consume. We can conclude though that there is a maximum amount of protein that someone can consume until it becomes unnecessary and unhelpful for an athletes performance.
References:
Kanter M. (2018). High-Quality Carbohydrates and Physical Performance: Expert Panel Report. Nutrition today, 53(1), 35–39. doi:10.1097/NT.0000000000000238
van Loon LJ. Is there a need for protein ingestion during exercise? Sports Med. 2014;44(Suppl 1):S105–S111.
According to Harvard Medical School, the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for protein is a modest 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight. Yet, for a relatively active adult, a daily protein intake to meet the RDA would supply as little as 10% of his or her total daily calories. The Protein Summit reports that 16% is an excessive amount. Although there is very limited research on protein intake, it is still not clear what the right amounts of protein are necessary. I believe that if a person is worried about their protein intake, they should consult a nutritionist so they can work with the persons body and see what works and what doesn't.
ReplyDeleteReferences:
Pendick, Daniel. (2019). “How Much Protein Do You Need Every Day?” Harvard Health Blog