Your body is made up primarily of proteins. In actuality, the body assembles and employs around 40,000 distinct proteins to create organs, muscles, hair, nails, and other tissues. A mixture of amino acids is the building block of all proteins. There are 11 non-essential amino acids, which your body can generate, and 9 essential amino acids, which your body cannot make on its own. These amino acids serve a variety of purposes in the body, including hormone and neurotransmitter support, muscle development, and gene regulation. In a nutshell, protein is crucial to our bodies’ daily operations!
How much protein should one consume daily?
You likely already know that consuming a variety of carbohydrates, healthy fats, and proteins each day is part of a properly balanced diet, but how much of each do you actually need? Around 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight should be consumed daily, however this depends on your degree of exercise. Those who engage in weightlifting or lead more active lifestyles will require extra protein. Check out this free calculator to see how much protein you should eat each day and whether or not you are currently getting enough.
Can eating protein help you recover from exercise?
Exercise can lead to a variety of health issues, which is one of the reasons why high protein diets and nutritional supplements are frequently connected with athletes muscle protein to break down. The extent of this breakdown depends on how intense your workout is, but consuming protein after a workout provides your body with the amino acids it needs to rebuild this muscle tissue. If you’re looking to gain more muscle, these amino acids can also form as the building blocks for new muscle.
What is protein powder?
Protein powder is a supplement made from whole foods that have been processed so that only protein remains. It grew in popularity as a way for athletes to get adequate protein after workouts and has continued to grow in popularity as a regular meal replacement. You can find a wide variety of protein powders on the market, from whey protein to various forms of vegan protein powder.
When should you use protein powder?
While we are advocates for real food first, protein powder is great to use whenever you need a quick protein boost but don’t have time to cook or prepared proteins on hand. This is what makes it so great for post-workout – you can throw some protein powder and water in a blender bottle, shake it up, and have your post-workout protein shake on the go. Protein powder is also great to use in smoothies for busy mornings when you don’t have time to cook, or for those who are underweight and need to supplement additional meals to gain weight.
What is the cleanest protein powder?
The cleanest protein powder you can buy is grass-fed whey protein. It is minimally processed and can be found without any additives.
