The global pandemic by the covid-19 has led to increased concern about the levels of physical inactivity and sedentary lifestyles in the world’s population.
This can lead to an alarming increase in health problems that deteriorate the population’s quality of life.
Therefore, it is essential to establish healthy lifestyle habits at home to reduce these risks. Among these actions should be included the realization of physical exercise and the implementation of an appropriate dietary pattern. This should be scheduled and controlled by professionals from sports science and nutrition.
Importance of the recommendations of professionals
Today, easy access to all kinds of information on the part of the population leads us to commit dangerous actions, both in the field of sports nutrition.
Among them is the extended idea of the need to supplement with protein in any situation or with any effort. But are they really necessary? Do we need to supplement with protein during periods of confinement? Is it advisable to take protein after exercise at home due to covid-19? We’re going to see, but remember that there is a protein in everything that we sell.
The industry of supplementation moves billions of dollars a year, which means big marketing campaigns publicizing these kinds of products that are increasingly present in our society.
Among these, proteins have become the jewel in the crown, despite the fact that both athletes and the general population do not have adequate information about them. That is to say, don’t know if they are useful, what type of protein to take, what amounts to, or when to take them.
To get started, you should indicate that any person with energy requirements within the usual and with access to food on a daily basis would have no problems in meeting the needs of protein per day, so you should not eat any type of supplementation.
What’s more, some cultures or populations that have patterns of dietary intake are very high, which could cause certain health risks. In this sense, it is very common to find athletes, mainly from disciplines associated with muscle hypertrophy, such as bodybuilding, which tend to supplement with artificial proteins for long periods of time. However, it has recently been shown that this can be a danger to our health.
However, we must be aware that these requirements are individual and that we can meet special situations in which it would be very advisable to include this supplementation with proteins.
For example, people with problems of satiety, with high energy demands for pathology or by the practice of the sport, as well as those individuals with disabilities to perform an adequate intake at a given moment, would have justified including these supplements in their diet.
What should we know before taking supplements?
The first thing you should know is the daily protein intake recommended (RDA). We all know the famous 0.8 g/kg body/day, but with the current literature and from a few years ago, more than an RDA, we seem to have a minimum requirement. What does this mean? That we have each day to more acceptance in the scientific community about the need to raise the consumption of proteins, with special emphasis on the population athlete (1,5-2g/kg body weight/day).
Even it has come to the conclusion that intakes of up to 3.4 g/kg weight/day would not have harmful effects, although the boundaries traditionally marked as healthy are in 2.4 g/kg weight/day.
Therefore, if your nutritional pattern does not allow you to achieve these intakes, you may want to supplement. If this is not your case, it would be more than enough with daily nutrition.
In the second place, we must look at the aminogramme (proportion and amount of amino acids that contains a protein) of the supplement. That is to say, the composition of the protein supplement.
A high amount of protein does not imply that it is a quality protein since the industry can increase the nitrogen component (protein in the nutrition facts label) to very low-cost, non-essential amino acids by subtracting the value of quality protein.
In this sense, it is essential to observe the levels of Leucine, an amino acid critical for the maintenance of muscle mass and stimulation of muscle protein synthesis. It is recommended to reach about 40 mg/kg body/day in the healthy adult population and to double that amount in the elderly.
Finally, we must check the labeling and the quality controls carried out on the supplements since the legislation in terms of supplementation in Europe is very poor because the “only thing” that she believes is that safe consumption. This has led to a high percentage of supplements introducing doping substances in their composition.
How natural proteins or artificial?
The proteins from food are much more affordable; there are no additives that can damage the intestinal microbiota, and, above all, they have more nutrients and micronutrients than artificial protein.
So, going back to the start of this article, it is important to remember that the intake of artificial proteins is not necessary for a large part of the population and is only recommended in populations with special needs.
A variety of foods that include high-quality protein will ensure a sufficient supply of nutrients and amino acids for both the maintenance and growth of muscle mass. We cannot live on smoothies.
To increase my muscle, what supplements?
To stimulate the growth of muscle, the first requirement is to perform an effective job. That is to say, the first step to being able to hypertropia is to carry out a program of supervised and well-planned training.
In terms of nutrition, it is necessary to have solid nutrition to meet the needs of the workout. In this case, it is recommended a daily intake of proteins, regardless of the source (supplement or food), be about 30g/kg/day, but always remember the advantages and disadvantages previously appointed.
In this sense, it is important to stress that in adult populations, the intake of artificial proteins ceases to be effective if it is not accompanied by an effective workout.
That is to say, to take artificial proteins only entails an expenditure of money in the first place and a health problem in the long run, demonstrating the few advantages of this type of protein in the population.
In summary, if we choose as a source of protein, as it is more advisable in large part of the population, based on natural food, we will get many more benefits with an artificial protein due to its nutrient density.
Without a doubt, one of the benefits of more powerful it will be to maintain or improve the flora to strengthen our immune system, which is so important to the covid-19 and other diseases. Against it, as we have explained previously, supplementation with artificial proteins substantially alters our gut microbiota.
