The Ohio State University

• Most athletes need slightly more protein that non athletes.
• Two to three servings of lean meat or alternatives each day should give enough protein to meet requirements. Vegetarian athletes may need two to three servings of legumes, eggs, nuts, seeds or additional dairy products each day.
• Endurance athletes and weight lifters should eat 3-4 servings of lean meat or alternatives daily.

Don't I Need More Protein to Build Muscles?

• You must eat enough protein to meet your body's basic needs and sustain athletic performance. Eating more protein does not necessarily mean more muscles. Muscle strength, size, and shape comes from athletic training, not dietary protein intake.

What About Protein and Amino Acid Supplements?

• Amino acids are the small nutrients that link together to make protein. Many athletes believe that amino acid and protein supplements can improve performance and increase muscle mass, but there is little evidence that supplements benefit athletes.
• Amino acids are present in foods in the proportions needed by the body, so most athletes get enough from the food they eat. Too much protein or amino acids actually can be harmful, causing side effects as nutrient imbalance, kidney strain, increases fat storage and dehydration.

How Much Protein Do We Need?

The Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) says: .8 grams of protein for every 1 kilogram body weight.

Average Protein Intakes

Protein Amounts in Food

• Meat has 7 grams of protein per:
  • 1 ounce meat, fish or poultry
  • 1 egg
  • 1/4 cup tuna
  • 1/2 cup baked beans, dried peas, and lentils
  • 2 tablespoons peanut butter
• Dairy has 8 grams of protein per:
  • 1 cup milk (8oz)
  • 1 cup yogurt (8oz)
  • 1 ounce cheese
  • 1/3 cup cottage cheese
  • 2 cups ice cream
• Breads and cereals have 3 grams or protein per:
  • 1 slice of bread
  • 1/2 cup rice, noodles, pasta, cereal
• Vegetables have 1 gram of protein and fruit have .5 grams or protein per:
  • 1/2 CUP

Protein's Value to the Body

• The body uses protein to help repair and build lean tissues (muscles and organs).
• Protein keeps the body healthy by resisting diseases that are common to malnourished people.

Symptoms That May Suggest You Are Lacking Protein

• You do not have the amount of energy that is required for the body to function properly.
• This may cause you to become tired more easily than you normally would.

Problems With Excess Protein

• If you have more protein in your body than is required, the extra protein will be stored as fat.
• If you do not exercise, the fat will continue to increase.
• Too much protein can result in osteoporosis (calcium tends to be excreted in the urine with high protein intake) and kidney stones.

Power Supplement Use: Creatine Phosphate

• Creatine helps speed up the process of converting ADP to ATP
• Cells will retain water and therefore should increase the amount of work individual cells can do.
• Studies have shown and increase in muscles mass by users, however, no long-term effects are known at this time.

High Protein Low Carbohydrate Diets

The American Dietetic Association Says:

• High protein diets do not build muscle and burn fat as people may think.
• Regular physical activity and training builds muscle strength.
• Very high protein diets can strain the liver and kidneys.
• For those who do lose weight rapidly, it may be from water loss, not body fat.
• This diet is not a healthy eating plan for life-long health.

Examples:

The Adkins Diet

• The Adkins diet restricts processed and refined carbohydrates. It is a nutritional philosophy focusing on the consumption of nutrient dense, unprocessed foods and vitamin nutrient supplements.
• Diets high in sugar and refined carbohydrates like bread, pasta, cereal, and other mainly "low fat" processed foods increase your body's production of insulin. The idea is that insulin converts excess carbohydrates into fat so excess carbohydrates must be eliminated so as not to create more fat.
• Therefore if lower amounts of carbohydrates are consumed, the body naturally produces less insulin.
• Believers in the diet claim that high carbohydrate meals tend to leave you less satisfied than those that contain adequate fat levels; so you eat more and get hungrier sooner.

The Zone Diet

• Like the Adkins Diet, Dr. Sears' Zone Diet advocates eating fewer calories and exercising more. It also stresses getting more of those calories from fat and protein and fewer from carbohydrates.

Healthy Alternatives

• If you want to manage your weight and your blood cholesterol level, skip the fad diets and stick with a low fat diet which accounts for less than 30% of total calories.
• It's not carbohydrates that cause weight gain, it's total caloric intake. By limiting carbohydrates you automatically reduce your caloric intake, resulting in a negative calorie balance and therefore weight loss.