Fitness fanatics searching for the best nutrition for athletes should be cautious about including protein drinks in their diet. Most Americans eat far too much protein, overtaxing organs such as kidneys and liver. All those protein drinks and muscle blasters with whey protein cause more health problems than people realize. The body cannot easily digest most protein drinks because they are usually made from “isolated” protein, which clogs the lymphatic system.
Experts agree that the best nutrition for athletes, including protein, should come from whole foods, like fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes and nuts. This way the nutrients are attached to live enzymes and are in their whole food structure so that the body can absorb them most efficiently.
Protein drinks often contain excess sugar, “isolated” protein, “isolated” vitamins and minerals, and numerous artificial ingredients that do not contribute to proper nutrition for athletes.
These 5 facts are usually overlooked when consumers choose protein drinks:
1. A bull grows from 60 lbs at birth to 600 lbs in 6-8 months and eats only plant based food, obtaining all the protein it needs without consuming meat or protein drinks.
2. Gorillas are among the strongest creatures on the planet and they don’t eat meat.
3. Protein is used for the body’s repair, not for energy.
4. A human does not need to eat muscle to grow muscle
5. The body has to work harder to break down large protein molecules from meat and dairy products.
The best way to obtain the highest quality nutrition for athletes is by consuming concentrated whole food protein drinks with “bioavailable” protein. That means it is easy to digest and metabolize so the cells can do the real repair work that needs to be done. This is how muscles are built.
2 responses so far ↓
Paul // May 6th 2010 at 12:22 pm
I disagree with some of this. For example, you cannot compare other animals on the planet and their diets because their bodies do not have the capabilities of functioning the way the human body does. I.E. the human body heals itself, has the ability to think for itself, etc. If you notice, those animals you named will NEVER eat what they are not suppose to. Secondly, over 65% of this country falls into the overweight to obese category and it does not come from the overconsumption of protein. It comes from the overconsumption of complex carbs, processed unnatural foods, and sugar. In addition, the fastest way to lower body fat %, as well as weight, is to use protein for energy.
chris // Nov 29th 2010 at 10:27 am
i kinda agree alot with this and some of the response below too, about lack of protein being the cause of obesity. higher protein diets are required and helpful in keeping weight to a reasonable proportion, however, i agree with most protein drinks, i think due to the fact that the majority of them are caked with unnatural additives, aspartame, sucrose, and i wouldnt be surprised if msg was present (could that fall partly under sucrose?). dairy is definately bad, and i dont drink dairy milks anymore, the only dairy i touch is pumkin seed bread and butter (to my knowledge). i rarely touch red meat.
how about lizards? i believe they can heal, better than humans can. they can replace lost legs if memory serves me correct. or something like that. and dont lions eat meat? theyre massively powerful too. i think there’s arguements for and against the meat issue. though what is fed into the cows and many animals from those power hungry (no pun intended) people is an issue, so thats why i dnt trust animal meat now. even some fish are genetically modified.
On the whole though, this is not bad, and i do think plant based protein drinks are good. has anyone seen the vegan bodybuilding & fitness website by robert cheeke? that might be worth checking out.
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