Protein Myths that Won’t Die
Sports nutrition has quite a number of myths floating around and the most deep rooted is that of the need for additional protein by athletes.
Myth #1: “Athletes don’t need extra protein”
Quite a number of people still believe that athletes need additional protein, even medical professionals and scientists. For the past half century, a firm belief was that athletes and other such active people did not require more protein than the average person. A review paper published recently by a top researcher in the field, Dr. Peter Lemon states “…These data suggest that the RDA for those engaged in regular endurance exercise should be about 1.2-1.4 grams of protein/kilogram of body mass (150%-175% of the current RDA) and 1.7 - 1.8 grams of protein/kilogram of body mass per day (212%-225% of the current RDA) for strength exercisers.”
Current recommendations on protein intake stand at one gram per pound of bodyweight - taking current research into account plus a safety margin. Keep in mind that too much protein is less harmless to athletes working on increasing muscle mass, rather than too little. The conclusion on the myth therefore is that high protein diets fare better for reducing body fat and increasing muscle mass.
Myth #2: “High protein diets are bad for you”
The word around is that high protein diets are bad for your kidneys and could potentially give you osteoporosis. This however is not true. Kidney dysfunction in healthy adults due to high protein diets has not been proven in any scientific study. Thus, 1-1.5g of protein per pound of bodyweight will have no ill effects on the kidney function of a healthy athlete.
The theory about osteoporosis is that high protein intakes increase acidity in the bloody, which then needs the body to use minerals from bone stores to ‘buffer’ the blood to bring down the acidity levels - which then deplete your bones of minerals. If this was linked to high protein diets, athletes would be the last to be affected as they get plenty of exercise, calories, minerals, vitamins and have positive hormonal profiles. In fact, studies show that athletes have denser bones when compared to the average person.
Myth #3: “All proteins are created equal”
Research shows that different proteins have differed functional properties that are advantageous to athletes. Whey protein improves immunity and is high in amino acids which are found to be quite beneficial to athletes. Soy protein too has its many uses. There simply is no ‘one size fits all’ kind of protein.
