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Friday, October 29, 2010

Protein products

 Introduction

Protein is made of amino acids. Amino acids are the basic building blocks of muscle. Therefore, protein is an essential ingredient for muscle building. You can't build muscle without it! You will want to take in about 1-2 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight throughout the day. So an average person who weighs 150 lbs would want to consume between 150 and 300 grams of protein in a day. Protein shakes and bars are convenient and provide high quality protein.

Protein supplements

There are several forms of protein including: Whey, Soy, Egg, and Casein. So which kind is best? Well that depends on how and when you want to use them.


Whey - Basically, whey protein is awesome for post-workout supplementation because that's the time when your body needs protein the most, and whey is digested very quickly (about 30 minutes).

Casein - Casein, on the other hand, is digested very slowly (over 2 - 7 hours). This means it's great to use a protein supplement with casein before bed because the longest time your body goes without protein is during the night while you are sleeping.

Egg - Egg protein (albumen) digests at a medium pace (1.5-3 hours) so it's a good anytime protein to provide a good sustained release of aminos to the body.

Soy - Soy protein is the vegetarian's friend because it's one of the only complete protein sources derived from plants. Soy is a good overall protein, although it's not as effective in terms of absorbtion as whey or egg albumen. Additionally, soy has many recognized health benefits for women.

Blends - Either protein supplements are straight whey, soy, egg, or casein; or they are a combination of any or all of these kinds of proteins. What can a blend of proteins offer that a straight protein cannot? Basically, different rates of digestion. This means you can take a blended protein any time to get quick, medium, and prolonged absorption of protein. ProM3 is one of the best in the blended proteins category.

Low Carb - Of the many protein supplements, the two other main categories are weight gainers and low carb protein shakes and bars. These two are on opposite spectrums of each other. Yep, you guessed it low carb protein shakes are good for those dieting or trying to lose or maintain weight.

Weight Gainer - Weight gainers are high calorie protein products that are great for people who are looking to bulk up. If you are having trouble gaining weight, taking in extra high quality calories will usually do the trick.

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