Nutrition Blog - May

Protein!  What is it, and why do we need it?  Protein is a macronutrient that is the main protagonist responsible for muscle growth!  In order to understand how your body uses protein to build muscle, we need to understand how our body actually breaks it down and uses it.  When you eat protein, that protein gets broken down into different chains of amino acids when those proteins get to your small intestine.  Once there, these amino acids get absorbed into your bloodstream and get to work!  We say muscle growth, but these amino acid chains are also aiding in your body’s energy output, muscle recovery, hormone regulation, and enzyme function!  Each amino chain is responsible for a different job, a different source of “improvement” for your muscles.  Most individuals will aim for roughly 75%-100% of their body weight in grams of protein daily, and I agree with this strategy.  This is so that each body has the right amount of amino acids and the right amount of nutrients in order to regulate the body itself and the muscle it has.

This is great, but where should this protein come from!? This is a very high/steep goal for many people to hit, and it is okay!  Take it from me, as someone who used to hardly eat any protein, you find nice, easy ways to incorporate more into your diet.  Different protein sources will contain different chains of amino acids that they get broken into.  You have what are called ‘Complete Proteins’ which will include foods like: Chicken, Beef, Eggs, Turkey, and fish.  These proteins contain all nine essential amino acids that we have to either get from food or supplement!  Examples of food items that contain protein, but are not a primary protein source, would be items like beans, nuts, peanut butter, and oats.  These are still valuable, but you need a variety of them; it is generally best to prioritize your complete proteins!  Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, and protein supplements/bars are all very good sources of protein as well.

Supplementing protein though protein powder has been around for a very long time.  The reason we supplement protein is because like I mentioned earlier, it is difficult to hit protein goals with just eating whole foods!  There is no “correct” protein powder.  What matters the most is that the protein powder is third-party tested (which all of the brands we carry are). There isn’t a protein powder for losing weight, nor is there one for gaining muscle/size.  That relies on how many calories are in the powder you choose.  The protein powder options we have in store will range from 80calories - 140calories.  We also do have mass gainers that contain more protein, but those tubs will be anywhere from 500calories-720calories (these would be more for weight gain).  Protein powders differ mostly in where the protein is sourced from.  Whether it be from cheese/milk, peas, rice, farm fed, grass fed, and other options that we won’t get into today; this is nice however, because if you or your child have any dietary restrictions, there are options for everyone.  What matters is getting a protein powder that you look forward to drinking every day!  

Thank you for taking the time to read this months’ blog!  I hope you all learned something!  As always, if any questions arise or you want to swing by the store to try any of the protein we carry, never hesitate!  I look forward to seeing you soon, and I hope it’s an amazing start to the travel baseball season for everyone!