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ASK DR. JEFF
January 2013
Issue No. Ten
OM
kuchfit.com
“If you wait, all that
happens is that you
get older”...
PROTEIN
by Dr. Jeff Holladay
-Mario Andretti-
UNDERSTANDING PROTEIN...
SIGNIFICANCE OF PROTEIN
Busy month, this January. Flu season is in
full swing, and back this year with a vengeance.
The hospital has been full, and I am having to
wear roller skates just to keep up with the
patient volume! With that said, it is not too late
to get your flu shot.
Last month, I promised I would write a bit
about protein, and I am finally catching a
breather to get back to you. So far, we have
talked about total calories and carbohydrates.
To review, you need carbs for energy. When
you don't get enough carbs, you tap into
protein stores, mostly at the expense of muscle
tissue, to maintain vital functions. You need
enough carbohydrates to prevent muscle
breakdown, and you need enough protein to
allow muscles to grow in the first place.
Amino Acids, the building blocks of protein
Importance of a healthy diet
Protein, a building block in fitness
AMINO ACIDS
The basic building blocks for protein are called
amino acids. There are 22 different amino
acids that all combine in different ways to make
different proteins that each serve different
functions, building muscle being one of them.
Of the 22 different amino acids, the body can
synthesize 14 of them from a normal diet.
“Consistency and
Focus. Period.”
-Kuch
Kuchfit, Inc. Attn: Dr. Jeff, 350 W. 37th Street, Ste.27H, New York, NY | [email protected] | www.kuchfit.com
ASK DR. JEFF
PAGE
Essential Amino Acids must be obtained
through our diets
The other 8 of them, the body cannot
make by itself, and if the diet is deficient,
your performance and growth will not be at
its peak. We call these special 8 amino acids
"essential amino acids", or EAA's. (they
include Tryptophan, Valine, Threonine,
Isoleucine, Leucine, Lysine, Phenylalanine,
and Methioinine.) Histidine has recently
been discovered to not be synthesized in
adults, which raises the list of 9 essential
amino acids in adults. A protein that carries
all of the EAA's is called a "complete
protein". Protein sources that contain a
higher percentage of these special amino
acids are said to have a high "biologic value,
meaning that they carry more of the EAA's
that the body cannot make itself.
EGGS AND WHEY PROTEIN
Eggs and whey protein set the standard as
proteins with the highest biologic value with
meats being next in line. Animal sources of
protein, however, often contain higher fat
content as well as calories. Although
vegetable sources of protein (some robust
examples being beans, legumes, and nuts)
may lack one or two essential amino acids,
they provide less fat, and they fat they do
2
Protein: supports fat loss, muscle growth
& recovery
contain tends to be healthier. You can mix
vegetable sources of protein to make them
complete---familiar examples include rice
with beans or peas with corn which
together we call "complementary". Quinoa
(pronounced keen-wa) is an example of a
grain that by itself is a complete protein.
POSITIVE NITROGEN BALANCE
Nitrogen is the element that sets amino
acids/proteins apart as a separate group.
Comparing the amount of nitrogen in a
someone's urine to the amount consumed
from the diet gives us an idea of how much
to the amount consumed is actually
incorporating for its intended use, a term
called "nitrogen balance". A positive
nitrogen balance means more dietary
nitrogen goes into functions like building
muscle cells than is wasted in the urine.
High amounts of nitrogen in the urine
suggests that more amino acids were either
converted to carbohydrate molecules for
energy in the case of a low carb diet or
starvation, or even worse, in the case of
calorie/protein excess, CONVERTED TO
FAT and stored in places that you probably
would rather it not be!
The body has a limit for how
much protein it can utilize,
and regardless of how much
steak or chicken or eggs you
eat, going above that limit
will result in a negative
nitrogen balance.
Kuchfit, Inc. Attn: Dr. Jeff, 350 W. 37th Street, Ste.27H, New York, NY | [email protected] | www.kuchfit.com
ASK DR. JEFF
PAGE
3
PROTEIN AND DIET
UNDERSTANDING HOW MUCH PROTEIN TO CONSUME
That's right, a diet that is even
100% protein and zero fat would result
in fat gain, because the body will
convert those amino acids to fat before
you can blink an eye. In fact, even if the
body is going to burn an amino acid
molecule for energy it has to first
convert it to a fat molecule.
Some people believe that they can
shift into a positive nitrogen balance by
consuming a high protein diet. The
thought is that they can spare muscle
loss from gluconeogenesis by "protein
loading". This belief is untrue. On a
very low carbohydrate diet, the body
either burns the extra protein from the
diet or sacrifices protein mass from
muscle for energy. The body has a limit
for how much protein it can utilize, and
regardless of how much steak or
chicken or eggs you eat, going above
that limit will result in a negative
nitrogen balance. Dietary manipulation
cannot force protein into muscle. Your
muscles accept protein at a slow rate
than can be accelerated only when you
stimulate those muscles to grow through
EXERCISE! (or puberty).
So, the question I know you all
must be asking, how much is enough,
and how much is too much? The
government recommended dietary
allowance, or RDA for protein for all
adults is higher than the level than even
very active athletes need. Most
Americans consume far more protein
than they need. 0.8grams of protein per
Kg of body weight gives a large margin
for variation. To make the math simple
for you, for an 80kg man (or 180
pounds), 65 grams of protein per day is
more than enough. Most marketers of
protein supplements would lead you to
think that you need twice this much.
Most protein shakes contain about 20
grams of protein which is about a third
of the day's amount for an average man
and about half for the average woman.
You don't really need to load up on cans
of tuna and chicken breasts and protein
bars as much as you think. Sticking to
whole, more natural sources of protein
will also bring you better sources of
vitamins and micronutrients, that
protein supplements sometimes lack. If
you are not used to the metric system,
you can determine your weight in Kg by
taking your weight in pounds and
dividing that number by 2.2. If you
weigh 132 pounds, that gives 60kg; if
you weigh 176 pounds, that gives 80Kg;
and if you weigh 220 pounds, your
weight in Kg is 100 Kg. Multiply your
weight in Kg by 2.2 and that gives you a
good idea of your protein needs. Most
items that you purchase in the grocery
store will list how many grams of
protein they contain. You can also go to
the
online
website
www.supertracker.usda.gov where you
can enter any food item to give you the
protein content in addition to the
breakdown on calories and other
nutrients as well. After keeping track for
a while, you will find yourself making
good estimates without having to look it
up so much.
All animal-produced foods
such as – eggs, dairy, red
meat, poultry, and seafood –
are complete proteins, and
contain all nine essential
amino acids, necessary to build
muscle and be healthy
Kuchfit, Inc., New York, NY | [email protected] | www.kuchfit.com