Protein powder, what is it for, why is it important and who needs it.
Protein is a nutrient needed by the human body for growth and maintenance. Aside from water, proteins are the most abundant kind of molecules in the body. Protein can be found in all cells of the body and is the major structural component of all cells in the body, especially muscle. This also includes body organs, hair and skin.
My personal use of protein powder….I like to add protein powder and fiber to my snacks to increase the nutritional value and to balance out the carbs. As well with the high intensity of physical training I do it really minimizes muscular soreness and help repair the muscles I’m breakdown to rebuild them .
Choosing a protein powder….the options and variety are endless. Start by thinking about your nutritional needs and then start reading the labels. Although protein powder is marketed as healthy and good for you but like all items on the shelves at the grocery store they are not all created equally and some have a number of unpronounceable, artificial ingredients & flavours as well as refine ingredients. Now as many of you may be a aware I go for the natural options…void of preservatives & refined item and when at all possible choose food to get my daily requirements of nutrients. And another personal factor is it must be wheat free.
I choose to try VEGA, a vegan protein that is fairly clean (unrefined), wheat free and a number of colleagues use it. Another product is Precision all natural vegetarian protein powder and I intend to experiment with cooking with this one over the next few months and I will keep you up to date on how things are going and my feeling towards these products.
General protein requirements
Take your weight in lbs multiply by .5-.8 to get the #grams of protein you require(approximately) …the range varies upon your level of activity. Now take a look at your dietary logs and see how much protein you are consuming….are you meeting your minimum requirement ? Are you really physically tired and sore the next two days after a weight workout? I wish I could say this is what you need and in this amount but every body is different and so fine tuning your dietary requirements based on how you body responds…I hope this has helped
Giselle Bergeron-Raganold
Ellefitness 