Macro Breakdown - Protein and its power!

What is Protein?

Protein - known worldwide for its contribution to muscle repair, muscle growth and recovery. Protein is the second highest substance included in your body (behind water) and makes up around 20% of your body weight. Every cell in the human body contains protein and is important to have protein in abundance for healthy skin, muscles, organs and glands.

Proteins are made from building blocks called Amino Acids. There are 20 Amino Acids in total, 9 of which are essential as the body is unable to produce them. These are:

• Histidine

• Isoleucine*

• Leucine*

• Lysine

• Methionine

• Phenylalanine

• Threonine

• Tryptophan

• Valine*

These 9 essential Amino Acids can be contained from protein-rich foods such as eggs, dairy, meat, Quinoa and Soy foods. Other protein sources, such as nuts, grains and pulses are called "incomplete" proteins as they lack one or more of the essential 9 Amino Acids.

*Isoleucine, Leucine and Valine are known as the 3 essential amino acids to make up the Branch-chained Amino Acids, or BCAAs for short. These three Amino Acids are particularly important for our muscles as they increase the protein synthesis process in your muscles and reduce muscle soreness.

When picking out a BCAA, look for one which has a higher content of Leucine, as this particular amino acid will serve your muscle best!

Protein Anabolism and Catabolism

This is all to do with your metabolism - you can either be in a anabolic or catabolic state.

Anabolism is the set of metabolic reactions which construct molecules from smaller units, and requires energy from processes such as protein synthesis. It's the building process within your body and occurs mainly at times of rest, recovery and sleep.

Catabolism is the opposite and is the process of breaking down molecules to smaller units to release energy. This energy is then used for other bodily processes such as digestion. In the sense of workouts, muscle catabolism will breakdown your muscle tissue while lifting weights, then anabolism will occur post workout to build and repair your muscle tissue.

How much Protein should YOU consume?

This will mainly come down to how much intensive working out you do as an individual, as well as your age or whether you have any muscle deficiencies. Protein is needed more during certain periods of life than others. For example, during your childhood and teenage years protein is needed much more than when you're in your later adult life, as your body, muscles and bones are still developing.

As a general guide, most weightlifters are required to consume 2 grams of protein per kg of bodyweight. This is around the same for teenagers but can be a bit less around 1.5-2 grams. For athletes, protein intake will depend on what they are training for. For instance, and endurance athlete will only need around 1.2-1.5 grams of protein per kg of bodyweight, whereas athletes building muscle mass for explosive sports will need around 2 grams. The more muscle you build, the more protein you'll need to synthesise and repair muscle tissue.

To summarise:

1. Protein has major contributions to your muscle, skin and bodily functions

2. Proteins are made of 20 different Amino Acids, 9 of which are essential and 3 of which are particularly important for muscles, called Branch-Chained Amino Acids or BCAAs

3. Anabolism and Catabolism is the building up and breaking down processes for molecules in your body in order to build muscle and release energy

4. How much protein you should consume depends on your age and how much activity you engage in, amongst other factors

If you have any questions, send an e-mail to MOB FIT at mobfituk@outlook.com