Under the increasingly heated wave of appearance anxiety, fitness as a right discourse has evolved a set of standards and rules. This article from the micro-channel public number: FoodWine Chihaohehao (ID: FoodWineChina) , Author: Lin love meat , Editor: Lu Qing, Arrangement: Cyan, Original title: “Let’s make the conclusion first: Protein powder is not a standard for fitness”, head picture from: Visual China
“Fitness first helps the brain.”
Through countless fitness bloggers who have continued to follow, tirelessly, multi-social platforms, and all-round repeated preaching, it has been cast into a strong and loud slogan.
Indeed, under the increasingly heated wave of appearance anxiety, fitness, as a kind of right discourse, is gradually evolving a set of so-called standards and rules between continuous planting and weeding. From light fasting to ketogenesis, from meal replacement powder to creatine, fitness and diet are like a Rashomon. Real dry goods and pseudo-science fight each other. After the big wave, three golden characters: protein powder.
“Protein is the most important nutrient of the human body. It is not only the main constituent of the human body, it can also be converted into sugar and fat and provide energy under certain conditions.” Thanks to the vigorous development of the fitness industry, junior high school textbooks have taught it. The three major nutrients finally come in handy at this time. Compared with the controversial “fat” and “carbohydrate”, protein has indeed harvested a lot of dividends of the times, and protein powder with a high concentration of protein is undoubtedly a shortcut to ingest protein. How many people believe that the pot of powder is the last step to the perfect body shape.
The birth of the first can of whey protein powder
Looking back at the development of protein powder, I have to mention the key role-whey.
Pottery used by the ancient Poles to make cheese. © Wheyforliving.com
As early as 5500 BC, the ancient Poles had mastered the basic whey separation technology. They use simple earthenware to make cheese and discard the liquid waste left in the container after making the cheese. This layer of liquid is essentially whey.
About 460 BC, Hippocrates (Hippocrates), the father of modern medicine and ancient Greek, recycled whey as A drug “serum” (Serum) to improve the patient’s physical strength. He firmly believes that this can promote the efficiency of people’s immune system, and this is also the first application of whey as a nutritional supplement. Until the 18th century, whey was a popular tonic in the upper class of Europe.
At this time, the vigorous British Industrial Revolution became the first professional turning point in the history of whey production. With the popularization of mechanization, people tried to use the most advanced distillation technology at the time “long tube multi-effect evaporator” (Multi Effect Evaporator) Separated from milk products. As Whey House (Whey House) blooms everywhere in Europe, drinking whey drinks has gradually formed a social fashion, the culture of Whey House It can be said to be on par with the cafe culture that emerged later. At that time, there was even an open-air hot spring (Whey Health Spas) specializing in whey, providing a place for people with skin diseases.
Whey is a by-product of the cheese making process. In the past, because of the time-consuming and labor-intensive collection, processing plants usually discarded it directly. © Valio
After entering the 20th century, the market demand for milk and cheese products has been unprecedentedly high. Processing plants produce extremely large amounts of whey every day, and the balance of supply and demand has rapidly tilted, except as an emulsifier for cheap ice cream and German Fanta during World War II. The raw material, whey gradually faded out of people’s vision.
If it were not for the bodybuilding frenzy that later emerged in the United States, the history of whey might have come to an end here.
Hoffman’s protein powder advertisement claims: “Many users gain 6-12 pounds of muscle from just 1 pound of protein powder.” © Physicalculturestudy.com
After the 1950s, a large number of modern bodybuilders emerged in the United States, who would promote muscle growth through a special diet. First, fitness coach Johnson (Irvin P. Johnson) developed fast-acting protein powders specifically for bodybuilders and sports athletes, and then American veterans Hoffman(Bob Hoffman) introduced plant protein powder.
In the first 50 years, most of the protein powders sold in the world were crudely processed from eggs, milk and soy products.The actual effect is not as advertised, and the taste is also unsatisfactory. As a result, people turned their eyes back to the whey that had been silent for nearly a century. In the 1990s, with the intervention of capital, large milk source companies provided raw materials for cheese factories, and protein powder companies recovered the remaining whey liquid to make whey protein powder. From the milk source to the factory, the second whey production revolution was completed, and the first can of whey protein powder was born, and it gradually became the mainstream in the Western market.
Is protein powder perfect?
From the first cup of whey to the first can of protein powder, human beings will always move towards a surprisingly similar goal on the road of pursuing health.
In the 1990s, protein powder officially entered China. Up to today, my country’s annual sales of protein supplements have been increasing at a rate of at least 5%, and the market size of the protein powder industry has also continued to rise. With the development of the sports fitness industry, the improvement of people’s awareness of sports and health, coupled with the popularity of emerging lifestyles, sports nutrition supplements have gradually moved from a niche to the general public, and continue to expand to non-professional sports groups.
Whey contains a considerable amount of protein and a small amount of fat, as well as lactose, vitamins and minerals. © Edible Silicon Valley
As an evergreen tree that stands tall in nutritional products, the reviews of protein powders are polarized. Some people firmly believe in “protein powder fetishism”, while others avoid it and link protein powder to hormones, drugs, and muscle maniacs.
Whether it is regarded as a standard or kicked off the altar, all kinds of presuppositions are essentially prejudices. How should we treat protein powder correctly, we must first understand its operating mechanism in the body.
PeopleThe body needs protein, which is an indisputable consensus. How much protein can be converted into protein powder and used by the human body is determined by the ratio of amino acids in the finished product and the digestibility.
The main sources of protein are divided into animal protein and plant protein. Both are composed of amino acids, but the content and ratio of essential amino acids are different. © Prevention.com
In order to synthesize protein, we need about 20 kinds of amino acids, 8 of which cannot be produced by the human body and must be obtained through food. Therefore, foods containing these 9 amino acids are called complete protein foods, such as meat, fish, beans, eggs, and milk; on the contrary, they are semi-complete protein foods such as rice, flour, potatoes, and dried fruits.
A large part of the common protein powders currently on the market come from complete protein foods, which are closer to what the human body needs. Compared with real food, protein powder contains less fat and carbs. (usually the protein content is more than 80%, and the carbohydrate fat content is 20%. % Below), as long as it is not a vegetable protein powder (except soy protein powder), the first condition of “proportion” can basically be met .
In terms of digestibility, after purification and refining, protein powder can be regarded as relatively pure protein, and the digestion and absorption efficiency of the human body will be higher than that of ordinary high-protein foods.
The proportions are right, the efficiency is high, and the protein powder looks impeccable.
Protein powder is different from meal replacements. The former is relatively simple in composition, while the latter is composed of protein, dietary fiber, various vitamins, minerals, and linoleic acid. It is composed of a certain proportion, and the nutrition is relatively balanced. © Lifehacker Australia
However, the single composition of protein powder determines that it can only quickly replenish pure protein, and cannot replace the regular diet. Many people directly use protein powder as a meal replacement, which will result in a lack of other essential nutrients for the human body, especially the importance of carbohydrates.
On the other hand, protein intake is not the better. How much is needed is just a basic threshold, and there are differences due to people’s age, weight, and exercise intensity. For individuals, it is difficult for us to specify an exact number. Long-term intake of excessive protein is even a health hazard. Nutritionist Fan Zhihong said, “When protein is excessive, urinary calcium excretion increases, which increases the risk of kidney stones. And fitness people take a lot of protein powder, egg white and other high-protein health products or foods after muscle training. Dangerous.”
IQ tax on protein powder
In the past 20 years, the types of protein powders have rapidly increased, and animal-type (whey protein, casein, beef protein), Plant type (soy protein, pea protein, brown rice protein) and functional type ( Muscle-building powder, etc.) three protein supplements.
When faced with a dazzling array of protein powder products, how to choose has become one of the homework to escape the IQ tax.
Whey protein powder
Whey protein powder is the most commonly used and most popular protein supplement, and has always been respected by sports and nutrition circles. Compared with other types of protein powders, whey protein has higher digestibility and amino acid ratio, which is better than other protein powders and is more suitable for the human body.
But as mentioned above, over the years, most of the whey protein concentrate is still a by-product of cheese manufacturing, and it has hardly changed from more than 20 years ago. Pay for its gorgeous product packaging and advertising. It’s not necessary. The price of emerging whey isolate and hydrolyzed whey protein powder is even more expensive, and it is not high when it comes to cost performance.
Slow-release protein powder
Slow-release protein, also known as casein, can be obtained by removing whey and water from milk. Cheese is also a type of casein product.
The reason why it is called a sustained-release protein powder is that the gastric digestive juice will curd the casein to form a mass. As a result, our absorption rate of this protein will decrease, and it will help The effect of supplying energy to the body slowly and smoothly.
This production method and mechanism of action determineSlow-release protein powder is not suitable for people with milk allergy and lactose intolerance, and the effect of drinking it immediately after exercise is not significant.
Soy protein powder
In recent years, the popularity of vegetarianism has further promoted the research and development of plant protein powder, of which soybean protein powder is the most widely sold.
The protein isolated from soybeans is currently the only plant protein that is a complete protein, and other vegan protein powders must be combined to make up for the lack of amino acids.
It is true that soybeans are a high-quality source of protein, but the protein powder made from it is slightly more fishy, not easily soluble in water, and has a general taste. Related studies have shown that Soy protein will preferentially enter the internal organs rather than the muscles after being absorbed by the body, and the digestion efficiency is not high.
Muscle Gain Powder
In essence, muscle building powder is a combination of sugar or other carbohydrate and protein powder. The protein content is about 40% ~ 50%, and the other 40% ~ 50% is carbohydrateThe compound is more suitable for people who need to gain weight and muscle during fitness.
The combination of a variety of nutrients can ensure the supply of energy, especially sugar, even when the amount of exercise increases, the body will not consume too much muscle and cause the more exercise to become thinner. But it is precisely because of the addition of carbohydrates that we must pay special attention to the overall calorie intake, and it is not recommended for overweight fitness beginners.
Do you need protein powder?
No food is decathlon, and protein powder is the same.
Like a multivitamin tablet, protein powder is only a nutritional supplement, not a panacea or a substitute for food. If dietary intake is reasonable, not all people need to follow suit.
A reasonable diet is sufficient to meet the daily protein needs of ordinary people. © Eatcleanessentials.com
In short, professional athletes, vegetarians, the elderly, and those who are overweight are the real target groups of protein powder. Athletes use protein powder to quickly build and repair muscles and restore athletic performance; vegetarians and people who need to gain weight can eat about 20 grams of whey protein a day, which is regarded as a convenient source of nutrition; while the elderly may Need more protein intake, protein powder does not need to chew and is easy to digest, making it a good choice.
For ordinary people in good health, as long as they have a normal diet and intake, they can actually obtain sufficient amounts of protein from natural foods and do not need to drink additional protein powder. If there is no corresponding exercise plan, or if there is no corresponding stimulation to the muscles, protein powder will only become a “poison” that increases the burden on the body.
In the last century, protein powderIt was born in line with the times and leveraged the fitness trend to leverage the market. Initially, it was to help consumers achieve their ideal image. In the final analysis, this is an urban myth after all, a cause of anxiety. Protein powder has become an inseparable part of the word, even if our body may not really need it.
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This article is from WeChat official account:FoodWine is delicious (ID: FoodWineChina) span> , author: Lin love meat