The Dark Side of Protein

In the past weeks, I have discussed the benefits of protein, and explained why it is of the utmost importance to get your daily intake of protein. But there is a dark side. Proteins can be harmful if over consumed or by consuming denatured proteins.

Protein is damaged by heat. If it is heated too long or exposed to very high heat, it becomes carcinogenic (so does creatine). Most people eat damaged, denatured protein, such as hamburger. Frying or cooking animal protein in an open container or oven tends to dry it out and ruin the protein.

It is easy to know if you are not getting enough protein. Your performance will decline, your recovery rate will decline, and you will loose muscle mass. What many people do not realize is that it can be dangerous to get too much protein. It is definitely not a case of "if a little is good, a lot must be better." There is a fine line between too much and not enough. Especially when you are consuming too much of the denatured protein.

Excess amino acids in the body not used in the structure are converted to non-toxic carbon-dioxide and water. It is also, however, converted into ammonia which is highly toxic to the body. The body will protect itself from the ammonia by converting it into urea. Urea is normally excreted by the kidneys. However, if you eat too much, the kidneys will not be able to keep up, and the toxins will poison the blood.

Chronic elevated urea will cause inflamed kidneys. This can cause low back pain and general feeling of malaise. Unfortunately, unless the levels are really high your doctor will not be able to detect this with normal tests. The best way to detect it is with a BUN (blood urea nitrogen) test. According to Dr. Richard Passwater, a BUN score of 10-14 mg/dl is a measure of good health. a BUN of over 21 may indicate poor health. High BUN may also be caused by dehydration. However, if your hydration is good, you are feeling off, and your BUN is over 21 mg/dl, try reducing your protein intake.

Remember, that if we over cook and denature our protein, we also dehydrate the protein. This dehydration of the meat is cause of almost all the dangers of ammonia production from the nitrogen in the amino acids. Sashimi (raw fish), is one of the safest and biologically efficient ways to consume protein "naturally" because it preserves the water content. Water is the medium used to excrete urea, which ammonia is converted into, but without sufficient water in the body, it is retained and causes damage.

Eating dry overcooked animal flesh, or for that matter, dry bread or any food robbed of its natural inherent water, will cause problems, especially if you are dehydrated to begin with, which most of us are. Smoking, alcohol, coffee and many prescription & OTC medications only add insult to injury, because they encourage dehydration. This is why I focus on hydration principles even before getting into food, especially for athletes.

Next week, I will cover protein supplementation and the use of whey protein isolates.

So, how should I get my protein?

We have been discussing protein, and learned that it is the most important macronutrient that we should get everyday. We learned that proteins play an important role in even our most basic bodily functions. We even discussed that athletes need to anywhere from 1.5 to 3 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day.

Since protein is so important, we can not just eat garbage proteins. We need quality sources from whole natural foods. The usability of the proteins we eat is best measured by Biological Value (BV). BV is the measurement on how much protein is retained in the body. Whole eggs are the benchmark standard and are given a score of 100. Here are some standard scores of common foods:



Do not fall for the myth that vegetable proteins are not complete. This is just ludicrous. The problem with vegetable proteins is their low BV score. As you can see these proteins have a score that is half those of eggs and meat. this means that you would have to eat a mountain of beans to get the same benefit has some higer protein sources. Although vegetable proteins have a lot of other health benefits, they should not be an athletes main source.

I would not recomend a vegetarian diet to an athlete. I prefere a more hunter gatherer (Paleo Diet). I will speak more about this in the future. Nonetheless, vegetarian with the best diet for an athlete are the so called "ovo-lacto" vegetarians. They have realized the importance of eggs and Whey peptides as a protien source.

Remember to get your proteins from the higher sources if possible. In the upcoming entries we will discuss Protein supplementation, The negative sides of protein, and the dangers of soy. In the meantime, I would like to share this protein quality chart from My studies with Cory Holly.

But how much should I take?

Last week I began my discussion on protein. We discussed that protein was the basic building block of our bodies. This week, I want to discuss how much protein to eat per day.

Following the daily recommended allowance (RDA) for protein is not sufficient for athletes. The information about the needs for protein have been accumulating since 1974. Dr. I. Gontzea from the Institute of Medicine Bucharest. He showed that exercise causes the body to use protein at a much faster rate. He did studies with athletes by regulating their exercise and protein intake then measuring the nitrogen balance in the blood.

Remember that one of the features of protein that separates it from a carbohydrate or fat is the presence of nitrogen. A positive Nitrogen balance would indicate that the protein intake was adequate. I negative balance indicates that the protein intake is insufficient.

These studies have shown that athletes with the daily intake of protein at 1.5g/Kg/day kept the athletes in positive nitrogen balance when resting, but once the did their 2 hour exercise session, they went into negative nitrogen balance. This is nearly twice the RDA.

Since then, several other studies have been performed with similar results. Now for athletes, it is important to consume protein based on your fitness needs and your current body weight.

Class 1 or Sedentary = 1 g/kg/day
Class 2 or Endurance = 1.5 g/kg/day
Class 3 or Speed = 2 g/kg/day
Class 4 or Strength = 2.5 to 3 g/kg/day

We will continue this discussion next week with sources of protein and protein supplements.

Protein

 A while back, I planned on doing a segment on the three macronutrients: Protein, Fats, and Carbohydrates. This segment will be the focus of the next six or so installments.

First, we will discuss protein. This is the most appropriate to start with, because its name it self means to "come first" or "of the first rank." this is why its presence and position at each meal should be the first consideration, not the last. Did you know that next to water, protein is the most prevalent substance in the body? Remove all the water from the body, and over 50% of the dry weight is protein. In order to emphasize this, check out what is made of protein.

• Hemoglobin that carries oxygen in your blood is made of protein;
• The structure of your genes;
• Your brain cells;
• All enzymes are protein. These control every bodily function from a blink of an eye to the creation of new muscle.

Enzymes are very important in how your body works. All enzymes are protein, so it is very important to get your protein nutrition right. As I mentioned, your genes are mode of proteins. Your nutrition directly affect how the genes work in your body. Researches have shown that nearly 98% of the molecules in your body is replaced every six months. Bits and pieces of your body are constantly being replaced by new proteins. In six months your biceps, your blood, your enzymes, and even the structures of your genes will be made entirely from what you have eaten in the last six months.

The bottom line is that if you eat poor quality proteins then all the structures of your body; muscles, bones, teeth, blood, ect.. will be poor quality. To quote one of my mentors Dr. Michael Colgan:

"The human system is super ingenious at making do with inadequate building materials, patching, and pinch-hitting, but it can't build premium tissue from garbage. A Twinkies and coffee diet produces a Twinkies and coffee body. For optimum performance you have to eat optimum protein to build optimum structure--period."

In my next installment, I will discuss how much protein we should eat.