Protein

Many athletes consider protein to be the key to athletic success. It is difficult to find power athletes who can resist consuming some form of protein supplement, and most who do take supplements are convinced their successes are, at least partially, attributable to the extra protein. In fact, most athletes consume far too much protein and, in doing so, reduce the intake of other essential nutrients that are critical to achieving athletic success. Put simply, eating too much of one nutrient forces you into eating less of something else that may be equally important.

Athletes who typically need more protein (as a percentage of total energy consumption) very often have lower protein intakes. Endurance athletes, who appear thin and less muscular than power athletes, actually have a protein requirement nearly as high (per unit of body weight) as power athletes because they burn some level of protein as part of their normal endurance activities.^{37, 38} By contrast, power athletes typically consume a great deal more protein than they need, and to make matters worse, many consume protein powders or amino acid supplements to increase their protein intake still further.³⁹ Considering that a single ounce of meat provides about 7,000 milligrams of amino acids and that a typical amino acid supplement provides between 500 and 1,000 milligrams, few of the protein intake strategies that many athletes follow are logical.

Protein Functions

Protein Metabolism

Protein Requirements

Protein and Physical Activity