How to Choose the Right Sports Protein Shake

When you’re leading an active lifestyle, getting the right balance of macro and micronutrients is absolutely critical. Intense exercise depletes your body of nutrients, energy, and protein, so replacing those nutrients is necessary to prevent deficiencies that can negatively impact health. Athletes and trainers alike know that peak nutrition status is an integral component of optimal sports performance and that high-quality nutrition can give you the competitive edge needed to train, perform, and recover. But with so many products out there, how do you choose the one that’s right for you?

Finally, the answers you’ve been looking for on how to pick the right sports protein!

4 Key Factors to Choosing the Right Sports Protein Shake:

1 Optimal Protein Sources
High-quality protein is needed for effective maintenance, repair and synthesis of skeletal muscle. To date, milk-based proteins like whey and casein are superior to other sources of proteins because they are complete proteins (containing all the essential amino acids) with high amounts of bioavailable leucine and branched chain amino acids (BCAAs), which are important for muscle synthesis and retention. Whey is digested quickly so amino acids are rapidly available and utilized by the body for recovery, and it has the highest levels of branched chain amino acids found in nature. Casein, the other milk protein, is digested and absorbed slower than whey, which helps supply the body with protein over a longer period of time. It is also high in glutamine, one of the most prevalent amino acids in the body. The combination of both ensures protein and key amino acids are readily available when your body needs them.

NeoLife SPORT Performance Protein: MuscleMatch™ Protein Blend of whey, nonfat milk powder, calcium sodium caseinate features an amino acid profile optimized to closely match lean muscle, and promote maximum muscle building efficiency.*

2 Key Amounts of Protein
Several studies show that muscle protein synthesis is optimized after an hour of exercise when you consume protein of high biological value, (approximately 20-30 g providing 10g of essential amino acids) within 0-2 hours after exercise. However, higher intakes of protein (>40 g) have not been shown to further improve muscle protein synthesis. So while getting enough protein is important for muscle synthesis, getting more isn’t better.

NeoLife SPORT Performance Protein: Biologically complete protein with all 22 amino acids, including all the essential ones and 3 branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs). Each serving when mixed in nonfat milk provides 26g of high quality protein and 5.7g of BCAAs including 2.6g Leucine for optimal muscle building and retention.*

3 Protein-Sparing Carbohydrates
Studies show that consuming carbohydrate and protein together results in improved muscle synthesis . This is because carbohydrates have a protein-sparing effect, which means they can act as fuel so that the amino acids from the protein you consume will be used as building blocks for muscle synthesis instead of for energy. In addition, carbohydrates are an important fuel for muscle and central nervous system, so low levels will be a limiting factor in performance and recovery.

NeoLife SPORT Performance Protein: Metabolically balanced 1:1 protein to carbohydrate ratio (26g: 26g) optimized to support activity for immediate and sustained energy.*

4 The Nutrients You Need with No Surprise Ingredients
Protein shakes should also provide the full spectrum of essential vitamins and minerals to replace lost nutrients and ensure proper metabolism and utilization of protein and carbohydrates. At the same time avoiding unwanted or undesirable components can pose serious challenges for users in general and athletic users in particular.

Contamination, or the accidental or intentional inclusion of compounds that violate anti-doping codes for banned substances poses a significant risk for athletes because testing positive for banned substances could lead to disqualification from their sport even if they were unaware that the supplement contained banned substances. Thus, it is important to review the latest research and choose a company like NeoLife that meets quality standards and conducts rigorous testing. Our promise to you is that NeoLife Nutritional Supplements, including our vitamin, mineral, protein, and phytonutrient supplements, are guaranteed to be free of any substance currently banned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), International Olympic Committee (IOC), and World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).


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For more information on NeoLife SPORT and other products, please visit NeoLife.com or call 800.432.5842. To learn how to build a foundation of good nutrition for you and your loved ones, visit ShareNeolife.com.

References
1. Josse AR, et al. Body composition and strength changes in women with milk and resistance exercise. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2010 Jun;42(6):1122-30.
2. Thomas DT, et al. Position of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Dietitians of Canada, and the American College of Sports Medicine: Nutrition and Athletic Performance. J Acad Nutr Diet. 2016 Mar;116(3):501-28.
3. Phillips SM. Dietary protein requirements and adaptive advantages in athletes. Br J Nutr. 2012 Aug;108 Suppl 2:S158-67.
4. Beelen M, et al. Nutritional strategies to promote postexercise recovery. Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab. 2010 Dec;20(6):515-32.
5. Moore DR, et al. Ingested protein dose response of muscle and albumin protein synthesis after resistance exercise in young men. Am J Clin Nutr. 2009 Jan;89(1):161-8.
6. Beelen M, et al. Protein coingestion stimulates muscle protein synthesis during resistance-type exercise. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab. 2008 Jul;295(1):E70-7.

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