Protein And Amino Acid Supplementation İn Sports: Necessity And Advantages
MAKALE #10773 © Yazan Dyt.Melik İŞLER | Yayın Nisan 2013 | 2,929 Okuyucu
Protein and Amino Acid Supplementation in Sports: Necessity and Advantages
Introduction
Protein supplementation in sports has always been a topic of discussions over the last few years. A lot of research has been done whether it is necessary or not. As far as athletes are concerned a higher need for proteins and amino acids should be given, but for semi-professionals and people engaged in recreational sports this is questionable. We have chosen our subject because some of our friends did strength training and always used protein supplements because they were sure that they would need them. They used them to increase the speed of growth of their skeletal muscles and to avoid muscle soreness.
There are many products of protein and ergogenic supplementation on the market and every day more new products are getting accredited also if their effect isn’t approved completely and long- time studies do not exist until now. Many people with no professional knowledge about physiology and nutrition spend a huge amount of money for buying these products not because they know that they need them but because it is suggested by a growing industry.
Our question now is whether protein supplementation is necessary at all or if the daily need could be covered with a normal or special diet, and if supplementation is not necessary whether there are positive effects if I take them in addition to the diet.
Literature Survey
Necessity of Supplementation
Protein and amino acids are delivering energy (4 kcal/g), are essential for the syntheses of body tissues, hormones and endogenous proteins. Protein is build up from 20 amino acids, 8 of them are essential for the body. This means that the body is not able to produce them on its own.
The daily protein intake of an adult should be 0,8-1,2 g/kg and increases by sports performances to 1,0- 1,8 g/kg body mass per day and with intense training the recommend of daily intake could reach up to 2,4 g/kg. [Nemet et al., 2005]
Through the muscle activity the anabolism of muscle tissue gets innervated and the muscle gets bigger and stronger, which leads to a higher need of proteins. The proteins which are contained in the food get split by enzymes into amino acids. They get metabolized in body- own amino acids and they are the building material for the muscles.
Most studies show that a proper diet can cover the daily need of intake so that supplementation is not necessary even for athletes. Furthermore there is no clear proof that a higher intake of protein leads to faster muscle growth or better results in training. There are more indications that these proteins are used as energy or are turned into fat.
A very high intake of protein can lead to an imbalance of amino acids, toxic effects, muscle cramps, diarrhea and harm your kidneys due to the high amount of nitrogen which is produced during turnover. In addition the supplementation of amino acids could stimulate the production of growth hormone, glucocorticoids and or growth factor I and insulin. This triggers anabolic processes and thereby leads to a growing of fat free mass. Nonetheless other studies show, that this can not be achieved by oral supplements. [Nemet et al., 2005]
Furthermore a hypetrophic response to training perhaps depends on the time of intake. There exist different studies whether pre or post exercise intake supports muscle protein syntheses through training. Some studies show that a positive effect is more likely to occur if essential amino acids in combination with carbohydrates are eaten before the training. The explanation for this could be that through the higher muscle blood flow during the training, there are more amino acids available. [Aagaard, 2004]
Although another study documented that a sooner and more often intake after exercise has a positive effect on the anabolism. But there also exists a limit for the protein synthesis, where further intake has no effect. Amino acids which are consumed after this limit for the stimulation of protein synthesis is reached, only lead to bigger urea production. Other reports show that it is likely that exercise leads to a more economic use of protein so that the daily need is actually reduced. In addition most athletes consume a higher amount of protein than it is recommended over their normal diet so that supplementation would not lead to any positive effects concerning the results of the given study. [Phillips, 2004]
Advantages of Supplementation
HMB
As far as protein supplementation is concerned there is a study which shows, that supplementation is advantageous over a normal diet without supplements.
The test design was randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled. Over twelve weeks of resistance training the study group was supplemented with Muscle Armor twice a day. Muscle Armor consists of a combination of the essential amino acids arginine and glutamine, the performance- enhancing substance taurine and HMB.
HMB means β-hydroxy β-methylbutyrate acid and is a metabolite of the essential amino acid leucine. It is supposed to promote gains in strength and fat-free mass.
The conditions for both groups, the study group and the control group were that they do not change their dietary habits and that they record their daily meals. At the end of the study, the food records were analyzed for nutrient content and energy.
The results of the study show that the body mass and lean body mass increased in both groups through exercise but was significantly higher in the study group which had also a lower percentage in body fat. This could be explained by a greater availability of extracellular amino acids because of the supplement, which promotes protein synthesis. Furthermore there was a greater increase in muscle strength in the study group. This could be explained by better hormonal responses and reduced muscle damage in the study group than in the control group, which means that anabolic hormonal response was improved and preexercise catabolic hormonal concentration was reduced. In conclusion, a supplementation with Muscle Armor is possible to make adaptations to resistance training better and faster. [Kraemer et al., 2009]
Two other studies had examined the effect of HMB supplementation. One showed a significantly greater gain of fat free mass and strength in untrained women and men doing resistant training for 3 to 8 weeks. The other one showed higher muscle strength with no change in body composition over 9 weeks in trained men. [Nemet et al., 2005]
Creatine
The protein creatine is an ergogenic substance derived from the amino acids arginine and glycine. The daily load of 2-3g is necessary and is found in meat and fish. 50% of the daily need is endogenously synthesized in a two-step reaction in the liver. At Brief intense repetitive exercise bouts anaerobic production of ATP becomes necessary which can be achieved by the phosphorylation of creatine. The skeletal muscles contain the biggest amount of creatine, the rest is found in the brain, the heart and testes. The phosphorylation only takes place in the muscle cell.
The proposal is that a supplementation with this substance leads to a loading of the muscle with it, which should increase the production of energy during the exercise and make recovery faster. Creatine has become a bestseller in terms of ergogenic aids although the real necessity of the supplementation has not been proofed.
Nevertheless most studies show that a supplementation can be useful but only in sports where energy is required only in short but intense bursts, like competitive sports. The cause is that in other forms of sport the aerobic production of ATP is mostly sufficient. After a few weeks of creatine supplementation on vegetarians, a greater increase in muscle creatine levels in contrast to people with a unrestricted diet was recognized.
Short-term usage of creatine can lead to various side effects such as nausea, diarrhea, vomiting headaches and muscle cramps. Long-term effects are still unknown but it is shown that for healthy people it does not alter renal functions. [Nemet et al., 2005]
Branched-Chain Amino Acids
Branched- chain amino acids (leucine, isoleucine, valine) are essential amino acids. The catabolism of the BCAA in skeletal muscle is regulated by the BCAA α–keto acid dehydrogenase ( BCKDH) complex in the mitochondria. Under normal conditions this BCKDH complex contributes to muscle protein synthesis and muscle growth. Therefore exercises cause an increase of BCAA requirement. Free BCAA, especially leucine promotes protein synthesis and blocks protein degeneration which is caused during exercise. According to these findings a study was started to examine whether the BCAA supplementation can help to avoid muscle fatigue and muscle soreness.
16 women and 14 men who did no regular exercise had to do squat exercises for 5 days. It was a crossover design so that every one was tested with the BCAA and the placebo solution with a pause of 12 weeks between the sessions. The BCAA solution contained 5 g of isoleucine, leucine and valine mixed 1:2, 3:1, 2. The supplements, both BCAA solution and placebo, were taken before exercise.
In females muscle soreness was highest on the second and third day in the placebo group whereas in the BCAA group only on the second day and furthermore significantly lower. On the third, fourth and fifth day it was also significantly lower.
In males muscle soreness was lower in the BCAA group than in the placebo group throughout the five days, although it was not statistically significant.
Concerning muscle fatigue it was highest after exercise and got lower every day. The data recorded on day 5 was lower in the BCAA group than in the placebo group.
As a result it is shown that a supplementation with the BCAA solution before exercise leads to a reduced level of muscle soreness and fatigue several days after exercise. This is possibly caused by suppressed protein breakdown, induced by exercise, through BCAA and a stimulated muscle protein synthesis through leucine. [Shimomura et al., 2006]
Conclusion
Protein and amino acid supplementation is not a necessity. The daily need can easily be covered over the diet also for athletes. What can be necessary is when you eat your meals because it influences the sufficiency of the proteins and amino acids you supply your body with, although there are studies for pre- and for post- exercise intake. Furthermore a combination with carbohydrates is advisable because a high intake of protein is only helpful to a certain point where it is then just used for energy supply or simply stored as fat.
Supplementation can be helpful for greater gains in muscle strength, fat free mass, less muscle soreness and muscle fatigue. What occurs is that the effects of certain substances or combinations are different and there is a different efficiency of ergogenic substances in different forms of sport. Although supplementation also shows better results for untrained persons so it should only be done by athletes because a deeper knowledge about the substances and their effects should be owned. Furthermore various side effects can occur so an improvident use should be avoided.
References
AAGAARD, P. (2004): Making muscles “stronger”: exercise, nutrition, drugs. Journal of musculoskeletal & neuronal interactions 4, 165-174.
im Text: [Aagaard, 2004]
PHILLIPS, S.M. (2004): Protein requirements and supplementation in strength sports. Nutrition 20, 689-695.
Im Text: [Phillips, 2004]
NEMET, D.; WOLACH, B.; ELIAKIM, A. (2005): Proteins and amino acid supplementation in sports: are they truly necessary?. The Israel medical association journal 7, 328-331.
im Text: [Nemet et al., 2005]
SHIMOMURA, Y.; YAMAMOTO, Y.; BAJOTTO, G.; SATO, J.; MURAKAMI, T.; SHIMOMURA, N.; KOBAYASHI, H.; MAWATARI, K. (2006): Nutraceutical effects of branched-chain amino acids in skeletal muscle. The journal of nutrition 136, 529-532.
im Text: [Shimomura et al., 2006]
KRAEMER, W.J.; HATFIELD, D.L.; VOLEK, J.S.; FRAGALA, M.S.; VINGREN, J.L.; ANDERSON, J.M.; SPIERING, B.A.; THOMAS, G.A.; HO, J.Y.; QUANN, E.E.; IZQUIERDO, M.; HÄKKINEN, K.; MARESH,C.M. (2009): Effects of amino acids supplement on physiological adaptations to resistance training. Medicine and science in sports and exercise 41, 1111-1121.
im Text: [Kraemer et al., 2009]
Introduction
Protein supplementation in sports has always been a topic of discussions over the last few years. A lot of research has been done whether it is necessary or not. As far as athletes are concerned a higher need for proteins and amino acids should be given, but for semi-professionals and people engaged in recreational sports this is questionable. We have chosen our subject because some of our friends did strength training and always used protein supplements because they were sure that they would need them. They used them to increase the speed of growth of their skeletal muscles and to avoid muscle soreness.
There are many products of protein and ergogenic supplementation on the market and every day more new products are getting accredited also if their effect isn’t approved completely and long- time studies do not exist until now. Many people with no professional knowledge about physiology and nutrition spend a huge amount of money for buying these products not because they know that they need them but because it is suggested by a growing industry.
Our question now is whether protein supplementation is necessary at all or if the daily need could be covered with a normal or special diet, and if supplementation is not necessary whether there are positive effects if I take them in addition to the diet.
Literature Survey
Necessity of Supplementation
Protein and amino acids are delivering energy (4 kcal/g), are essential for the syntheses of body tissues, hormones and endogenous proteins. Protein is build up from 20 amino acids, 8 of them are essential for the body. This means that the body is not able to produce them on its own.
The daily protein intake of an adult should be 0,8-1,2 g/kg and increases by sports performances to 1,0- 1,8 g/kg body mass per day and with intense training the recommend of daily intake could reach up to 2,4 g/kg. [Nemet et al., 2005]
Through the muscle activity the anabolism of muscle tissue gets innervated and the muscle gets bigger and stronger, which leads to a higher need of proteins. The proteins which are contained in the food get split by enzymes into amino acids. They get metabolized in body- own amino acids and they are the building material for the muscles.
Most studies show that a proper diet can cover the daily need of intake so that supplementation is not necessary even for athletes. Furthermore there is no clear proof that a higher intake of protein leads to faster muscle growth or better results in training. There are more indications that these proteins are used as energy or are turned into fat.
A very high intake of protein can lead to an imbalance of amino acids, toxic effects, muscle cramps, diarrhea and harm your kidneys due to the high amount of nitrogen which is produced during turnover. In addition the supplementation of amino acids could stimulate the production of growth hormone, glucocorticoids and or growth factor I and insulin. This triggers anabolic processes and thereby leads to a growing of fat free mass. Nonetheless other studies show, that this can not be achieved by oral supplements. [Nemet et al., 2005]
Furthermore a hypetrophic response to training perhaps depends on the time of intake. There exist different studies whether pre or post exercise intake supports muscle protein syntheses through training. Some studies show that a positive effect is more likely to occur if essential amino acids in combination with carbohydrates are eaten before the training. The explanation for this could be that through the higher muscle blood flow during the training, there are more amino acids available. [Aagaard, 2004]
Although another study documented that a sooner and more often intake after exercise has a positive effect on the anabolism. But there also exists a limit for the protein synthesis, where further intake has no effect. Amino acids which are consumed after this limit for the stimulation of protein synthesis is reached, only lead to bigger urea production. Other reports show that it is likely that exercise leads to a more economic use of protein so that the daily need is actually reduced. In addition most athletes consume a higher amount of protein than it is recommended over their normal diet so that supplementation would not lead to any positive effects concerning the results of the given study. [Phillips, 2004]
Advantages of Supplementation
HMB
As far as protein supplementation is concerned there is a study which shows, that supplementation is advantageous over a normal diet without supplements.
The test design was randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled. Over twelve weeks of resistance training the study group was supplemented with Muscle Armor twice a day. Muscle Armor consists of a combination of the essential amino acids arginine and glutamine, the performance- enhancing substance taurine and HMB.
HMB means β-hydroxy β-methylbutyrate acid and is a metabolite of the essential amino acid leucine. It is supposed to promote gains in strength and fat-free mass.
The conditions for both groups, the study group and the control group were that they do not change their dietary habits and that they record their daily meals. At the end of the study, the food records were analyzed for nutrient content and energy.
The results of the study show that the body mass and lean body mass increased in both groups through exercise but was significantly higher in the study group which had also a lower percentage in body fat. This could be explained by a greater availability of extracellular amino acids because of the supplement, which promotes protein synthesis. Furthermore there was a greater increase in muscle strength in the study group. This could be explained by better hormonal responses and reduced muscle damage in the study group than in the control group, which means that anabolic hormonal response was improved and preexercise catabolic hormonal concentration was reduced. In conclusion, a supplementation with Muscle Armor is possible to make adaptations to resistance training better and faster. [Kraemer et al., 2009]
Two other studies had examined the effect of HMB supplementation. One showed a significantly greater gain of fat free mass and strength in untrained women and men doing resistant training for 3 to 8 weeks. The other one showed higher muscle strength with no change in body composition over 9 weeks in trained men. [Nemet et al., 2005]
Creatine
The protein creatine is an ergogenic substance derived from the amino acids arginine and glycine. The daily load of 2-3g is necessary and is found in meat and fish. 50% of the daily need is endogenously synthesized in a two-step reaction in the liver. At Brief intense repetitive exercise bouts anaerobic production of ATP becomes necessary which can be achieved by the phosphorylation of creatine. The skeletal muscles contain the biggest amount of creatine, the rest is found in the brain, the heart and testes. The phosphorylation only takes place in the muscle cell.
The proposal is that a supplementation with this substance leads to a loading of the muscle with it, which should increase the production of energy during the exercise and make recovery faster. Creatine has become a bestseller in terms of ergogenic aids although the real necessity of the supplementation has not been proofed.
Nevertheless most studies show that a supplementation can be useful but only in sports where energy is required only in short but intense bursts, like competitive sports. The cause is that in other forms of sport the aerobic production of ATP is mostly sufficient. After a few weeks of creatine supplementation on vegetarians, a greater increase in muscle creatine levels in contrast to people with a unrestricted diet was recognized.
Short-term usage of creatine can lead to various side effects such as nausea, diarrhea, vomiting headaches and muscle cramps. Long-term effects are still unknown but it is shown that for healthy people it does not alter renal functions. [Nemet et al., 2005]
Branched-Chain Amino Acids
Branched- chain amino acids (leucine, isoleucine, valine) are essential amino acids. The catabolism of the BCAA in skeletal muscle is regulated by the BCAA α–keto acid dehydrogenase ( BCKDH) complex in the mitochondria. Under normal conditions this BCKDH complex contributes to muscle protein synthesis and muscle growth. Therefore exercises cause an increase of BCAA requirement. Free BCAA, especially leucine promotes protein synthesis and blocks protein degeneration which is caused during exercise. According to these findings a study was started to examine whether the BCAA supplementation can help to avoid muscle fatigue and muscle soreness.
16 women and 14 men who did no regular exercise had to do squat exercises for 5 days. It was a crossover design so that every one was tested with the BCAA and the placebo solution with a pause of 12 weeks between the sessions. The BCAA solution contained 5 g of isoleucine, leucine and valine mixed 1:2, 3:1, 2. The supplements, both BCAA solution and placebo, were taken before exercise.
In females muscle soreness was highest on the second and third day in the placebo group whereas in the BCAA group only on the second day and furthermore significantly lower. On the third, fourth and fifth day it was also significantly lower.
In males muscle soreness was lower in the BCAA group than in the placebo group throughout the five days, although it was not statistically significant.
Concerning muscle fatigue it was highest after exercise and got lower every day. The data recorded on day 5 was lower in the BCAA group than in the placebo group.
As a result it is shown that a supplementation with the BCAA solution before exercise leads to a reduced level of muscle soreness and fatigue several days after exercise. This is possibly caused by suppressed protein breakdown, induced by exercise, through BCAA and a stimulated muscle protein synthesis through leucine. [Shimomura et al., 2006]
Conclusion
Protein and amino acid supplementation is not a necessity. The daily need can easily be covered over the diet also for athletes. What can be necessary is when you eat your meals because it influences the sufficiency of the proteins and amino acids you supply your body with, although there are studies for pre- and for post- exercise intake. Furthermore a combination with carbohydrates is advisable because a high intake of protein is only helpful to a certain point where it is then just used for energy supply or simply stored as fat.
Supplementation can be helpful for greater gains in muscle strength, fat free mass, less muscle soreness and muscle fatigue. What occurs is that the effects of certain substances or combinations are different and there is a different efficiency of ergogenic substances in different forms of sport. Although supplementation also shows better results for untrained persons so it should only be done by athletes because a deeper knowledge about the substances and their effects should be owned. Furthermore various side effects can occur so an improvident use should be avoided.
References
AAGAARD, P. (2004): Making muscles “stronger”: exercise, nutrition, drugs. Journal of musculoskeletal & neuronal interactions 4, 165-174.
im Text: [Aagaard, 2004]
PHILLIPS, S.M. (2004): Protein requirements and supplementation in strength sports. Nutrition 20, 689-695.
Im Text: [Phillips, 2004]
NEMET, D.; WOLACH, B.; ELIAKIM, A. (2005): Proteins and amino acid supplementation in sports: are they truly necessary?. The Israel medical association journal 7, 328-331.
im Text: [Nemet et al., 2005]
SHIMOMURA, Y.; YAMAMOTO, Y.; BAJOTTO, G.; SATO, J.; MURAKAMI, T.; SHIMOMURA, N.; KOBAYASHI, H.; MAWATARI, K. (2006): Nutraceutical effects of branched-chain amino acids in skeletal muscle. The journal of nutrition 136, 529-532.
im Text: [Shimomura et al., 2006]
KRAEMER, W.J.; HATFIELD, D.L.; VOLEK, J.S.; FRAGALA, M.S.; VINGREN, J.L.; ANDERSON, J.M.; SPIERING, B.A.; THOMAS, G.A.; HO, J.Y.; QUANN, E.E.; IZQUIERDO, M.; HÄKKINEN, K.; MARESH,C.M. (2009): Effects of amino acids supplement on physiological adaptations to resistance training. Medicine and science in sports and exercise 41, 1111-1121.
im Text: [Kraemer et al., 2009]
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