One of the side effects of dieting can be losing muscle along with fat. Keeping muscle is important because these lean tissues help maintain healthy metabolism, physical activity, and blood sugar control. In this study, 40 men and women, aged 35 to 65, with body mass index scores from 28 to 50, ate 750 fewer calories per day than their metabolism required. Starting three days before the low-calorie diet, each began taking 27 grams of whey protein, or 26 grams of soy protein, or 25 grams of maltodextrin as a placebo, all twice per day. After 14 days, those who ...
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An extraordinary number of studies have shown that creatine supplementation augments muscle size and strength gains when taken in conjunction with a resistance training program. Short-term use of creatine also has been shown to boost muscle strength. In fact, a decade ago I published the first study that showed a one-week loading phase of creatine (25 g/day) enhanced bench press performance. At baseline subjects performed 5 sets of bench press with a weight they could perform 10 repetitions on the first set. When subjects did 5 sets with the same weight after one week of creatine supplementation, they were able ...
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A large body of evidence over the last two decades has shown that creatine supplementation improves strength and muscle gains. While the primary function of creatine is to provide more efficient fueling of high-intensity exercise, there remains interest in identifying other beneficial metabolic effects. One intriguing finding in previous studies was the observation that muscle glycogen was higher in subjects supplemented with creatine. Researchers from the United Kingdom recently studied this phenomenon in greater detail. They had a group of healthy men perform an exhaustive bout of cycling to decrease muscle glycogen. For 6 days after exercise they consumed a ...
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Diets very low in calories can induce rapid weight loss, but much of it could be muscle loss. Italian researchers compared two types of very low calorie diets, one low enough in carbs to induce ketosis (ketogenic diet), and another with enough carbs to prevent high levels of ketosis (non-ketogenic diet). Both diets contained the same total energy (500-700 kcal/day). The ketogenic diet consisted of 1.2 to 1.5 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight (84 to 105 grams of protein for a 154-pound person) and only 6 grams of total carbohydrate. The nonketogenic diet consisted of 0.9 to ...
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The protein market is booming from powders, bars and beverages. Much of the increased demand reflects the push toward plant-based alternatives to milk-based proteins, such as casein and whey. Collagen protein from bone broth is another big player. However, there are several important reasons why retailers and consumers should continue to enjoy the benefits of whey protein. Crude whey is a natural byproduct of the cheese making process. Cow’s milk has about 6.25 percent protein. Of that protein, 80 percent is casein (another type of protein) and the remaining 20 percent is whey. When cheese is made, the casein molecules ...
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