Endurance Sports are like music concerts. They start at a low
key, setting a steady rhythm and culminate into a crescendo that
enthralls the spectator and the athlete. And not unlike an
orchestra, endurance demands a flawless performance from every
organ, testing the limits of their resilience. As each system,
conducted by the human will, endures a pace bordering on fatigue,
the athlete begins to hear music from the heart. What's often
neglected, and considered unnecessary, in endurance sports is a
high-protein diet that can expand the aerobic capacity and power
the performance.
To sustain effort and delay fatigue, the body needs an adequate
supply of oxygen and fuel without accumulating waste products,
acids or heat. Greater the intensity of the workout, greater is
the efficiency required. The capacity of the cardiovascular and
respiratory systems, the fuel stores in the muscle, the hepatic
and renal support systems must all expand exponentially to
perform in endurance sports. If any of these prerequisites are
not met, the internal milieu becomes uncomfortable. Metabolism
slows down, to allow excretion of wastes, acids and heat, as
fatigue sets in. The aerobic stress of endurance sports provides
the necessary stimulus for growth and development. The body is
ready to build. All that is needed are the building blocks-the
Proteins.
Given an adequate and appropriate supply of proteins, the body
remains in a state of positive nitrogen balance. Sufficient
protein consumption, along with a high-energy diet also
influences the carbohydrate and fat metabolism. In the well-fed
state, with sufficient physical activity, dietary proteins
stimulate the simultaneous release of the growth hormone and
insulin. The combined hormonal influence redirects dietary
carbohydrate and fat to the aerobic muscle fibers where they are
stored as fuels for exhausting workouts. The consequent increase
in muscle stores of glycogen and lipid allows sustained activity
for a longer time. With enough proteins, the lean body mass,
stamina and performance increase throughout the training program.
Proteins and amino acids also directly supply between 1 to 6 % of
the energy needs during a workout. The proportion of energy
derived from proteins increases with the intensity of the
exercise. Given their role in bodybuilding, proteins are too
important to be used as fuel and attempts should be made to
minimize this percentage. Studies by Bowtell and Tarnopolsky,
report that a high-energy (carbohydrate) diet, when combined with
an ample protein intake and hydration, has a protein sparing
effect under aerobic conditions. However, when the protein intake
is inadequate, the high-energy diet fails to protect proteins
from being used up as fuel. Therefore, endurance athletes need to
ensure high levels of protein intake not only to supply amino
acids for growth, but also to make sure that the amino acids
don't get burnt up as fuel.
Endurance athletes need proteins but do they need protein
supplements? The answer, till recently, was negative for
recreational and modest athletes. Protein supplements were
advised only for professional athletes and for sportspersons with
a diet deficient in proteins. However, these recommendations,
based on a parameter called 'nitrogen balance', have often been
questioned. Young and Bier propose that there exists a subtle
state of protein deficiency, called the 'accommodative' state,
where an inadequate protein intake is masked by the breakdown of
body proteins. Measurements based on nitrogen balance do not take
the accommodative state into account and are therefore are not
accurate enough to calculate protein requirements. Mark
Tarnopolsky, in a recent review on Protein Requirements in
Endurance Athletes, also raises similar questions.
Epidemiological studies, by McKenzie and others, also suggest
that the dietary protein intake of up to 20% of athletes may be
below levels recommended for sedentary individuals. Then there is
always the ambiguous quality and absorbability of a dietary
protein. Just eating proteins in diet does not ensure that they
will provide all the essential amino acids in adequate
quantities. Given the vital role that proteins play in the
metabolic and physiological response to aerobic stresses of
endurance sports, and the uncertainties regarding dietary protein
intake, a protein supplement like Profect(r), can go a long way
in improving performance.
Adequate training and a Profect diet will take endurance to its
limits, to levels where aerobic metabolism stimulates the release
of enkephalins, the human equivalent of opium. These enkephalins
produce the natural high that is often referred to as the 'flow'.
As long as metabolism remains aerobic, the mind is flooded with
enkephalins and the systems function in harmony. In 'flow'
capacity seems endless and fatigue non-existent. Profect, the
perfect protein supplement can do that for you.
References
1. Tarnopolsky M.:Protein Requirements for Endurance Athletes
Nutrition 200420:662- 668.
2. McKenzie S, Phillips SM, Carter SL, Lowther S, Gibala MJ,
Tarnopolsky MA:Endurance exercise training attenuates leucine
oxidation and BCOAD activation during exercise in humans.
Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab 2000278:E580
3. Bowtell JL, Leese GP, Smith K, et al. Effect of oral glucose
on leucine turnover in human subjects at rest and during
exercise at two levels of dietary protein. J Physiol
2000525(pt 1):271
4. Young VR, Bier DM, Pellett PL. A theoretical basis for
increasing current estimates of the amino acid requirements
in adult man, with experimental support.
Am J Clin Nutr 198950:80
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