I’m here to suggest that not only a high protein intake, but also an excess protein intake might have some benefit to those interested in building muscle as well as lowering your risk of cardiovascular disease. However, remember this significant distinction: High protein diets aren’t always excessive. In actuality, high protein diets in active people are just enough to get these individuals to nitrogen balance. So this isn’t an excess of protein, it’s a necessity.
Why do nutritionists recommend high carbohydrate diets when studies have shown that swapping a number of dietary carbohydrates with protein may cause advantageous blood lipid profiles?
Reasearch has shown that raising protein intake from 11% to 23% of the diet, blood markers related to heart disease improved. This advantage happened in both fit and high-risk subjects.
While the protein intake increased, the fat amount of the diet remained equal (25-35% fat). Meanwhile, the carbohydrate content was decreased (from about 63% to about 48%).
The results of the study included that the bad fats like LDL cholesterol decreased, while the good fats like HDL cholesterol increased.
Another remarkable result of the protein increase in research was that the levels of feeling full in the participants turned out to be higher with the high protein diet. Consequently they felt satiated with the same amount of calories. Protein is known to have this effect on the desire for food.
I’m a vegetarian. Will I be limited in my body composition gains?
Because meat is an important source of high quality protein, vitamins, and minerals, it’s no wonder that most athletes and gym nuts consume large quantities of meat. But many nutritionists and vegetarians have chosen a strong anti-meat position. Although some of their viewpoints can’t be ignored, comprehensive denouncements of meat consumption are unnecessary. Naturally fatty meats may cause blood lipid troubles and other health problems. However, eating lean meat seems to bring several advantages, especially for weight trainers.
Studies have shown that lacto-ovo vegetarian eating, where dairy and eggs are permitted, can lessen the positive body composition alterations seen in meat-eaters. Research demonstrated that despite the protein consumption with eggs and dairy, vegetarians unfortunately did not improve to the same level that meat-eating trainers did. It seems clear from studies that adding meat to a vegetarian diet would improve the gains in muscle and losses in fat seen with weight training. As vegetarian proteins may be lacking in some essential amino acids, this could halt muscle gain even when the estimated protein calculation seems adequate.
However, don’t be discouraged. If you are a vegetarian, whether for moral, physical, religious, or other reasons, the answer to your protein dilemma is the taking of a protein supplement.