It is widely accepted by athletes, body builders and even doctors that protein is the single most important supplement for building, growing, and repairing muscle. Whether you’re looking to shed fat, get ripped, or bulk up, protein is a major component of any good exercise regimen. Men and women alike can benefit from protein supplements, especially whey and casein varieties.
Whey protein is a natural byproduct of cheese production and is also the highest quality protein available. This is because whey has the ideal amount of branched chain amino acids (BCAA), which are essential for building, repairing and growing muscle tissue. Aside from physical benefits, whey also helps stabilize mood and blood sugar levels, increase concentration and attention, and promote a healthy immune system. The stabilization of blood sugar levels reduces food cravings and increases energy levels, both of which aid in weight loss.Building muscle isn’t just for meat heads; it also aids in burning fat. Since muscle weighs more than fat, many dieters may weigh themselves and perceive an increase in weight as an increase in fat. In fact, the opposite may be true. An estimated 500 calories is burned for every 10 pounds of muscle. With this in mind, an individual that gains a pound of muscle can consume 50 more calories per day without gaining weight. Thus, muscle building aids in weight loss by increasing the amount of calories burned.
While whey protein is the king of building muscle, casein protein is the king of maintaining muscle. Catabolism of muscles (breaking down muscle tissue) can and does occur on a regular basis. This reduces a person’s strength and is likely to increase the
person’s fat weight due to the decrease in the number of calories the person burns each day. It is impossible to completely eliminate catabolism of muscles, but it can be reduced. Casein protein is unique in that it coagulates in the stomach and releases amino acids into the blood stream for up to 7 hours before it is completely digested. This supplies the body with a constant stream of muscle building amino acids, which help to reduce catabolism.The most beneficial time to take a protein supplement is immediately after a workout. During exercise muscles burn amino acids for fuel and whey protein will resupply the muscles with the amino acids they need to repair, grow and build. Taking a protein supplement that contains essential amino acids, especially leucine and glutamine, immediately after exercise is critical to initiating protein synthesis (the building of muscle tissue). It is also important to consume casein protein after a workout, since it will supply the muscles with a constant stream of these beneficial amino acids over a long period of time, which has been proven to reduce muscle soreness.
Many protein supplements tout the high number of grams of protein per serving, but as with most everything it is possible to take too much. After exercising, the human body can process about 20 to 25 grams of protein. Any additional protein ingested is either burned as a fuel or stored as fat. However, several servings can be taken per day. Most athletes take one serving of protein supplement per day to account for about 25 grams of their protein intake plus any additional protein from the food they consume. Bodybuilders take about 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight by taking multiple servings of protein supplement throughout the day. Thus, the serving sizes vary depending on the purpose. For dieting, the athlete’s portion, one serving of 25 grams, is recommended, but for building mass the bodybuilder’s portions, one gram of protein for every pound of weight, are recommended.
Not all protein supplements are the same. The ideal protein supplement should be a mixture of whey and casein protein, since both have the best results if taken immediately after a workout. Also, most proteins have servings of at least 20 grams; with that in mind, if whey and casein are taken separately, the overall protein intake will be at least 40 grams if one serving is taken of each. As the previous paragraph stated, the body can only process about 25 grams of protein at a time, so anymore will not be digested or will be stored as fat.
Torch™ After-Burn is formulated with both whey and casein protein, B vitamins aswell as Vitamins C and E to increase muscle cell hydration, stimulate muscle growth, promote muscle comfort after workouts, and provide the body with a cardiovascular defense and energy boost. http://bit.ly/QkdWPk
Whey and casein protein are beneficial to men and women that want to gain muscle mass, burn fat, or tone up. Protein is the single most important supplement for dieting and bodybuilding, but should not be considered as the only beneficial supplement. To truly reap the rewards of your exercise routine, it is also important to supply the body with essential amino acids, carbohydrates, and creatine before a workout, as well as glutamine and alanine (amino acids) during a workout, since they are burned quickly and can be depleted before the end of the workout.
