FAQ
Protein as the basis of muscle tissue
Can the protein shake also be mixed with water or will it lose its effect?
This argument would only apply to medications. Protein is an essential nutrient for the body and supports the natural formation of muscle tissue. The shake can therefore also be mixed with water. Please note that then you will be consuming less protein overall because the milk contains approx. 10 g protein.
Tip: If you mix it with water, add an extra scoop of powder.
The advantage of mixing with water is that the protein enters the bloodstream more quickly. You can also save yourself some lactose. Lots of competition-level bodybuilders avoid milk because they think that lactose makes the skin fatter.
In summary: No loss of effect, just faster absorption.
Why is it recommended that the shake is mixed with milk then?
It just tastes better - this is important for people new to bodybuilding. Experienced bodybuilders do not mind so much about the taste but see the shake as a fast, practical and high-quality source of nutrients for the muscles. After all: fast protein equals muscle growth.
Can I mix the shake with low-fat milk (0.3%) or full-fat milk (3.5% fat)?
Of course. With regard to flavour and sweetness, the recipes have been developed to work best with milk with 1.5% fat. For low-fat milk, you will have fewer calories from fat, and with full-fat milk, you will receive more calories from fat. The protein content remains the same.
What kinds of things should I have with the first and last meal of the day?
If you are aiming for a muscular body, take note of the following:
1st meal:
Up to 80 kg body weight: 3 tablespoons Weider CFM Whey in 300 ml water
Up to 90 kg body weight: 4 tablespoons Weider CFM Whey in 300 ml water
Over 90 kg body weight: 5 tablespoons Weider CFM Whey in 400 ml water
Last meal of the day:
Up to 80 kg body weight: 3 tablespoons Weider Protein 80 plus and one tablespoon linseed oil in 300 ml water
Up to 90 kg body weight: 4 tablespoons Weider Protein 80 plus and one tablespoon linseed oil in 300 ml water
Over 90 kg body weight: 5 tablespoons Weider Protein 80 plus and one tablespoon linseed oil in 400 ml water
Linseed oil contains essential fatty acids for healthy cells and lowers the blood cholesterol level. It also delays the absorption of protein so that you will continue to be provided with amino acids all night. BULK AROUND THE CLOCK!
Protein
Over a century ago, a Dutch scientist discovered that all living things have a basic substance in common. He called this substance protein (from the Greek protos = the first). This nutrient is frequently the first thing mentioned when it comes to sports nutrition too.
The role of protein:
Maintaining the muscles, recuperation after training, (building up muscles), formation of enzymes necessary for building up muscles, fat reduction, formation of cartilage (joints, ligaments), forming skin, hair, and nails.
Amino acids – protein modules
The body has to divide the protein from food up into its basic components, amino acids, in order to be able to absorb it. The structure of protein is rather like a string of pearls, where the individual pearls are the amino acids. Enzymes enable the body to split the amino acids up so that the body can form its own protein. Amino acid products are already broken down and can therefore be absorbed quickly by the muscles after training in order to form more protein. This has the advantage that the muscle being worked is provided with more protein more quickly and that a loss of muscle mass does not ensue.
Of over 100 known amino acids, only 20 play a key role in the formation of human protein. Some of these can be produced by the body itself and others have to be absorbed through the diet. The latter are known as “essential amino acids”. The eight essential amino acids are: the branched-chain aminos leucine, isoleucine, valine (see BCAA), the aromatic amino acids phenylalanine and tryptophan, the sulphurous amino acid methionine and lysine and threonine.
Some amino acids are known as semi-essential. These are aminos that require supplemented intake during phases of growth or stress because they cannot be consumed in high enough quantities through the diet alone. The semi-essential amino acids are arginine, histidine and, in particular, glutamine.
Peptides
If two amino acids are joined together, they are known as a dipeptide. With three amino acids, they are called tripeptides, etc. If no more than ten amino acids are joined, we call them oligopeptides. 10–100 aminos are known as polypeptides and over 100 are called macropeptides or proteins. These have a huge number of combination possibilities (10130). As a result of their size, peptides are also easily and quickly absorbed by the muscles.
Tip: When choosing an amino acid product, look out for high peptide counts!
The function of protein
Protein is primarily used by the body as a construction material. The body forms up to 700 g protein from amino acids every day – even when at rest – and reduces the same amount in other places. The amino acids resulting from this process form what is known as the amino acid pool. However, unlike fat, the body cannot store protein for an unlimited period of time, excess protein is converted into urea by the liver and excreted via the kidneys. If the excretion of urea nitrogen prevails, this is known as a negative nitrogen balance (catabolic). If protein nitrogen prevails, the balance is positive (anabolic).
So that the protein from our diet can be optimally converted into the body’s own protein, the two most important factors are, firstly, achieving the correct ratio of branched-chain amino acids (BCAA) to normal amino acids. Secondly, it is important that as many of the amino acids as possible come from the protein in our diet. It is best to aim for a mixture of types of protein, including vegetable and animal protein, where the animal protein has a higher biological quality. If individual amino acids are missing in the diet or are not consumed in high enough quantities, protein biosynthesis (e.g. building up muscle mass) no longer has enough substrate available. As protein from grain is poor in arginine, histidine and lysine, it should be combined with milk, for example oats with milk.
Protein concentrates and biological quality - easily misinterpreted!
Excerpt from ‘The New Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding’ by Arnold Schwarzenegger:
"The trick to getting protein and calories to work for you is to provide the body with energy all day long, not just during the normal mealtimes. It’s best to do this with special high-protein and high-calorie drinks to supplement your normal meals. At the start of my career, I mixed my own protein drinks although it wasn’t possible to get any protein powder when I was 15, unlike today. Instead, I took ingredients such as low-fat milk powder, eggs and honey and filled a Thermos flask with it and took it to school or work. I then drank about half at 10 a.m., between breakfast and lunch, and the other half maybe at about 3 p.m. Getting into the habit of taking a protein drink with me turned out to be a great help when I was in the military and could not always count on getting three square meals a day. At times, the protein drink I had prepared was the only reliable source of protein I could get. When I found out a bit more about nutrition, I developed my protein drink recipes to make them even more effective and nutritious than anything I could have thought of back in Austria. But the purpose was still the same: to flood the body with protein and essential amino acids for maximum muscle growth and to consume enough calories to contribute to better training and growth."
It used to be the legendary bodybuilders’ steak but even today the myth relating to protein and building up strength and bodybuilding persists. When it comes to the recommended daily amounts of protein for bodybuilders, the amounts recommended generally focus around the healthy ratio of 1.5–2.0 grams per kg of body weight.
If you are trying to obtain as much protein as possible from your diet, protein-rich foods such as meat, curd cheese, fish and eggs are all good sources, while protein concentrates – at least as a partial substitute for stuandard protein-rich foods – offer great advantages.
What is biological quality?
The term biological quality is one of the most important values around when it comes to choosing the right protein concentrate. For this reason, manufacturers of protein concentrates use the biological quality value as their key sales argument in their advertising.
Biological quality is a dimensionless value. It shows how high quality each protein is for the human body. The higher the amount of essential amino acids in a protein, the more protein from the diet can be converted into the body’s own protein.
Determining the biological quality is a way to show how effectively the protein is used by the body (creation of muscle mass).
In order to determine the biological quality of protein concentrates, scientists administered a certain amount of protein and calculated the uptake of nitrogen (main component of protein) in comparison to the excretion of nitrogen. Theoretically, the maximum biological quality value is 100. If the BQ is over 100, it would mean that more protein has been built up than has been consumed.
Named after a scientist called Thomas, biological quality is calculated using the following equation:
BQ: retained amount of N/amount of N absorbed x 100
(N = nitrogen)
The equation shows how many grams of the body’s protein can be replaced by 100 g of protein from the diet.
In accordance with the Thomas equation, values of over 100 are not possible!
Lots of manufacturers advertise a biological quality of over 100. If you take a BQ of 124–136 as you often see in adverts, this would mean that, in accordance with the equation above, 124–136 g of the body’s own protein could be built up from 100 g of the product. The only way to do that would be through magic! In most cases, they are actually talking about the product’s chemical score (CS). If this is not stated, you can be sure that the product is being offered by a disreputable vendor. The Weider product Protein 80 plus the reference protein of the FNB (Food and Nutrition Board) is given.
Chemical score
This value describes the activity of amino acids in the body. To calculate the CS, the amino acid balance of a reference protein from the WHO’s FAO (Food and Agriculture Organisation) is compared with the protein pattern in question. The protein of the FAO is therefore a standard for human nutrition. The CS is calculated via the limiting amino acids (amino acids with the lowest levels).
Example:
The reference protein gives a value of 5.0 g per 100 g protein for the amino acid L-valine. With a lactalbumin concentrate, this is the limiting amino acid with a value of 6.8 g/100 g protein. This means that 6.8 g is 36% more than the recommended 5.0 g given by the FAO. This means that disreputable vendors can offer at BQ of 136 because they have purposefully switched the values. Responsible sellers would give the reference protein in addition to the limiting amino acids and advertise a CS of 136. However, this is not done in many cases. Weider states the reference protein.
Note:
There are many ways of calculating the BQ. Other methods often result in values of over 100. However, these are simply theoretical methods. In the next newsletter, you can find out what else is important to note when buying a protein concentrate and which proteins can be absorbed by the body.
