Whey Protein Powder

Amino acids are the building blocks from which proteins are made. You can supplement your diet with one of these called Whey Protein Powder. They supply the raw materials for repairing damaged muscle tissue, cell division, making enzymes, building new connective tissue & making hormones and neurotransmitters.
 

Protein

The word "protein" was coined in 1828 from the Greek meaning, "to come first" as evidence of the importance of this substance for the function and replacement of the body's cells.

Amino acids are the building blocks from which proteins are made. There are 22 so far identified and they can be linked together to form more than 50,000 different proteins. The body continuously breaks down the proteins eaten into amino-acid complexes and free amino acids, which it then recombines to form whatever proteins it needs to maintain itself. Amino acids supply the raw materials for maintaining the genetic code (DNA), repairing damaged muscle tissue, for cell division, making enzymes, building new connective tissue and making hormones and neurotransmitters.

Eight of the amino acids have traditionally been regarded as "essential" because the body is unable to manufacture them for itself, and they therefore have to be taken in through the food we eat. Not all protein foods contain the same balance of amino acids. Protein foods of animal origin are regarded as "complete" protein because they contain ALL the amino acids in an approximately ideal balance. Eggs in particular provide protein that is biologically complete. Vegetable sources vary in their balance of amino acids.

In today's diets, research has found more and more of us are consuming far too much carbohydrate and too little protein. For nutritionist and dieticians alike, this is posing a real concern - especially as new research shows that some of our major health risks may be initiated by such diets.

So what are these concerns?

Firstly, too many calories consumed from carbohydrate sources causes hormonal fluctuations, which can contribute to conditions such as heart disease, cancer, diabetes, arthritis, lack of energy, fat gain, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.

Secondly, for a healthier and longer disease-free life, we now know that maintaining a "positive" or active muscle mass is essential. Muscle mass is considered by experts as our No.1 biological marker for aging. To maintain an active muscle mass and to stay anabolic (building of healthy cells), we need to consume more calories from low fat protein sources and less from starch based carbohydrates.

Typically, lean-body cell mass, but especially muscle mass, declines with age. From young adulthood to middle age, the average person looses 3kg of lean body mass per decade. This rate of loss accelerates after the age of 45.

Our lean muscle is a very important functional tissue. The following functions of muscle demonstrate why it is essential for many actions and processes in the body:

Glucose disposal

The ability to control our blood glucose level is dependant on muscle mass, because 80% of circulating glucose is typically stored in the muscle as glycogen. With low muscle mass, blood glucose clearance is delayed, resulting in blood sugar problems.

Organ reserve

Muscle is a major reservoir of body glutamine stores. This glutamine store is called upon to repair and fuel many other tissues. The immune system is dependant on adequate glutamine reserves for optimal function. The integrity of the tissue in the gastrointestinal tract relies heavily on the amount of glutamine that is available. Low muscle mass, therefore, leads to a reduction in organ reserves and limited function under stressful situations.

Metabolic rate

Muscle is a key determinant of metabolic rate. A higher metabolic rate will typically result in more kilojoules consumed per day and greater control over body fat mass. To achieve long-term weight control, muscle mass must be adequate. A progressive reduction in basal metabolic rate is a recognised characteristic of the aging process and diminishing muscle mass may be largely responsible for this.

Mobility

The ability to exercise, to maintain basic physical activity and to avoid frequent falls is an important consideration in the aging process. Adequate muscle mass and function is vital for proper mobility and is required for normal daily activities and to maintain balance and required strength.

So how can you find out how much your muscle mass is and what quantity of protein you need to eat per day to build up your muscle mass or maintain it?

Having a test on our Cellular Health Analyser is a quick and very accurate way to measure your exact muscle level. Many people have taken advantage of this and have had a test already.

The information we get from the test not only tells us your muscle level (and your exact fat level too!) but it also tells us exactly how much protein you need each day, to maintain or build up your muscle mass.

From this test, we have found that most people have moderately low to very low muscle mass for their age, height and weight - a big concern!

The average person, around 6 ft tall, with a low activity level requires approximately 80-100 grams of actual protein a day. When I say actual protein, I mean the amount of protein contained in the food, rather than the weighed amount of the protein food. For example:

45 grams of tuna, chicken, low fat cheese, lamb, lean steak or tofu gives you approximately 10 grams of actual protein.

A lot of people find that to eat the required amount of protein for them each day is quite difficult, especially those who do not eat a lot of meat. Because of this, we are now stocking an excellent product called Premium Whey.

Premium Whey is a NZ whey powder that contains approximately 25 grams of actual protein in 3 scoops of powder and only 0.87 grams of carbohydrate! It comes in chocolate, vanilla and berry. It mixes well with water or milk in the blender, to a smooth delicious drink that will give most people 1/3 of their daily protein needs. Or try the NFS Bio Optimised Whey, where 1 heaped tablespoon provides 20 grams of protein and low carbs. Try blending with frozen berries. Yumm.

For those who do not want a whey-based product, we also stock a natural vegetable protein, which uses SUPRO, a high quality plant based protein. This comes in both vanilla and chocolate. Each serve provides around 24 grams of high quality protein and only 3.08 grams of carbohydrate.

Both of these protein sources also come in a plain packet that is not flavoured or sweetened, called Instantised Whey Powder and Soy Isolate Powder.

Red 8 also have soy nuggets, a breakfast "cereal" alternative and Protein Pancake Mix, a high protein pancake mix.

As well as this, we stock a number of different protein bars. These include The Perfect Protein Cookie, which contain 20 grams of protein and between 2-8 grams of net impact carbs or the gluten free dairy free Well Naturally Bars, which contain around 14 grams of protein and around 5-7 grams of carbohydrate. We also have Keto Bars from Metagenics. These practitioner only bars contain around 18 grams of protein and 12 grams of carbohydrate.

HPLC Bars (high protein low carb) contain 45 grams of protein per 100 gram bar and 18 grams of carbohydrate. These come in 2 different flavours and can help particularly with that 2 - 4 o'clock sugar craving. A lot of people cut these into 3 and have 1/3 at a time, providing 15 grams of protein at a time.

We have 2 different bars that contain both protein and carbohydrate. These are ideal for those who miss meals, to ensure they are still getting their meal allocation of protein and carbohydrate. They can also be used as a post workout bar - for after the gym. These delicious bars are a lot easier to eat than a bar that is high in protein and low in carbohydrates. The bars are called Nutralife Protein Bars, which come in Banana, Chocolate, Strawberry and Black Forest. We also have Proactive Nutrition ProCrunch Bars. These come in ChocMint, WildBerry, Bananazest and ChocFudge.

Many companies are bringing out more and more high protein, low carbohydrate foods. Keep an eye out for these or ask us what is new in the high protein, low carb bars.

Phone or call in for a brochure on the Cellular Health Analyser.