Protein has many benefits, especially when it comes to athletes. Protein is the building blocks of muscle so it should come as no surprise that this is important in your diet, but there are many more benefits than just muscle building.You should be sure your proteins are coming from high quality foods that are from the earth and have a lot of vital vitamins and nutrients that help to repair and rebuild your muscles.
Sources of high quality protein include:
- eggs
- chicken breast
- fish
- lean meats
- lowfat milk and yogurt
- soy
After a tough workout, muscles are rebuilt and repaired by the proteins you eat. That is why you see people down a protein shake right after working out. Your body is ready to start the repairing process and proteins are the building blocks. You want to typically have about .75-1.25 grams per pound of body weight you are. Now this is going to be a little different for everyone since your goals are different. If you are looking to gain lean muscle mass you should be aiming on the higher side of that spectrum.
Consuming high-protein foods has many benefits, including:
- Speeding recovery after exercise
- Reducing muscle loss
- Building lean muscle
- Helping you maintain a healthy weight
- Curbing hunger
Proteins in the form of enzymes, hormones and antibodies promote healthy metabolic and physiological processes, and boost our nervous and immunity systems. In situations when fat and carbohydrate food sources are not providing adequate calories, proteins are degraded to generate the calories our body needs. Your body becomes a fat burning powerhouse when you start to fuel it properly. Many times people omit the protein because they think it might make them gain weight when in fact it can do just the opposite by creating lean muscle mass within your body.
Be smart about how you are fueling your body and give your muscles the growth they need by supplying them with adequate protein sources from all kinds !
References:
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002467.htm