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What about Protein?

OK, it's time to talk about protein! Proteins are important for muscles, organs, hormones, enzymes, and antibodies. Your body needs protein all day and all night. The body is in a constant state of remodeling - structures are continually being torn down and rebuilt. For this, you need protein. If you haven't eaten any protein in the past few hours, then there won't be any circulating in the bloodstream. In this case, the body cannibalizes its own muscle tissue to get the necessary protein. To keep this from happening, it is important to eat a good lean source of protein every 3-4 hours.

How much protein should be eaten each time depends on how big you are. A small person (120 pounds) should get about 15-20 grams each time. A larger person (200 pounds) needs 25-30 grams each time.

As with carbs and fats, not all proteins are the same. In fact some proteins can't be used by the human body at all. Let's go over some protein basics.

Proteins are made of smaller molecules called amino acids. Your body needs these amino acids in certain proportions. Let me make an analogy. Suppose you are trying to build a house. For this house, you need 10,000 bricks, 400 pounds of mortar, and 250 sheets of drywall. But instead, you have only three bricks, 200,000 pounds or mortar, and 12 sheets of drywall. You wouldn't get very far building the house, would you? What good is 200,000 pounds of mortar if you only have three bricks? It's the same way when you're trying to build a body out of protein. If your protein source has too much of one amino acid, and not enough of another, that protein can't be used very well by the body.

So which proteins are the best? Scientists have created a scale called "Biological Value" for rating the quality of proteins. Unfortunately, if you look at three different biological value charts, you'll probably see the same food listed with three different biological values. We've compiled below the best information we can find on this subject:

Whey and egg proteins are the best, biological value around 100
Milk usually rates in the 90's
Most lean meats rate in the 80's
Casein (derived from milk) rates about 80
Soy protein usually rates in the 70's
Beans and nuts rate anywhere from 40-60

You can see the problem vegetarians have. If you get your protein from beans and nuts, you're not getting a very high quality protein (not a complete protein that your body can absorb very well). We usually recommend that vegetarians take a protein supplement once or twice per day.

There's one more thing to keep in mind. High biological value proteins are absorbed very quickly. That means that they don't stay in the bloodstream for as long. So whey and egg protein might be best after a workout, when your body needs a lot of protein NOW. On the other hand, a low biological value source like casein is better for taking right before you go to bed. It is absorbed slower, so it will last longer into the night, keeping the body from cannibalizing muscle tissue as you sleep. It's true, the beans and nuts are absorbed even more slowly, but they are so slow that they start to pass through the digestive system before they are absorbed. Even if they were absorbed completely, they'd still be missing a lot of the amino acid "bricks" that you need. So if you are looking for a slow acting protein to take at night, casein would be it.

Some bodybuilders even set their alarm clocks so they can get up once or twice per night to take some more protein. We don't recommend getting that fanatical about it. But just for your general health, make sure you get a good source of protein 4-5 times per day.