Nutrient Timing by John Ivy Robert Portman

Author:John Ivy, Robert Portman
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-1-59120-141-0
Publisher: Basic Health

From this information, it should be clear that the “dangers” of a high-protein diet and protein supplements are overstated. There is no question that athletes benefit from a higher protein intake. As there are no clear risks associated with them, protein supplements can provide a convenient and safe way to get extra protein in the diet.

Nutrient Activators and Sports Supplements

Nutrient activation takes place when one nutrient helps another nutrient perform its job more efficiently. More exactly, nutrient activation is a process by which the biological effects of a certain nutrient are influenced through direct or indirect interaction with one or more other nutrients. This is a key concept in the Nutrient Timing System.

As you’ve learned, muscle recovery and growth occur fastest when the right nutrients are consumed at the right times in relation to training. That’s simple enough, but it’s also important to understand how these various nutrients interact to promote muscle growth. This chapter discusses the key nutrient activators and their potential benefits to the body when taken at the right time. It also alerts you to the questionable activators—supplements you might be taking to enhance your performance that just might not work the way they are purported to.

NUTRIENT ACTIVATORS

Most strength athletes think of nutrients in terms of their direct effects not in terms of their indirect effects. For example, they think of protein as the constituent that muscles are made of, but they don’t think of protein as a nutrient that can enhance muscle glycogen storage by stimulating insulin (protein as activator). Let’s take a look at the important nutrient activators that can cooperate to maximize the rate at which proteins become biologically active components of your growing muscles.

Carbohydrate

The most important nutrient activator in relation to protein is carbohydrate. This connection is mediated through insulin, which is strongly stimulated by the consumption of carbohydrate. Insulin not only stimulates the transport of amino acids into the muscle, but also activates key elements of the protein synthetic machinery. The manner in which amino acids activate protein synthesis is different from the manner in which insulin does, so their effects on protein synthesis become additive. Insulin also helps decrease protein degradation, which is important for tipping the protein turnover balance toward net protein accretion (an increase in the protein concentration within the muscle). So, in order to get greater protein synthesis, you need to consume carbohydrate along with your protein drink during the Anabolic and Growth phases. For example, researchers have shown that a combined protein/carbohydrate supplement taken after exercise results in a 38 percent faster rate of protein synthesis as a protein supplement without carbohydrate. It is therefore fair to say that the path to greater protein synthesis and ultimately to muscle development is traveled quicker when carbohydrate is consumed with protein.

Protein

Just as carbohydrate activates protein, protein is able to work with carbohydrate to activate certain metabolic processes, which include muscle glucose uptake and glycogen storage. As mentioned, one effect of combined carbohydrate/protein supplementation is a greater insulin response. Protein alone has only a small effect on blood insulin levels.

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