Education Email Fall/Winter 2022
Protein
Nutrition – It’s time for an another Education email from the desk of Carolyn Parker. Our focus today will be on PROTEIN.
Protein is a critical part of our daily nutritional profile and it has been a fairly consistent observation of mine that many athletes do not consume enough protein to support their active lives and recovery. Protein not only is a critical component for muscle growth and repair, it has a high thermal effect, creates a sense of satiety when eating, and helps support lean body mass.
Here are a few big takeaways and links to the supporting science.
Type of protein:
We need to provide our bodies with complete proteins – A complete protein or whole protein is a food source of protein that contains an adequate proportion of each of the nine essential amino acids necessary in the human diet.[1][2][3][4][5]
How much: Often protein recommendation’s are not calculated for athletes who require more protein to do muscular output and recovery needs or even an active population, and there has been a ton of debate on this subject but the science is in.
Individuals – should aim for 1.7 to 2.4 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day, minimum and more is not necessarily bad. (1 kilogram = 2.2 pounds, so to figure your weight in lbs to kg, just divide by 2.2.) The Huberman Lad Podcast linked below goes on the deep dive, this is a long podcast if you’re interested in jumping on on just the protein facts start listening about 90 min in.
Huberman podcast
How about Women? Targets are the same for healthy active women and men. However, due to significant hormone shifts, women in the menopause transition or who are post-menopausal should target the higher end of that range (2.2 to 2.4 grams per kilogram).
For example – a 135# active female athlete needs a minimum of 100g or closer to 135+g of protein a day. This science is re-enforced by Dr Stacy Simms in her book Next Level and in this article.
As always, I am available for coaching and consults regarding any topics we cover in our emails and would support all athletes that really struggle with a solid nutritional plan to schedule a consult with a Nutritionist. Clearly the effects of protein on climbing training and other types of mountain sports are powerful. To learn more we have amazing resources in this valley!
Marcey and Katie at Achieve Health and Performance Or Kylee at Fly Nutrition