Workout Anytime
Greg Maurer
If you have not read Part 1 check it out first!
Amino Acids 101
All proteins are made up of amino acids. Your body can produce some amino acids, but others – called essential amino acids – must be consumed. If your body lacks any of the essential amino acids you cannot create muscle proteins.
Studies have been done to determine the optimal mix of amino acids to generate the highest level of protein utilization.
Several companies offer essential amino acid powders using the optimal mix of amino acids including Perfect Amino, Optimal Amino, Fortagen, Kion Amino Acids, and Master Amino Pattern and all of them use identical formulations based on an expired patent.
Optimal Amino, Fortagen, and Kion Aminos are all manufactured in compliance with pharmaceutical Good Manufacturing Practices and are high quality products that are easy to find on the internet. Optimal Amino offers the best value and lowest price per serving of all these options.
Can you gain muscle while losing fat?
Yes! However, it takes discipline and a real focus on diet to do this! One of the keys is obtaining optimal amounts of protein while not taking in too many calories.
This is where supplemental use of Essential Amino Acids can help because you can get the equivalent of 100 grams of meat, fish, or chicken in just 20 grams of essential aminos at a fraction of the calories! They are also quick and easy to digest.
How Often Do You Need to Consume Protein to Optimize Muscle Mass?
Practically speaking if you consume all your protein as whole food it is challenging for most to consume optimal amounts of protein each day without spreading it over several meals – even if you eat the highest quality protein sources such as Eggs, Meat, Chicken and Fish!
Is it true that you can only absorb and use a fixed maximum amount of protein in one meal?
The short answer is no! Even though many fitness and medical professionals believe this to be true. The research comparing people who consume all their protein in a short meal window each day versus those who spread it out is pretty consistent – it does not matter if you eat fewer meals with more protein per meal.
The take home message is to consume enough high-quality protein each day. For most people eating anywhere from 3 – 6 meals a day is easiest to maintain when consuming optimal amounts of protein for muscle building.
As surprising as this may sound consider that humans have been on the earth for hundreds of thousands of years, and everyone alive today is a product of evolution of our forebears. For almost all the time humans have existed we did NOT ration our protein intake throughout the day – our ancestors ate as much as they could when they had it! The ability to absorb and use proteins in large meals is therefore built into us.
What is true is that your body adjusts to any specific dietary pattern over time by changing the levels of enzymes that breakdown, transport and use specific macronutrients including fat, protein, and carbohydrate. In addition your body adjusts to meal timing as well. Whenever you change your dietary pattern significantly it takes time for the body to adjust so keep this in mind and shift slowly to minimize discomfort!
Isn’t High Protein Bad for You?
There are persistent myths surrounding protein intake and kidney damage and bone loss which never seem to die despite mounds of research proving they are myths!
Unless you have kidney disease these fears are completely misplaced! In addition, many studies have shown that increased protein intake in aging adults helps INCREASE bone density!
For more information on the science of amino acids checkout:
https://optimalamino.com/blogs/research
https://www.jaquishbiomedical.com/blog/amino-acid-supplementation-a-guide/