Protein Powders 

Recall that women need about 50 g of protein per day while men need about 70g per day on average. Add illness, rapid growth, demanding sports or training, and the requirements go up. but, as with many things, it is not a case of more always being better. Here's a great breakdown courtesy of WebMD: 

  • Recreational athletes need 0.5-0.75 grams of protein daily for every per pound of body weight
  • Competitive athletes need 0.6-0.9 grams per pound
  • Teenage athletes need 0.8-0.9 grams per pound
  • Athletes building muscle mass need 0.7-0.9 grams per pound

The maximum amount of protein that most adults can use per day is 0.9 grams per pound of body weight.

Reference: Do you need Protein Powders? 

 

The science:

Remember that for protein to be maximally useful to the body it must be complete protein. This can either be achieved through an animal product like whey from milk, or eggs. It can also be achieved by carefully extracting amnio acids from plant sources like pea and rice to combine to make complete protein for humans. 

Thus on the market you will see all kinds of formulas: whey, soy, pea, rice, hemp, egg and all manner of combinations. The back of each container is usually quite detailed, catering to the specific concerns of these buyers. One can hardly blame consumers from being interested because it is possible to find all kinds of other thing in these preparations, such as soy and sunflower lecithin. You can even find sweeteners like stevia, and sugar. And of course they are flavored.

Did you know that there are three types of whey ?

1. There is whey concentrate, which has a rather variable protein content.

2. There is also native whey protein, extracted from skim milk, exceeding 90% protein by weight, in either of two forms: 

a. an isolate, which is free of lactose and fat, and  

b. a hydrosylate, which is partially broken down and thus more easily digested and less allergenic. 

 

What to do: 

Assess your diet. You may not even need protein powders in the first place. After all, you are getting three meals and snacks with protein and produce each time, right ? If, given your health and activity level, you have determined that you need a convenient source of additional protein, check out protein powders. I have found that serving sizes contain anywhere from 16 to 26 grams of protein. I found the taste varies greatly. To chose, you will just have to bear in mind your dietary tolerances to milk, soy, etc, read labels, taste test, and choose.

What to mix: 

Protein powders can be mixed with water, milk , with a splash of juice. They can be blended with these liquids as wells fruit, vegetables and ice. 

When to drink: 

In an ideal world everyone would have a nutritious sit down meal with plenty of protein. But if that can't happen, a protein smoothie made correctly with a predominance of whole fruit rather than juice, is a reasonable substitute.

As far as pre or post workout are concerned , a protein drink is fine, but only as long as it contains adequate high quality carbohydrate as well.