This article provided courtesy of Ashley Meuser at Infinit Custom-Blended Nutrition Solutions.
INFINIT Nutrition | www.infinitnutrition.us
Background:
Fueling your body during athletic performance is essential to ensure peak performance. However, how you fuel your body after performance is essential to ensure you are ready for that next athletic event. Exercise strips your body of glycogen and fluids. If they aren’t fully replenished before your next workout, your body becomes weak and dehydrated and you will never reach peak performance. The body can replenish muscle glycogen in about 20-24 hours post-exercise because glycogen is replaced in the muscle at a rate of 5% per hour. Fifteen minutes after exercise the blood flow to muscles is still very high and the enzymes that produce glycogen are most active. Refueling, replenishing, and rehydrating should be done within those first 15 minutes after exercise when the muscles are most receptive.1Refueling with carbohydrates and protein are both important following endurance exercises. The carbohydrates refuel glycogen stores and delay the rate that protein breaks down. Protein intake provides essential amino acids and calories necessary to build and repair muscles, organs, and tissues in the body.2
Multiple Protein Sources:
Strenuous exercise promotes muscle damage, resulting in decreased protein synthesis through increased branched-chain amino acid (BCAA) breakdown. These essential amino acids (leucine, isoleucine, and valine) are metabolized in the muscle and required for protein synthesis.3 Absorption of these essential amino acids varies among different protein sources.2 Whey protein is quickly absorbed, casein is slowly absorbed, and soy is intermediately absorbed.4 Combining multiple sources of protein has an added benefit to support muscle growth and recovery because the availability of amino acids in the bloodstream is extended and absorption increases.2 Phasing the release of amino acids into the bloodstream is associated with increased skeletal muscle protein synthesis and increased lean muscle mass.4
In addition to BCAA’s, glutamine and arginine are also important in endurance recovery. These 2 amino acids are conditionally essential under certain conditions. During times of stress, including exercise, glutamine levels are significantly depleted.
Arginine becomes essential during periods of growth. Glutamine plays a role in protein synthesis, and arginine can lead to increases in lean muscle mass. Soy protein is high in glutamine and arginine, but not the BCAA leucine. Casein is high in glutamine, and whey is high in the BCAA leucine.4 A combination of the 3 protein sources will ensure you are consuming adequate amounts of the essential BCAA’s, glutamine, and arginine.
Infinit’s new :REPAIR and :NOCTURNE formulas are formulated with whey isolate, soy isolate, and casein protein, designed to provide essential amino acids important for muscle recovery, and allowing increased muscle protein synthesis and increased lean
muscle mass.*
* These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
1. Bonci, L. Refueling the Tank. Coaching Management. 9.2, March 2001.
2. Diekman, C., Saullo, S. The role of soy in the performance of active and athletic Americans.SCANNERS. 4(1): 1-3, 2012.
3. Swanson, A.K., Makowski, L. Physiologic and metabolic responses during vigorous exercise: why recovery nutrition is indispensable. Pulse. 31(2): 1-5, 2012.
4. Paul, G. The rationale for consuming protein blends in sports nutrition. J Am Coll Nutr. 28(S): S464-S472, 2009.