Essay Example on Protein Powder for Muscle Growth: Studies Support Idea

Consumption of protein powders has increases rampantly among the athletes and gym-goers for muscle growth. Many of them believe that muscle powders will assist in bulking up after tough training and sessions. Many studies conducted on protein powder used for muscle growth support the idea of its consumption. They suggest that protein powder helps in improving muscle sizes and provide strength to those conducting resistance exercise training like weight lifting (El-Shobaki el., 2018). Contrary, recent studies have shown that most of the commonly used protein powders contain significant proportions of metals such as lead, arsenic, and cadmium (Hamarsland, 2017). This debate on protein powder use, leads to the question is protein powder essential for muscle growth? The essays evaluate some of the researches done on protein powder used for muscle growth.

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Protein powder is a nutritional supplement which is widely known and used by children to adults. Protein is an essential macronutrient that assists consumers in building muscle, tissue repairs, and helps the body in making enzymes and hormone (Yang et al., 2020). Also, the use of protein powder assists in weight loss and aid in toning muscles. Bone and skin depend on protein to grow and remain healthy. Common examples of protein powder include whey, soy, pea, casein and hemp. However, whey is the most popular and commonly used by athletes as it's quickly and easily absorbed in the body (Yang et al., 2020).

Protein powders top in the list of popular essential muscle-building supplements available and are legally supplied to promote muscle growth and help in metabolism. Studies support its usage as they help in muscle growth in the body, enables persons to arrive peak of physical performance, increase strength and the slow aging process. The study added that the usage could be before, on course and after training to either increase performance or enable recovery. The protein powder can be added to meals or drinks.

A further study conducted by Stokes et al., (2018) on effects of protein supplements on muscle growth in adults concluded that protein powder could improve muscle mass and enhance performance with adequate training stimulus. The research involved both trained and untrained individuals who consumed protein powders to observe effects on muscle growth. Results revealed that, for the untrained individuals, during the initial days of resistance training, the protein supplements have no impact on muscle strength (Stokes et al., 2018). However, after duration and resistance training volume increased, the protein supplements muscle hypertrophy increased, and muscle strength gained.

The use of protein powder for muscle growth presents risks to the users based on studies made (Wong et al., 2019). First, using them involves exposure of numerous dangers, they include unclear ingredients used by manufacturers, long term side effects, may cause digestion distress, and they may contain high amounts of added sugars and calories. Secondly, recent researches have revealed the availability of toxins on protein powders (Wong et al., 2019. The report released by Clean Label Project reported that the study which involved 134 products texted for 130 kinds of toxins, found that much of protein powders had bisphenol-A, heavy metals, pesticides and other impurities which lead to cancer and other various health complications (Wong et al., 2019. The toxins are believed to be absorbed from soil or added during processing according to Clean Label Projects.

Conclusion

Additional researches, propose protein powder is convenient for persons with goals of improving muscle mass (Yang et al., 2020). The study suggests the older adults increase protein levels by use of protein powders for muscle strength regardless of their daily tasks. People with intentions of muscle growth and exercises, the study advises on consuming between 20 and 40 grams at a time (Yang et al., 2020). Besides, the research emphasizes on using protein from food as it has less risk compared to the protein supplements like protein powder.

References

El-Shobaki, F. A., Gabrial, S. G. N., Shakib, M. C. R., Haleem, M. S. M. A., & Gabrial, G. N. (2018). Whey Protein Bar Supplementation Effects Combined with Resistance Training on Athletes. Journal of Biological Sciences, 18(8), 506-513. https://scialert.net/fulltext/?doi=jbs.2018.506.513

Hamarsland, H. (2017). Effects of strength training and supplementation with different milk proteins on regulation of muscle mass in young and elderly. https://nih.brage.unit.no/nih-xmlui/handle/11250/2487400

Stokes, T., Hector, A. J., Morton, R. W., McGlory, C., & Phillips, S. M. (2018). Recent perspectives regarding the role of dietary protein for the promotion of muscle hypertrophy with resistance exercise training. Nutrients, 10(2), 180. https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/10/2/180

Wong, C. P., Bray, T. M., & Khanna, S. K. (2019). Growth, Bone Health, and Cognition: Nutritional Evaluation of a Sustainable Ocean-Based Advance Protein Powder (APP). Ecology of food and nutrition, 58(2), 80-92. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03670244.2019.1565759

Yang, K. P., Wong, C. P., Khanna, S. K., & Bray, T. M. (2020). Supplementation of Ocean-Based Advance Protein Powder (APP) for Restoration of Body Growth, Bone Development and Immune Functions in Protein Malnourished Mice: Implications for Preventing Child Malnutrition. Ecology of Food and Nutrition, 1-23. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03670244.2020.1754811