Protein planet. This nutrient falls right into the diet of cyclists, both in terms of recovery and actual nourishment. The runners pay great attention to it and are very careful what they catch and how they catch it.
Laura Martinelli, nutritionist of Jayco-AlUla, therefore accompanies us in the world of proteins, illustrating an overview that helps us to understand first of all what types there are. Often in our interviews there are those who say they take protein powders, some solid ones, some amino acids.
Laura, therefore, let’s start from the type of protein: how many and what are they?
The speech is vast, but simplifying things we can say that there are two macro-categories: natural proteins and synthetic proteins.
Let’s start with the natural one…
They are divided into animal protein, such as meat, fish, milk, eggs, dairy products… and vegetable proteins, which are substantially contained in legumes, but also in cereals, which we often tend to forget. When we give pasta, say, to our athletes, we take this protein part into account, even if it is low.
Synthetic proteins instead?
They can be of various shapes, but those that concern our world are in powder form (dissolved in milk or water) or solid (in the form of bars). Amino acids also belong to this category. These are taken in tablet or powder form. But more often in tablets, as in powder their taste is terrifying. And it’s terrifying because they know of something that goes rotting and it is precisely the breakdown of the protein chain that is taken… exactly like meat that goes bad. For this reason, tablets that are to be swallowed are preferred, otherwise they are heavily sweetened or flavored.
So are amino acids proteins?
Essential amino acids are those that our body does not produce. Among them the most important are those branched, the famous BCAA (English acronym for branched-chain amino acid, precisely branched-chain amino acids, ed) which are: leucine, isoleucine and valine. And the most important of these three is leucine.
Tell us better…
Leucine has the ability to directly stimulate protein synthesis in the muscles and in fact the higher this value, this presence, the more it promotes muscle growth. On the other hand, the recovery capacity of the amino acids themselves slows down a bit. If you notice, in fact, when you buy BCAA amino acids there is always a number next to this writing and that number indicates the ratio (quantity) of leucine compared to the other two. For example, if we find “8:1:1” it means that there are eight parts of leucine, one of isoleucine and one of valine. But there are many products on the market.
And so what varies?
In our case, more than anything else, the ratio is changed based on the period. If it’s winter for example and I’m interested in growing my muscles I prefer an amino acid richer in leucine, an 8:1:1. And it doesn’t matter if I recover more slowly. But if they are in the middle of the season or even more in a stage race, I will prefer an amino acid with less leucine, a 2:1:1, to recover faster. We take care of this aspect of periodization in Jayco-AluLa together with the medical staff, also as regards the standard diet, not only for the synthetic part. In each of the three main meals of the day (breakfast, lunch, dinner) there is always a base of natural proteins. And we pay close attention to quantities.
And why?
Because there are intake limits in one meal. On average they are 30 grams at a time. And thirty grams of protein are gathered in 120 grams of chicken breast, to say… not much. Then to these quantities, depending on the period, we associate other proteins: powders, bars…
Why does only leucine vary in those symbolic ratios you mentioned earlier? Maybe if you have to recover more you can’t increase the dose of the other two?
No, because it is leucine that commands, you can file that one but not the others.
Do you still take amino acids yourself today?
We tend to prefer milk powder which already contains branched chain amino acids and it wouldn’t make sense to add more, like with tablets. Different story if I take vegetable powders that have very few and need an addition of branched chain amino acids.
So what are the advantages of powders compared to amino acids alone?
It is not a matter of advantage, but of food as a whole. Proteins, even in powder form, have a caloric intake, they are a more complete product. The amino acid is a more surgical supplementation if you will… it has no calories. After a competition or a hard workout, when energy recovery is also important, protein powders are more structured and everything is easier.