Better to calculate total amino acid intake
- Thread starter Ruhl
- Start date
I have looked at both whey and soy protein and each, at least the ones I looked at, had a much higher amino acid profile than meats I have looked at.
I would like to calculate based on total amino acid content. Is that ok? It would mean that I would be able to get away with eating less protein, and save my money for something else.
I would like to calculate based on total amino acid content. Is that ok? It would mean that I would be able to get away with eating less protein, and save my money for something else.
D
Dianabol
Guest
1. "higher amino acid profile than meats"
>>>> I am wondering what you mean by "higher". Meat is excellent protein, to begin with. Eggs are great too. Dairy is good (if you ignore the A2 controversy).
I am curious really - how do you plan to go by amino acid profile? These amino acid quantities you get on your supplement packaging, they also are estimates. Even the protein amount per serving has a degree of variability. I really wouldn't worry about this if I were you.
2. "I would like to calculate based on total amino acid content. Is that ok? It would mean that I would be able to get away with eating less protein, and save my money for something else."
>>>> Usually, milk and eggs are the cheapest source of protein. If you are talking in terms of PER or BV, I heard that fish is great. But fish is expensive or tends to be, unless you employ canned tuna. If your concern is protein quality and completeness (granted some vegetarian sources might be deemed "incomplete" but as Blade has said, your body has a way of balancing things), then go with tuna, eggs, milk, cheese and meat. Don't fall for the marketing ploy that whole foods are inferior to protein powders. They are not. Both have their reasons and purposes for their usage. And if budget is tight, I'd spend on food before I spend on protein powder.
Godspeed, and happy HSTing
>>>> I am wondering what you mean by "higher". Meat is excellent protein, to begin with. Eggs are great too. Dairy is good (if you ignore the A2 controversy).
I am curious really - how do you plan to go by amino acid profile? These amino acid quantities you get on your supplement packaging, they also are estimates. Even the protein amount per serving has a degree of variability. I really wouldn't worry about this if I were you.
2. "I would like to calculate based on total amino acid content. Is that ok? It would mean that I would be able to get away with eating less protein, and save my money for something else."
>>>> Usually, milk and eggs are the cheapest source of protein. If you are talking in terms of PER or BV, I heard that fish is great. But fish is expensive or tends to be, unless you employ canned tuna. If your concern is protein quality and completeness (granted some vegetarian sources might be deemed "incomplete" but as Blade has said, your body has a way of balancing things), then go with tuna, eggs, milk, cheese and meat. Don't fall for the marketing ploy that whole foods are inferior to protein powders. They are not. Both have their reasons and purposes for their usage. And if budget is tight, I'd spend on food before I spend on protein powder.
Godspeed, and happy HSTing
D
Dianabol
Guest
Dear Ruhl,
I suspect your confusion lies in the nomenclature than anything else.
1. "Maybe I don't understand something. Is it true that there is nothing more to a gram of protein than the amino acids that make it up? I hadn't thought of that, if that's the case."
>>>> As Aaron_F had said, "1gm of protein = 1gm amino acids, 1gm meat doesnt = 1gm protien, 1gm powder doesnt = 1g protein."
A protein is a chain of amino acids. A protein gets broken down into its constituent amino acids, and a variety of amino acids can be combined to become a protein. Take note though, that 20gm of an amino acid is not equal to 20gm of protein, in that 20gm L-glutamine does not equal 20gm of protein simply because a protein, by definition, comprises of more than just one amino acid, if we viewed it in this context.
And when we get protein in food (milk, eggs, cheese, meat), such protein is complete and dare I say balanced, in that it contains the whole spectrum of amino acids (essential and non-essential) in biological amounts that our body requires for growth, repair etc. I dare say that taking too much of a single amino acid can cause relative deficiencies to the rest, very much like how megadosing on one vitamin/mineral can cause such relative deficiency, notwithstanding the fact that it can also be toxic.
When you look at the amino acid profile on your container of protein powder, it's not as if your protein powder comprises of these amino acids per se - it needs to be digested and broken down into these amino acids. I doubt there is a powder out there that comprises entirely of free form amino acids. Cost and taste would be very prohibitive. Besides, some research has shown that peptides allow for better nitrogen retention than free-from amino acids. How true this, I don't know since it was a protein-powder company that cited this and probably funded the research as well. Wholefoods (meat, eggs, etc) also get digested and broken down into amino acids - I won't be surprised if the amino acid profile is largely similar to that of your protein powder since your protein powder is derived from milk (whey...) and soy (soy beans and soy related products).
I must admit that some variations do arise e.g. turkey and cottage is purportedly higher in L-glutamine than other sources of dietary protein while vegetable sources might be missing an amino acid or two. If cost is an issue, you can get the bulk of your protein from beans and legumes, and to ensure that no amino acid is missing, have a couple of glasses of milk or some eggs and meat, and you'd be fine.
All else being equal, as long as your protein source is complete, even the quality doesn't matter since if quality is lacking, you simply make it up by increasing quantity.
Worrying about balancing and quantifying individual amino acids is unnecessary - your body will do this by itself as long as you take complete protein in adequate amounts.
I hope this is helpful to you.
Godspeed, and happy HSTing
I suspect your confusion lies in the nomenclature than anything else.
1. "Maybe I don't understand something. Is it true that there is nothing more to a gram of protein than the amino acids that make it up? I hadn't thought of that, if that's the case."
>>>> As Aaron_F had said, "1gm of protein = 1gm amino acids, 1gm meat doesnt = 1gm protien, 1gm powder doesnt = 1g protein."
A protein is a chain of amino acids. A protein gets broken down into its constituent amino acids, and a variety of amino acids can be combined to become a protein. Take note though, that 20gm of an amino acid is not equal to 20gm of protein, in that 20gm L-glutamine does not equal 20gm of protein simply because a protein, by definition, comprises of more than just one amino acid, if we viewed it in this context.
And when we get protein in food (milk, eggs, cheese, meat), such protein is complete and dare I say balanced, in that it contains the whole spectrum of amino acids (essential and non-essential) in biological amounts that our body requires for growth, repair etc. I dare say that taking too much of a single amino acid can cause relative deficiencies to the rest, very much like how megadosing on one vitamin/mineral can cause such relative deficiency, notwithstanding the fact that it can also be toxic.
When you look at the amino acid profile on your container of protein powder, it's not as if your protein powder comprises of these amino acids per se - it needs to be digested and broken down into these amino acids. I doubt there is a powder out there that comprises entirely of free form amino acids. Cost and taste would be very prohibitive. Besides, some research has shown that peptides allow for better nitrogen retention than free-from amino acids. How true this, I don't know since it was a protein-powder company that cited this and probably funded the research as well. Wholefoods (meat, eggs, etc) also get digested and broken down into amino acids - I won't be surprised if the amino acid profile is largely similar to that of your protein powder since your protein powder is derived from milk (whey...) and soy (soy beans and soy related products).
I must admit that some variations do arise e.g. turkey and cottage is purportedly higher in L-glutamine than other sources of dietary protein while vegetable sources might be missing an amino acid or two. If cost is an issue, you can get the bulk of your protein from beans and legumes, and to ensure that no amino acid is missing, have a couple of glasses of milk or some eggs and meat, and you'd be fine.
All else being equal, as long as your protein source is complete, even the quality doesn't matter since if quality is lacking, you simply make it up by increasing quantity.
Worrying about balancing and quantifying individual amino acids is unnecessary - your body will do this by itself as long as you take complete protein in adequate amounts.
I hope this is helpful to you.
Godspeed, and happy HSTing
Great questions and great answers!
