Alright, so up until now, I have always advocated that except for post workout, whey protein should never be taken without casein protein mixed with it. The theory is that you get the quick burst of aminos from whey, but then have that backed up with the slow digestion of casein. The problem with taking whey alone is that although it elevates your blood amino acid (and thus, nitrogen) levels very high, this effect is all but gone in about an hour.
Well, I just read an article with a different approach to the whole protein thing, and I think I'm going to try this over the summer, where I'll have more time to experiment with it.
Source:
http://www.wannabebig.com/article.php?articleid=121
According to the article,
Here's the problem with mixing casein with whey:
Casein, being a slow-digesting protein, slows the absorption of OTHER PROTEINS as well. What makes whey effective or even worth taking is its quick rate of absorption, leading to a high level of aminos in the blood. By taking casein with whey, you slow whey's absorption dramatically. meaning there's really no point in taking that whey than pretty much any other protein.
Whey is not effective just because of its high amino acid profile. According to the article,
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Just having constantly high levels of amino acids or merely having a positive protein balance doesn’t stimulate protein synthesis and doesn’t lead to increases in muscle mass. Then what does, you ask? All evidence point to the same thing time and time again. It is the acute and large increase in the amount of amino acids in the blood that causes protein synthesis rates to increase. If you were to tap a vein with an IV to crank blood levels of amino acids up and keep them there, we would see a dramatic increase in protein synthesis as well as a decrease in protein breakdown. However, right around two hours, synthesis rates will level off and return to normal despite the abnormally high levels of amino acids.
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To make a long story short, simply being in a positive nitrogen balance around the clock isn't what dramatically stimulates protein synthesis. What elevates protein synthesis, (and what whey is effective for) is the sudden and rapid elevation of aminos in the blood.
So mixing casein with whey would eliminate the purpose of taking whey altogether.
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So here is the take home message. It is not about just shoveling down 4,000 calories or X-amount of protein to keep your blood saturated with amino acids at all times. It is the about presenting your body with sudden change and increase of amino acids that stimulates protein synthesis rates.
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What do we do then?
Step #1: Consume a whey protein drink shortly after a whole food meal.
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By doing so, you will have created an environment very conductive to muscle growth. By consuming that whole food meal you will have suppressed the rate of muscle breakdown. Firstly, by starting a slow cascade of amino acids through your system. Secondly, provided your meal had some kind of carbohydrates, you will have stimulated the release of insulin which in it self can slow the rate of muscle breakdown.
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Step #2: Consume casein based meal with in the next 3 hours.
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That means before three hours has elapsed. Two hours would be an even safer bet. We want the levels of amino acids in our blood to drop a bit so we can create a dramatic increase again. The degree of protein synthesis is directly related to the degree of change in the levels of amino acids. By consuming a casein based meal here we will allow for that drop while keeping amino acid levels above normal. This keeps the rate of protein breakdown to a minimum.
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Step #3 Repeat! That’s all there is to it.
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Alternate between a whole food meal with a whey protein chaser, and follow that up with a casein based meal.
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Kind of a long read, and for those of you just getting into nutrition, maybe a little bit confusing, but I thought it was really worth looking into.
True, this is off of a bodybuilding website, and we are not exactly looking to get huge muscles so much as improved performance, strength, and recovery, but they go by the same principles. Hypertrophy (muscle growth) is a result of elevated protein synthesis, thus, rapid recovery. As an athlete and a martial artist trying to fit in cardio and weight training along with grappling, wrestling, and striking, rapid recovery is a major part of nutrition and supplementation. By increasing protein synthesis as efficiently and effectively as possible, we can cut down on our recovery time, meaning more productive workouts more frequently.
Just some food for thought.
