Protein is essential for muscle development as it repairs and builds tissue. Strength training causes microscopic tears in muscle fiber, and protein stimulates healing, resulting in stronger and potentially bigger muscles. Proper nutrition, including high BV protein sources like whey protein and whole soybeans, is critical for optimal muscle growth.
There is an essential link between dietary protein intake and muscle development, a cause and effect relationship that must be understood in order to achieve optimal gains in muscle mass. Protein is the macronutrient responsible for building and repairing tissue. The strength training that must be done to build muscle causes the formation, temporarily, of microscopic tears in the muscle fiber. Protein stimulates the healing process, which in turn produces stronger muscles and, depending on the training protocol and diet followed, bigger.
It is widely understood that in order to build muscle, physical exercise such as weight lifting that challenges existing muscle must be done regularly. However, strength training is a catabolic process, meaning this type of exercise breaks down rather than builds muscle tissue. To increase performance and see better physical results, proper nutrition is critical to the process. This is where protein and muscle building come together.
Protein is one of three nutrients, along with carbohydrates and fats, called macronutrients that provide calories to the body. Unlike carbohydrates and fats, however, protein is rarely used for energy and is therefore not stored by the body. Although cells can synthesize some of the amino acids the body needs, most of these must be obtained from protein in the diet. Protein consumption and muscle building, then, are complementary processes, since protein is necessary for anabolism or tissue building.
When protein is consumed through foods like eggs, meat, dairy, and beans, enzymes in the stomach break it down into its amino acid components, amino acids like isoleucine and glutamine. These are largely absorbed in the intestines, with absorption rates varying depending on the type of protein consumed. In fact, different protein sources are assigned a Biological Value (BV), which represents the percentage of protein absorbed from a food given that it will integrate with existing proteins in the body. When considering the relationship between protein and muscle growth, the BV can be a useful guide in determining which protein sources will best promote muscle growth.
Although values can vary depending on how a food is prepared, most whole foods can be assigned a typical BV, which in turn can determine which protein sources are most useful for an individual wanting to build muscle. With the values listed representing an approximate percentage of absorbed protein that will be used by the body, some examples of foods optimally used for mass building include whey protein, with a BV of 96; whole soybeans, with a BV of 96; cow’s milk, with a BV of 95; and chicken eggs, with a BV of 94. The combination of high BV protein consumption and regular muscle-building exercises has been shown to be effective in producing increases in lean mass.
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