Module 3.2

Question 1

Why is protein important?

Answer 1

Protein is an essential nutrient in the diet, being used to manufacture body proteins that have important structural and functional roles in the human body.

Question 2

Structural proteins

Answer 2

needed to build connective tissue, cell membranes and muscle cells

Question 3

Regulatory proteins

Answer 3

act as enzymes or transport vehicles

Question 4

Proteins are made up of

Answer 4

various sequences of about 20 different amino acids. Nine of these amino acids are essential and must come from the diet or from the breakdown of other proteins in the body.

Question 5

minor fuel source during excersize

Answer 5

Some amino acids are used as a minor fuel source during exercise.

Question 6

Do athletes require more protein?

Answer 6

• Endurance athletes in heavy training require extra protein to cover a small proportion of the energy costs of their training and to assist in the repair and recovery process after exercise.
• Strength athletes, who are interested in gaining muscle size and function, require more protein in the early stages of very intensive resistance exercise

Question 7

adolescents protein requirments

Answer 7

Athletes who are growing, such as adolescents, have additional protein requirements.

Question 8

grams of protein per kg of body mass required for sedentary individual

Answer 8

0.8

Question 9

g of protein/ kg required for general training program

Answer 9

1.0

Question 10

g/protein per kg of endurance althlete

Answer 10

1.2-1.6

Question 11

g of protein/kg required for endurance athelte extreme training program

Answer 11

2.0

Question 12

strength althete undertaking heavy training program g of protein/kg

Answer 12

1.2-1.7

Question 13

adolescent athletes g of protein/kg

Answer 13

2

Question 14

Do athletes need to eat more protein-rich foods?

Answer 14

athletes provide protein intakes that are well in excess of 1.2-2.0 g/kg body mass per day - especially in the case of strength-training athletes. Therefore, there is no justification for special high protein eating strategies for sport.

Question 15

It seems that some athletes swear by high-carbohydrate diets,
while others have moved to high-protein diets? Who is right?

Answer 15

there is no need to take one extreme view or the other. Many athletes do not realise that it is possible, and beneficial, to consume a diet that achieves the muscle’s carbohydrate fuel needs, as well as providing a protein intake that easily meets the increased protein needs for sport.

a combination of carbohydrate and protein is the best way to meet sports nutrition goals

Question 16

How does timing and teamwork of protein and carbohydrate
work?

Answer 16

Muscle and body protein metabolism is a constant balance between protein breakdown and protein rebuilding. During exercise the balance shifts towards protein breakdown, while during recovery the balance tips in the opposite direction.

Question 17

consuming protein immidetately after excersize does what

Answer 17

appears to enhance muscle uptake and retention of amino acids, and promote a more positive protein balance.

It is still not clear whether these benefits are apparent when the 24 hour picture

Question 18

Snacks or light meals that achieve this team-work include

Answer 18

Flavoured yoghurt
* Flavoured milk drinks
* Fruit smoothies
* Liquid meal supplements (e.g. Sustagen Sport)
* Sandwiches with meat, cheese, chicken or peanut butter fillings
* Breakfast cereal and milk
* Sports bars

Question 19

Can athletes have too much protein?

Answer 19

High protein intakes can increase the amount of calcium excreted in the urine. This may cause problems with athletes at risk of weakened bones

High protein intakes based on the consumption of large amounts of animal foods (e.g. meat and dairy foods) can result in a greater fat intake.

High protein intakes may increase fluid requirements

excessive focus on high protein foods may displace other valuable foods (e.g. fruit and vegetables) or other important nutrients such as carbohydrate and fibre from the diet.

Question 20

Can athletes have too little protein?

Answer 20

Failure to consume sufficient protein on a regular basis may cause muscle to be broken down to ensure a continual supply of essential amino acids in the body

Question 21

what types of athletes consume not enough protein

Answer 21

• Athletes on low energy diets trying to achieve or maintain a lower body mass/body fat level, especially those undertaking extreme restriction to lose weight rapidly
• Athletes restricting dietary variety, fussy eats, alergies, etc

Question 22

Are protein supplements useful?

Answer 22

They tend to provide very large amounts of protein and little other nutrients. There is no need for the amount of protein provided by many supplements and there is certainly no justification for the extra cost.

Question 23

most suitable protein supplement

Answer 23

provides both protein and carbohydrate.

Question 24

Good alternatives to protein supplements include

Answer 24

include homemade fruit smoothies, liquid meal supplements such as PowerBar Protein Plus powder and 20 g skim milk powder added to regular milk.

Question 25

key to weightloss

Answer 25

consume less kilojoules than you use over a period of time.

Question 26

high protein, low-carbohydrate diets result in

Answer 26

loss of water and glycogen. This might result in a decrease on the scales but does nothing to reduce body fat. In the long-term, high- protein, low-carbohydrate diets may result in fat loss.
- In the long- term, these diets will see muscle mass decrease.

Question 27

is high protein low carb maintainable

Answer 27

It is almost impossible to maintain a high-protein, low-carbohydrate diet for the long term because they are boring and unappetising. The lack of carbohydrate reduces energy levels, impairs performance and causes nausea and lethargy.
- restrict the intake of many essential nutrients in the diet.

Question 28

A well-designed diet for an athlete is

Answer 28

combination of proper energy intake, proper timing, along with proper training.

Question 29

An energy deficient diet during training may lead to

Answer 29

loss of muscle mass and strength, increased suscepti- bility to illness, and increased prevalence of overreaching and/or overtraining

Question 30

The current recommended level of protein intake

Answer 30

(0.8 g/kg/day) is estimated to be sufficient to meet the needs of nearly all (97.5%) healthy men and women age 19 years and older

Question 31

If an athlete does not ingest sufficient amounts of protein, he or she will maintain a

Answer 31

negative nitrogen balance, which can in- crease protein catabolism and slow recovery

Question 32

Nitrogen balance is quantified by

Answer 32

calculating the total amount of dietary protein that enters the body and the total amount of the nitrogen that is excreted

Question 33

Proteins differ based on

Answer 33

the source, the amino acid profile and the methods of isolating the protein

Question 34

Great dietary sources of low-fat, high-quality protein are

Answer 34

skinless chicken, fish, egg whites and skim milk while the highest quality supplemental sources are whey, colos- trum, casein, milk proteins and egg protein

Question 35

Two of the most widely used protein supplements are

Answer 35

casein and whey, which can both be found in milk prod- ucts.

Question 36

Research has demonstrated that whey

Answer 36

“whey protein elic- its a sharp, rapid increase of plasma amino acids follow- ing ingestion, while the consumption of casein induces a moderate, prolonged increase in plasma amino acids that was sustained over a 7-hour postprandial time period,”

Question 37

benefits of leucine

Answer 37

leucine plays the most significant role in stimulating protein synthesis (5). Therefore, supplementa- tion of branched-chain amino acids may be beneficial to athletes.

Question 38

The addition of leucine resulted in

Answer 38

a lower protein oxidation rate compared with the carbohydrate/protein trial.
The study concluded that co-ingestion of protein and leucine stimulates muscle protein synthesis and optimizes whole body protein balance

Question 39

During prolonged aerobic exercise

Answer 39

the amount of free trypto- phan increases and therefore the amount of tryptophan entering the brain increases, resulting in fatigue
when BCAAs are present in the plasma, in significant amounts, they may decrease the amount of trypto- phan reaching the brain, therefore decreasing feelings of fatigue

Question 40

It has been suggested that the recommended daily allowance (RDA) for leucine alone should be

Answer 40

45 mg/kg/day for sedentary individuals, and even higher for active individuals

Question 41

major organizations recommend athletes consume more than the RDA for protein, approximately

Answer 41

1.4 – 2.0 g/kg of body weight

Question 42

General activity calorie/protein intake

Answer 42

25 – 35 kcals/kg/day
0.8 – 1.0 g/kg/day

Question 43

Strength training athletes calorie/protein intake

Answer 43

50-80 kcals/kg/day
1.4 - 1.8 + g/kg/day

Question 44

endurance athletes calories/protein intake

Answer 44

150 – 200 kcals/kg/day
1.2 –1.4 g/kg/day