Protein in Sports Drink Offers Nothing
by Granite Litwin

When Martin Gibala arrives home from an over-the-top mountain ride, intense weight-lifting session or long run, he fixes himself a big glass of chocolate milk.

It's thirst-quenching, sweet, delicious and has just enough protein to start rebuilding muscles he ripped up during exercise, says the associate professor of kinesiology at McMaster University in Hamilton.

He doesn't down expensive protein-laced beverages while he's pedaling or running because he just completed a study that found adding protein supplements to sports drinks makes no difference to performance.

Sports Drinks

"Sports drinks improve performance during prolonged exercise because of two key ingredients: carbohydrate, which provides fuel for working muscles, and sodium, which helps to maintain fluid balance,'' says Gibala in a telephone interview.

Research also shows consuming protein after exercise spurs muscle recovery.

But his study, published in the August edition of Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, found that adding protein to a carbohydrate-electrolyte sports drink consumed during exercise did not improve cycling time-trials. The randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study was funded by Gatorade, which was considering launching a new protein drink.

"I doubt they will do that now,'' he says with a chuckle.

"We do literally break down and tear muscle fibers when we exercise, and protein can directly assist in growing better, stronger muscles. But there is no compelling evidence to suggest endurance athletes need protein during exercise.''

It's important to eat protein throughout the day, and a little after exercise, but he says people should consume protein in real food such as milk, tuna or a small chicken breast -- "massive protein shakes are really excessive'' -- and carbohydrates are still the critical fuel for athletes replacing the glycogen that is stored in muscles to provide fuel.

Gibala decided to study protein drinks because he says earlier research was flawed. An earlier study asked cyclists to "ride to exhaustion.''

That is not a real-life situation for either regular or elite athletes, although the latter do want to cover a set distance as fast as possible.

So he asked 10 trained cyclists to simulate an 80-kilometer race on three occasions. During exercise, they were given a sports drink, a sports drink spiked with 20 grams of protein per hour or a placebo drink that provided no energy.

The drinks were similarly flavored and neither subjects nor researchers knew which drink was being consumed.

The study found the sports drink improved performance compared to the placebo by four per cent, or six minutes over the 80 kilometers, confirming prior research. The protein supplement gave no additional benefit.

So what about downing a bottle of beer after exercise?

He says the Australian Institute for Sport looked at the effect of alcohol on muscle recovery of rugby players.

"A lot of people pound beers after an event, but the study found that can interfere with recovery and impair more than brains.''

Copyright 2006 Prince George Citizen All Rights Reserved

Prince George Citizen (British Columbia) August 30, 2006, BYLINE: Granite Litwin, CanWest News Service