Nutrition Science and Everyday Application - beta v 0.1

NUTRIENT NEEDS OF ATHLETES 561
composition goals. Fat intakes below 20% of energy intake will reduce the availability of fatsoluble
vitamins and essential fatty acids, especially omega-3 fatty acids.
Protein
Although protein accounts for only about 5% of energy expended, dietary protein is
necessary to support metabolic reactions that generate ATP, which rely heavily on proteins
such as enzymes and transport proteins. Additional protein also helps muscles with
maintenance, growth, and repair. For these reasons, athletes have higher protein needs than
the general population. It is recommended that athletes consume 1.2 to 2.0 g/kg/day of
protein in order to support these functions. Higher intakes may also be needed for short
periods of intense training or when reducing energy intake. 1
It is important to consume adequate amounts of protein and to understand that the
quality of the protein consumed affects the amount needed. Complete protein foods such
as meats, dairy, and eggs contain all of the essential amino acids in relative amounts that
most efficiently meet the body’s needs for growth, maintenance, and repair of muscles.
Vegetarian diets contain mostly incomplete protein sources, which have lower digestibility
and amino acid patterns that do not match human needs as closely as most animal proteins.
To compensate for this, vegetarian athletes need to consume more dietary protein than nonvegetarians
and should target the upper end of the recommended protein intake.
In addition to the amount and quality of proteins consumed, timing of protein intake has
been shown to impact muscle protein synthesis. Studies show that the synthesis of muscle
protein is optimized with high quality protein consumption after exercise, ideally 15 to 25
grams of protein in the early recovery phase after a workout (0-2 hours after exercise).
A similar amount of protein should be consumed every 3-5 hours, spread out across the
day over multiple meals within the 24 hours post-workout, so that amino acids are always
available for optimal protein synthesis. 2 One recommended strategy is to aim for 0.4 g/kg/
meal across four meals in order to reach 1.6 g/kg/day for muscle synthesis. 3
Although athletic training increases protein needs, athletes can meet their protein
requirement through high quality food sources, and most do not need to consume protein
supplements. Here are some examples of snacks or small meals that contain at least 15 to
25 grams of protein 4 :
• ½ cup of granola plus ¼ cup almonds (16 grams protein)
• 7 oz. Greek yogurt (20 grams protein)
• Peanut butter sandwich (20 grams protein)
• 2 scrambled eggs and 1 cup of milk (20 grams protein)
• 3 oz. canned tuna (½ can) with ½ cup crackers (22 grams protein)
• Turkey and cheese sandwich (32 grams protein)