Top 10 Protein Powders

About Top 10 Protein Powders

Quality protein is a crucial component of daily nutrition, not to be underestimated or cast aside as only relevant to bodybuilders. Protein provides the body with nine essential nutrients called the essential amino acids (EAAs), as well as a host of other non-essential and conditionally-essential amino acids. Protein powders are easily digestible, offer convenience and the means of increasing your intake without significantly increasing your calorie intake.

Everyone's has been talking about protein powder for decades now, not because it's a fad but because we are starting to realise how important this macronutrient really is to general health, chronic disease prevention and sports and exercise recovery. The nine essential amino acids have both structural and functional uses within the body. This means they are incorporated into tissues and organs to provide structure in addition to being transformed via enzymatic reactions into various other compounds, such as neurotransmitters and hormones.

Protein shakes are often taken after exercise to activate the anabolic (building) pathways of the body. This is important, as during exercise our catabolic (breakdown) pathways become active, and it is not until a significant source of essential amino acids are consumed that the overall state of the body can be said to be anabolic again. An anabolic state does not necessarily mean that you will get massive, though this is the ideal state to recover from your chosen form of exercise and adapt to it, whether it's long-distance running, powerlifting or gymnastics.

The fact that we become catabolic when exercising might seem counterintuitive, especially if you're a bodybuilder. This is simply the design of the body. Any “stressful” event, whether it be minimal sleep, emotional stress or intense exercise causes the release of catabolic hormones such as cortisol. After all, when engaging in extreme physical activity, evolution has primed us to be ready to recover from an injury, as long ago we were probably running from a sabre tooth tiger rather than pushing a bar up and down in a smith machine with a spotter, in complete safety. In order to recover from injury, the human body mobilises amino acids from muscle, the foundational building blocks of tissue repair. This is just one function of cortisol.

The human body is always in a state of protein turnover. We are always breaking down muscle and building muscle, at the same time as two separate processes. This can be compared to a house with a bricklayer on one side adding fresh and strong structures to the home, while someone works on demolition on the other side of the house, tearing down old rotten timber. Muscle breakdown is an important process, as we want new fresh muscle fibres to replace the old ones. Stimulating muscle building and taking the body into a state of overall anabolism (where muscle building is greater than muscle degradation) is an important aspect of protein powders. It is the protein powder’s essential amino acid content that stimulates these anabolic pathways.

The Sporty's Health Top 10 Protein Powders Supplements ranking is provides you with a user-generated list of "what’s hot" and intruiging in the world of protein powders. So check out our range to see what’s hot and what’s not. Each protein powder contains detailed contant to help you make the most informed supplement decision.