Some of you may think the word ‘dangers’ is a bit harsh for a title about protein powders. Whilst writing this section I’m going to describe how the body uses protein and how certain manufacturing processes change the proteins molecular structure denaturing it. This leads to the body not recognising your protein intake.
Protein is an essential part of our diet for growth and repair and even more so for athletes and bodybuilders whose bodies need to repair at a much faster rate than the average person’s. To meet this demand, protein supplements are a great way to boost your diet conveniently. However… does the quality of the protein matter? Oh, yes! It really does!
How does your body use protein?
How does cheap protein effect your digestion?
How cheap protein damages the intestines
How does cheap protein affect the body’s pH levels?
Do probiotics, digestive enzymes and peptides help digest cheap protein?
Best protein to use?
How does your body use protein?
The digestive system is very complex. However, here’s a little information for you to get an idea of the process.
Once you ingest your protein shake the hydrchloridic acid in your stomach starts breaking it down from the protein into amino acids, as this is what is used in the body; the whole protein structure is too large for the body to use.
Shortly after this, your pancreas injects an alkaline solution with enzymes to break down the protein even further. Your body needs the protein to revert back to amino acids when they can be used again as single amino acids. So the role of protein in food is not to provide our bodies with proteins directly, but to supply the amino acids from which the body can make its own proteins.
How cheap protein damages the intestines
The real magic takes place in the intestines. Having good digestion is the secret to good health, allowing you to maintain constant energy levels and digesting all the protein you eat.
You have about 3 lb to 4 lb of probiotics bacteria living in your intestine – they’re the good guys. The word ‘Probiotics’ simply means ‘for life’, which explains why good nutrients are so important. The probiotics are in charge of making use of your foods and adding what’s missing to your diet, like any Vitamin B Complexes and nonessential amino acids. This is a very delicate part of your digestion and can be easily upset.
The best environment for probiotics to do their work is an alkaline one! But what happens with cheap proteins is that they create an acidic environment. This happens because cheap proteins cross-link – so they have thousands more bonds for the enzymes and probiotics in your intestines to break down, and are a lot harder to digest. This results in the protein lining your intestines and going off, creating an acidic environment!
This acidic environment changes the natural flora of your intestines and allows all the other microorganisms in the intestines that the probiotics usually keep in check – Candida, E.coli and salmonella, for instance – to grow. And in some bad cases pathogens build up to such a vast amount they can break through the intestine causing all manner of symptoms and illnesses, like sore joints, depression, allergies, kidney problems, etc.
Here’s a summary of what probiotics do in an alkaline environment:
- Inhibit the growth of harmful bacteria that cause digestive stress
- Improve digestion of food and absorption of vitamins
- Stimulate the body’s natural defence mechanism – the immune system
- Help make vitamins needed by the body
Finally, the digested nutrients are absorbed through the intestinal walls and transported throughout the body.
How do cheap protein powders effect your digestion?
In most protein manufacturing practices all the good nutrients that were in the protein get killed off. When protein is processed too fast and at a high temperature it’s denatured. What’s left is very hard for the body to digest. All the enzymes which naturally occur in the protein are gone, and the protein’s shape is different, leaving it difficult for the body to digest.
So what happens to 30 g of cheap protein taken three to six times a day? Well, mostly nothing – but it can contribute to intestinal toxaemia. This condition is caused by the cheap protein deposited in your intestinal track turning into a black layer of sludge, hindering the absorption of protein into your body where you want it. Stuck, unable to move and slowly building up on itself, the protein goes off, causing bloating and nasty wind smells.
Most people put the nasty smells that comes with high protein diets down to the protein, but in fact it’s the harmful microorganisms (bacteria) multiplying and creating waste in your gut that causes the smell. Bacteria start to grow out of control in your intestines, creating acidosis and prohibiting your nutrients from being absorbed.
When people start using cheap proteins, sure, they might experience what seems to be an increase in mass – but it’s not quality muscle! An extra pound on the scales doesn’t mean it’s extra pounds in muscle. What’s actually happening is the weight is being built up in your intestines as undigested protein.
How does cheap protein affect the body’s pH level affect?
The pH of your body is very important. Doctors and scientists around the world have listed up to 200 different degenerative illnesses and diseases linked to acidosis.
The pH of your body comprises an acid and alkaline level, measured between 1 and 14. This is becoming the main focus of attention in the recovery and prevention of illness and disease resulting from acidosis (acidic state of the body). Extensive scientific research has indicated healthy people have an alkaline system.
If there’s an imbalance in your body’s pH, this can negatively affect the health of all your body’s systems, such as circulatory, urinary, endocrine, immune, lymphatic, muscular, nervous, reproductive, respiratory, skeletal, and, most importantly, digestive system
This can lead to illness and, in some chronic cases, disease.
If you consume large amount of cheap protein, here are some of the symptoms you can expect:
Acid indigestion
Bouts of Depression
Excess abdominal weight
Arthritis in later years
Low energy levels
Chronic fatigue
Thrush (men and woman)
The pH of your body is just as important as a stable body temperature of 37 degrees. The pH of your bloodstream is just as sensitive, and needs to be a stable pH of 7.34 to quite literally stop the cells of your body corroding!
Your body will go to great lengths to keep a stable pH, including wreaking havoc on the rest of the body, robbing calcium from bones to buffer the acid in your system, and compromise the stability of your muscles. Other essential electrolytes like potassium are also taken from muscles to balance the acidity of the blood. This is very bad for athletes, and will affect your performance, without a doubt.
Your body comprises 750 trillion cells. We are 70 per cent water; if your cells are bathing in acidic water they become less efficient at absorbing nutrients due to having to protect themselves from acid. In the worst cases, they become starved of oxygen, creating a breeding ground for cancer and other diseases.
Your body’s pH fluctuates from acid to alkaline all day depending on what you eat and your stress levels. pH testing strips help you monitor these waves, giving you valuable information, so you can plan a better diet and lifestyle to improve your overall health. Find out more about testing your pH level <http://yourself/> daily.
Do probiotics, digestive enzymes and peptides help digest cheap protein?
The problem with most companies selling protein is that you have no idea where the protein comes from, how it’s been processed and no idea about the cattle from which the milk comes in the first place. All this has a direct impact of the quality of the protein.
The cheapest and fastest way to process protein is to dry it under a high heat, and like any food that is heated up fast this changes the quality of the end product. The extreme heat denatures and reforms the natural protein bonds, making them cross- linked. This slows down the absorption process, giving the enzymes three times as much work to do. http://protein.uk.net/digestion-and-the-dangers-of-cheap-protein-powders/#
