Less is more - dose your protein powder carefully
Protein powder is literally on everyone's lips these days. For you, it's certainly already an integral part of your diet. Perfect! Because proteins not only help build and maintain muscles, they can also be a game changer for your entire diet. To meet the body's protein needs, foods like milk, cheese, quark, natural yogurt, but also fish or meat are equally suitable. Do you follow a vegan diet or like to try other forms of protein? Then you're well-equipped with plant-based proteins. But you probably already know all that. The most common problem is that you often struggle to meet your protein needs with protein-containing foods alone. You need additional protein. This is where we, or rather our MORE PROTEIN and MORE VEGAN PROTEIN protein powder, come in.
But be careful: protein powder is concentrated protein. Therefore, you need significantly less protein powder to meet your daily protein needs than other protein sources. For example, 100g of our neutral MORE PROTEIN contains almost four times as much protein as 100g of fish or meat. You should not overload your body with protein powder following the motto "more is better", but dose it according to your needs. Although an excess of protein is not dangerous for healthy people, a daily overdose of protein powder, like an excess of protein from other foods, can lead to skin problems and bloating in the long run.
So, pay close attention to how much protein you are already getting through other foods. If you take this into account, you can build up your supplementary nutrition and integrate protein powder as a fixed part of your diet, which makes daily life easier for you. Ideally, distribute your total daily protein needs over 3 servings per day. Don't forget to drink enough fluids, preferably water. Only by drinking enough water can the body efficiently digest the nutrients it receives, including protein, and process them in the right places in the body. After all, it's not just your muscles that should benefit from the supplementary nutrition. The water or milk you mix your protein shake with is not enough to cover your full fluid needs. Get started!
Are you more of a casual athlete or a couch potato who just wants to lose some weight? No problem! Proteins are important for everyone; the amount you need depends on your lifestyle and goal. Protein shakes are suitable for everyone as supplementary nutrition and can also be easily incorporated into recipes.
[[PRODUCTS-]]more-protein-probe,more-protein,more-clear-protein[[-PRODUCTS]]
Customized protein powder dosage - here's how
The dosage of protein powder is almost the same for men and women. Men have a slightly higher protein requirement than women in relation to their body weight due to their larger muscle mass, but in practice, this small difference is not taken into account. Current scientific data shows a wide range for daily protein requirements, for example, 1.2 - 2.4 g/kg body weight for men and women, depending on body weight and activity.
To make dosing the protein powder easier, we include a measuring spoon in every can of MORE PROTEIN. This way, you don't have to weigh it. If you don't have a measuring spoon on hand for the optimal dosage of the protein powder, you can also use a tablespoon. A level tablespoon corresponds to 15 grams.
The perfect dosage of your protein powder
Spoiler alert: no one is perfect, including the amount of protein calculated using formulas. The perfect protein powder dosage does not exist. We'll give you some tips to help you achieve the almost perfect dosage of your protein powder.
The reference value (RDA) of the DGE[$1] is set at at least 0.8 g protein per kg body weight per day for people who are primarily sedentary and do not exercise. Many guidelines assume an intake of 1 g protein per kg body weight. This is simply easier to calculate.
However, even this value is not optimal according to current scientific findings. In a systematic review and meta-analysis by Hudson et al. from 2020, scientific data on higher protein intake than the official recommendation of 0.8 protein/kg body weight were analyzed in detail. The scientists conclude that a protein intake above the RDA has a positive effect on the change in muscle mass. Especially during physical exertion and stress![$2] So, if you stick to the relatively low RDA, you will not be malnourished, but you will still be far from optimal.
If you look at Examine.com's protein intake dosage recommendations, you'll see a difference of at least 0.4 g/kg body weight compared to the DGE reference value. For a body weight of 80 kg, that's at least 32 grams difference. Since we don't want to settle for the minimum, but only the optimum, we have summarized the recommended amounts for you based on current scientific findings. This is the range you should use when dosing your protein powder in combination with your other foods. Depending on your normal weight or slightly more weight and how intensely and regularly you exercise, your whole body, not just your muscles, needs slightly more or slightly less protein. Your fitness goal is also important. Is muscle building or muscle maintenance during a diet your current goal?
In summary, these daily dosage recommendations represent the optimal dosage for your daily protein powder: [$3],[$4]
- Minimum requirement (predominantly sedentary activity & no sport): 0.8 g / kg body weight
- Optimal with low activity: 1.2 – 1.8 g/kg body weight
- In connection with sport and the goal of muscle maintenance: 1.4 – 2.0 g/kg body weight
- During a diet or to build muscle mass: 1.6 – 2.4 g/kg body weight
- During pregnancy: 1.8 g/kg body weight
- During breastfeeding: => 1.5 g/kg body weight
When is the right time to take protein?
The question of all questions: Should you take protein powder before or after exercise? Or maybe even before AND after exercise? Can you also use protein powder independently of exercise? So, when is the best time to take protein?
According to current scientific findings, it is not important whether you take the protein before or after training. The only thing that matters is that the body receives sufficient protein tailored to the training goal.[$5] This means you can decide for yourself whether you prefer to drink your shake before or after training, or when you use your protein powder for cooking or baking.
Want to know exactly when your protein shake makes the most sense? Then check out our article "Protein shake before or after training: which is better?" Do you want to use protein shakes not only to build muscle, but also to lose weight? Then read more here: "Protein shakes for weight loss".
Should whey and casein be dosed differently?
Not all proteins are the same. If you choose our MORE PROTEIN, you don't have to worry about the dosage of the two types of protein powder. We have already taken into account the optimal ratio, based on the scientific findings of Lyle McDonald and summarized in his "Protein Book". But why are there two variants?
The difference between whey and casein lies in how the body absorbs the proteins. In short: whey is absorbed and utilized very quickly, stimulating protein synthesis. However, this only applies for a short period. Casein, on the other hand, is absorbed much slower, but continuously, by the body. This means that the amino acid content remains high over a longer period. Your body and muscles are thus continuously supplied with the important nutrients. The composition of your protein powder is therefore always important to consider.
So which protein is better? It's all about the mix! With our MORE PROTEIN protein powder, you don't have to choose between whey and casein.
Protein shakes not your thing? No problem!
Not a fan of protein shakes? No problem. There are other ways to prepare protein powder daily in a delicious and varied way. Does preparing sound like cooking to you? That's right! Our MORE PROTEIN is ideal for cooking and baking. The many different flavors provide plenty of variety. In your next pancakes, replace a portion of the flour corresponding to the dosage of your protein powder with MORE PROTEIN Cinnalicious or another MORE PROTEIN that suits your taste. Our vegan protein powder VEGAN MORE PROTEIN is also ideal for cooking and baking.
Conclusion: How to dose your protein powder correctly?
Avoid the "more is better" motto when choosing the amount of protein powder and consider your total protein intake from all foods. An overdose of protein over a long period can lead to skin problems and bloating. That's not very serious, but you can avoid it. On average, you can aim for a daily protein powder dose of 1.8 g/kg body weight - plus the protein you get from your other food. If you exercise a lot, the required amount is 1.4-2.0 g/kg body weight. Women need between 1.4-1.7 g/kg because they generally have less muscle mass, and men need between 1.7-2.0 g/kg body weight.
It's not just for athletes that it's important not to drink the entire shake in one go and to drink enough water in addition to stay hydrated. The liquid, whether milk or water, that you mix your protein shake with is not enough to replenish your body's fluid balance daily. It's best to divide your protein powder intake into 1-3 servings per day and thus integrate your extra protein as a fixed, daily part of your diet. In total, you should have 3 servings of protein per day. So: get off the couch and get motivated to train!
Sources:
[[SOURCES]]https://www.dge.de/wissenschaft/referenzwerte/proteine/
Hudson JL, Wang Y, Bergia III RE, Campbell WW. Protein intake above the recommended dietary allowance differently affects whole-body response to targeted catabolic and anabolic stressors: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Adv Nutr. 2020 May 1;11(3):548-558. doi: 10.1093/advances/nmz106. PMID: 31794597; PMCID: PMC7231581.
Hudson JL, Wang Y, Bergia III RE, Campbell WW. Protein intake above the recommended dietary allowance differently affects whole-body response to targeted catabolic and anabolic stressors: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Adv Nutr. 2020 May 1;11(3):548-558. doi: 10.1093/advances/nmz106. PMID: 31794597; PMCID: PMC7231581.
https://examine.com/guides/protein-intake/#how-much-protein-do-you-need-per-day
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5214805/ [[-SOURCES]]