Surveys have shown that the vast majority of athletes take protein supplements, and more and more “regular” people (non-athletes) are taking them as well. But are they good for you, and should you be taking them?
Some experts claim protein supplements are important for both athletes and regular Joes, while others say they are a complete waste of money.
The purpose of this article is not to give you the complete answer as to whether or not you should take protein supplements; however, here is some great new information that can help you make an informed decision…
Dr. Algidas Liutkevicius and his colleagues recently tested two versions of a whey-based drink that included both vitamin D and prebiotic dietary fiber. One drink included calcium phosphate and the other version included calcium lactate.
Because it’s important for a “function beverage” to taste good, they tested the drinks on trained tasters to find out which drink they preferred based purely on taste.
The version of the drink that included calcium lactate won the taste test and was then tested on thirty subjects against a control drink to see how it affected their overall health.
Results
According to Dr. Liutkevicius, “After 21 days of drinking the beverage, the volunteers’ blood analysis showed a significant decrease in LDL-cholesterol (P < 0.01) and triglyceride (P < 0.01) concentrations—changes which would be likely to have a beneficial impact on their lives.”
It seems as though adding calcium, vitamin D, and prebiotic dietary fiber to a beverage containing whey protein may have huge health benefits for those who drink it. At least according to this study, whey protein with the addition of the compounds listed above is not a complete waste of money. But here is something to think about…
Vitamin D3 supplementation alone has been shown to have many health benefits. In fact, many experts state that most Westerners are vitamin D deficient and supplementation could help improve a large assortment of health problems.
According to an article by Dr. Chris D. Meletic, “The latest research, however, shows that 1,25-dihyroxy Vitamin D3 deficiency is linked to a surprising number of other health conditions such as depression, back pain, cancer, both insulin resistance and pre-eclampsia during pregnancy, impaired immunity and macular degeneration.
“As it becomes clear that Vitamin D3 plays a wide role in overall health, it’s becoming equally clear that a large percentage of individuals are deficient in this important nutrient, which has hormone-like activity. The fear of skin cancer has stopped many individuals from obtaining beneficial amounts of sunlight.”
Additionally, studies have shown vitamin D levels have an inverse relationship with LDL (the bad cholesterol) levels.
So the question here is, was it the combination of whey and the other additives like vitamin D that caused the great results or would supplementing with vitamin D3 alone have had the same benefits? We don’t know the answer but either way, it’s clear most Americans don’t get enough vitamin D and improving your vitamin D levels will probably also improve your health.
Is a Vegetarian Diet Worse for the Environment?
Here is a recent headline: “Vegetarian and ‘healthy’ diets could be more harmful to the environment. Researchers say eating lettuce is ‘over three times worse’ in greenhouse gas emissions than eating bacon.”
Sounds contradictory to everything you may have heard up to this point about diets and their effect on the environment, doesn’t it?
It gets more interesting… According to Science Daily: “Following the USDA recommendations to consume more fruits, vegetables, dairy, and seafood is more harmful to the environment because those foods have relatively high resource uses and greenhouse gas emissions per calorie, say researchers. A new study measured the changes in energy use, blue water footprint and GHG emissions associated with US food consumption patterns.”
Dr. Paul Fischbeck, a Professor of Social and Decisions Sciences and Engineering and Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon University writes, “Eating lettuce is over three times worse in greenhouse gas emissions than eating bacon… Lots of common vegetables require more resources per calorie than you would think. Eggplant, celery, and cucumbers look particularly bad when compared to pork or chicken.”
Michelle Tom, a Ph.D. candidate at Carnegie Mellon University adds, “There’s a complex relationship between diet and the environment… What is good for us health-wise isn’t always what’s best for the environment. That’s important for public officials to know and for them to be cognizant of these tradeoffs as they develop or continue to develop dietary guidelines in the future.”
The researchers further clarified their point in an interview for the Huffington Post: “You can’t lump all vegetables together and say they’re good… You can’t lump all meat together and say it’s bad.”
The article went on to read, “The researchers didn’t find that vegetarianism is bad for the environment. They found that not every plant product is more environmentally friendly than every meat product.”
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