Is protein powder necessary to build muscle?

Protein powder supplements and the whole dietary industry create a huge amount of confusion for active people trying to lose/gain weight or those wanting to lead a healthy lifestyle. Today I will try to dispel these doubts, based on the latest research in the field of dietetics and from my own experience.

In one of my previous articles “Protein intake for the best results” I wrote about how much protein is sufficient to achieve specific fitness goals. The question for you is, can you reach this amount by eating normal food e.g. from eggs, fish, meat, lentils, dairy products? (For more info – please refer to “The best protein sources” which details, which foods contain the highest amount of protein).

So getting back to the question….if the answer to the above is “Yes”, then guess what, there is no need to spend money on protein supplements as your body does not notice any difference. Protein in normal food is exactly the same kind of protein as you get from supplements, but just less processed. So why buy it?… because it is simple, fast and easy! i.e. you don’t have to cook and spend ages preparing a meal to achieve the same benefits. Some people also suffer with allergies or cannot eat some of the high protein foods due to religion/beliefs. In which case I would highly recommend buying good quality protein powder.

For all the vegans out there, you can now get vegan protein powder, which is just as good as normal whey protein.

Is normal food better than protein powder?

The next question that follows on from this is, can normal food outweigh protein supplements? Yes! From research and from my own experience, I would not recommend drinking too many protein shakes if you are on a low-calorie diet. This is associated with the ‘satiety’ factor which is the feeling of fullness of the stomach with a sensation of having eaten well. A normal meal is generally digested much slower than liquids. As a consequence we feel satisfied for longer, during a weight loss diet, this could be a decisive factor, whether we stick to the diet or we break it and start cheating.

Protein powder supplementation is your own choice, you do not need it to achieve the body you want to aim for, but if it makes the dieting process a little bit easier for you, then it is definitely a good investment!