A protein diet is recommended for those athletes who intend to gain weight. Proteins are essential for the body-building process and therefore a very recommendable source of calories for Jamar who intends to increase his weight. The essay that follows intends to look at the guidelines for protein intake for athletes with the objective of gaining weight and the possible detrimental effects of a high protein intake on the health of the athlete (Gibala, 200, p.336).
For Jamar who intends to increase his body weight, he should include protein diets throughout his daily meals. It has been proven that proteins have been favored by athletes as a good stimulant muscle synthesis (Poortmans R, Dellaieiux, 2000, p. 30).
The amount of proteins needed by individual athletes varies from one athlete to the other therefore the belief that high protein intake works out for every athlete to obtain an increase in body weight is not true. This is because the amount of protein needed by every athlete depends on a couple of factors such as age, sex, the activities that the athlete engages in throughout the day (Phillips, Harman and Wilkinson, 2005, p.137). It is therefore not a fact that large consumption of protein would lead to an increase in body weight. Instead of an increment in body weight, there are health conditions that are likely to occur if the consumption is not checked. In most cases, athletes are not usually within a positive energy balance that is caused by the large intake of calories that are associated with their diets so that they can engage in competitive activities and training together with aesthetic sports. At the point which research on protein intake for athletes has reached, it is still not clear on the number of proteins that should be taken by the athletes. Therefore, as much as Jamar is taking a high intake of proteins in a day, it has not been concluded on the number of proteins that is sufficient for a particular athlete to consume (Rosenbloom, 2009, para 4).
Another factor that should be considered by athletes is the timing of the protein intakes that is most relative to the exercise periods. All sorts of exercises require proteins so that the athlete can develop endurance towards the demands of the athletic exercises. It is therefore a recommendation by most researchers on nutrition that the intake of proteins whether as food or supplements to be followed up immediately after the exercise as the best period because it reduces the chances of protein breakdown while at the same time providing stimulation for muscle protein synthesis. Protein meals are therefore the best to be used by athletes who want to gain weight such as Jamar (Nelson, 2005, para 5).
As much as protein is an important dietary component for an athlete intending to gain weight, extreme consumption of proteins in the diet as Jamar is doing could have various negative impacts on his overall health. Protein intake is the most recommendable must-have component in the diet of an athlete who intends to gain weight. Since protein is an important building block in the formation of body muscles, in order to have a proper build-up of muscles, an athlete like Jamar requires a high protein intake in his diet. However, an extremely high intake of proteins could have possible negative consequences to the health of an athlete (Larsen, 2009, para 3).
In the case of Jamar, a continued high protein intake in his diet could lead to health complications. One of the health risks that occur from high protein intake is the formation of homocysteine, which is a product that is formed as an intermediary during the breakdown of an amino acid called methionine. The production of homocysteine results in a condition known as arteriosclerosis that in easier terms is the hardening of arteries due to high consumption of proteins. This consumption results from foods rich in proteins as well as amino acid supplements. A high intake of these supplements with a combination of protein foods results in a situation where the kidney undergoes stress in conducting its daily functions and an overall outcome is that there is no muscle gain in such an event. Cutting down on the overall carbohydrates intake to focus on proteins can result in a situation where the body fights back because the kidneys will be working to get rid of toxic ketones that are formed due to a high protein intake. During this process, the athlete is likely to lose a large number of water deposits that can lead to dehydration. Therefore, as much as Jamar needs to increase protein intake in his diet, he should do it in proportionate quantities to prevent the occurrence of health risks such as dizziness and general body weakness as well as bad breath and other problems that result from dehydration caused by ketogenic diets.
Reference List
Gibala, M. (2007). Protein metabolism and endurance exercise. Sports Med, 37, 337- 340.
Larsen, J. (2009). Protein & Amino Acids. Web.
Nelson, M. (2005). Will Eating More Protein Help Your Body Gain Muscle Faster?. Web.
Phillips M, Harman W and Wilkinson B. (2005). Dietary protein to support anabolism with resistance exercise in young men. J Am Coll Nutr; 24, 134S-139S.
Poortmans JR, Dellaieiux O. (2000). Do regular high protein diets have potential health risks on kidney function in athletes? Int J Sports Nutr Exerc Metab,10, 28-38.
Rosenbloom, C. (2009). Protein for Athletes: Quantity, Quality, and Timing, Web.