Protein shakes good for you?

[rich1990]

A friend of mine recommended that I add protein shakes to my daily diet in order to gain a few pounds that I want to put on. He also said the high protein helps build muscle faster and can give you more energy. Another friend of mine told me it was unhealthy to overdo the protein. Can you OD on protein? Are protein shakes useful or not, healthy or not?

[FloggingSully]

Yes, you can OD on protein, you can also OD on water, doens't mean you should avoid either since it's really really really hard to OD on either.

Protein supplements are great for recovery after a workout and to make up for protein deficiencies in the diet.

[Premade] protein shakes are loaded with lots of unnecessary sugar and chemicals and are a basically a big waste of money. Buy a big tub of protein powder and make your own shakes.

[grecowrestler13]

As long as you aren't taking in any shit like creatine or stuff like that. You want to make sure not to replace your whole day's worth of food with protein shakes because that would be OD on the protein and can be harmful. If you are taking protein it should be pure whey. For example: Optimum Nutrition Whey protein. They probaly make the best whey protein out there. I don't like to take shakes because first of all I can never find a good tasting one and secondly I like to get my protein from just food.

[gjfovf]

Try this stuff. Jay Robb's Organic egg protein choclate with peanut butter, skim milk, 1 banana, and a couple of ice cubes.

[rich1990]

grecowrestler13 - if you don't make a shake, how do you eat the whey powder? Do you just sprinkle it in your regular food?

gjfovf - thanks for the recipe. It actually sounds like it would taste pretty good which I wasn't expecting. Can I find that stuff at GNC or should I look at a health food store?

[JensenS]

grecowrestler13 - if you don't make a shake, how do you eat the whey powder? Do you just sprinkle it in your regular food?

I think what he is saying is he prefers to eat food with high levels of protein in it already and just forgo that protein powder all together.

[FloggingSully]

As long as you aren't taking in any shit like creatine or stuff like that.

There is nothing wrong with creatine, it's the most studied supplement on the planet and has been show time and time again to be safe and effective.

See the The International Society of Sports Nutrition's official take on creatine: http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/art...?artid=2048496

[clmetal]

I'm worried all these mixes come from China and you really don't know what the hell you are getting.

[grecowrestler13]

I think what he is saying is he prefers to eat food with high levels of protein in it already and just forgo that protein powder all together.

Exactly