Food-First Approach to Enhance the Regulation of Post-exercise Skeletal Muscle Protein Synthesis and Remodeling

Abstract

Protein recommendations are provided on a daily basis as defined by the recommended dietary allowance (RDA) at 0.80 g protein/kg/day. However, meal-based, as opposed to daily, dietary protein recommendations are likely more informative given the role of the daily protein distribution pattern in modulating the post-exercise muscle protein synthetic response. Current protein meal recommendations to plateau post-exercise muscle protein synthesis rates are based on the ingestion of isolated protein sources, and not protein-rich whole foods. It is generally more common to eat whole food sources of dietary protein within a normal eating pattern to meet dietary protein requirements. Yet, there is a need to define how dietary protein action on muscle protein synthesis rates can be modulated by other nutrients within a food matrix to achieve protein requirements for optimal muscle adaptations. Recent developments suggest that the identification of an “optimal” protein source should likely consider the characteristics of the protein and the food matrix in which it is consumed. This review aims to discuss recent concepts related to protein quality, and the potential interactive effects of the food matrix, to achieve optimal protein requirements and elicit a robust postprandial muscle protein synthetic response with an emphasis on the post-exercise recovery window.

A Review of the Role of the Gut Microbiome in Personalized Sports Nutrition

“…As protein and protein supplements are widely advertised and recommended to athletes, this is an important gap in the research that should be addressed. Future research should also be sure to compare the effects of different protein sources as both isolated supplements as well as in their whole-food form as the matrix of the whole food has been shown to play an important role in the anabolic response to exercise and may alter effects based on factors such as the type and amount of fat (106,107). Additionally, it would be interesting to know whether supplementation of plant-based proteins with amino acids such as leucine, lysine, and methionine, which is a strategy that has been shown by a couple studies to augment the anabolic effect of plant proteins (105), alters the effect of these proteins on the gut microbiome.…”

Should dietary guidelines recommend low red meat intake?

“…Throughout human history, meat has delivered a wide range of valuable nutrients that are not always easily obtained (or obtainable) from plant materials (Williams, 2007;McAfee et al, 2010;Pereira & Vicente, 2013;Young et al, 2013;McNeill, 2014;Leroy et al, 2018b). A major asset of meat is of course its high protein value (Burd et al, 2019), with especially lysine, threonine, and methionine being in short supply in plant-derived diets. It brings in B vitamins (with vitamin B12 being restricted to animal sources only), vitamins A, D, and K2 (particularly via organ meats), and various minerals with iron, zinc, and selenium being of particular importance.…”

Limitations of the Digestible Indispensable Amino Acid Score (DIAAS) and Choice of Statistical Reporting. Comment on “A Comparison of Dietary Protein Digestibility, Based on DIAAS Scoring, in Vegetarian and Non-Vegetarian Athletes. Nutrients 2019, 11, 3106”

“…The majority of DIAAS modelling has been carried out in animal models using raw foodstuffs, without heat treatment [5]. It is acknowledged that cooking techniques can increase protein digestibility with the combination of fermentation and cooking increasing the digestibility of grain protein to a level near to that of meat [5,6]. In the context of exercise, DIAAS analyses do not consider the metabolic demand for protein in athletes.…”