Organizing nutrition for young athletes is not an easy task. Parents so want the child to grow up healthy, and with high loads, the growing body clearly does not receive everything that it needs. Today in sports nutrition stores there is such a variety of different drugs, supplements, dietary supplements that you just get lost. And immediately a logical question arises: is it possible for all these children? Today we’ll talk about how long you can take protein.
Is protein harmful?
This topic does not leave the pages of numerous forums. What can be added here? Protein is a protein. How can it be harmful? It is necessary for each of us, every day. Baby food that a child receives before the age of one year is also essentially a protein shake. Of course, the dosages there are designed for a specific age. But the baby’s body is configured to receive liquid milk, its digestive tract can not yet digest other products.
And what about a teenager who is seriously interested in sports? Most often, boys begin to beg for proteins, although they are more likely to build muscle, like a champion. Here you must first weigh the pros and cons and consult with your doctor.
Natural protein or chemistry
Speaking about how many years you can take protein, I want to remind you when we first start to feed a little man with cottage cheese and meat, eggs and sour cream, which are sources of protein. And this happens at the age of 6 months to a year. After 12 months, the baby is already familiar with all protein products, plus continues to receive mixtures.
We think that the question of how many years you can take protein has already disappeared by itself. Children's body is special. All incoming protein goes to growth. Another thing is whether sports nutrition is necessary for this. After all, all that a child needs can be obtained from ordinary products. Let's turn to the research to get an answer to this question.
Misconceptions and Myths
Have you ever wondered why the topic itself, since how many years you can take protein, does not lose its relevance? Because many people are sure that all sports supplements are harmful chemicals. In fact, high-quality sports nutrition is completely safe. Ordinary products in our refrigerator (mayonnaise, sausage, cream in pastries) contain much more harmful substances, but he is in no hurry to get rid of them. Moreover, many of you, without a shadow of a doubt, are allowed to eat a salad with mayonnaise, but you can’t drink a cocktail.
So, so far the conclusion is clear: if the use of sports nutrition is necessary to achieve high sports results or because of an acute shortage of protein in the body, then there are no contraindications for taking.
Modern research
In fact, this topic has long been of concern to scientists and pediatricians, because children go to sports sections and see very well that most adults use cocktails and other additives. Since the trainer will not allow them to drink protein for gaining muscle mass without parental permission, they will contact you.
A huge number of studies have been conducted, the purpose of which was to determine the degree of influence of protein on the body of a teenager. No harmful effects were found. But still pediatricians note several dangerous points:
- Adequate dosage. The body spends a lot of energy on protein assimilation, here it comes in finished form. But an excess of protein is fraught with unpleasant consequences in the form of disruption of the liver and kidneys. Therefore, be sure to talk with your child how to drink protein to gain muscle mass: strictly in accordance with the doctor's recommendations, in the right dosage.
- The second point is an adequate sports load. A child may have a stereotype that if he drinks an “adult cocktail”, then he can train along with inveterate pitching. In fact, such loads are contraindicated for him.
- Psychological danger. Starting with protein shakes and realizing that they do not cause such a gain in muscle mass as he would like, he can quickly turn his attention to steroids, which is unacceptable at a young age.
Age restrictions
They are still there. Pediatricians strongly do not recommend giving sports nutrition to children under 14 years of age. Only if there is an acute shortage of protein that cannot be compensated for otherwise. In other cases, the only thing your child needs is quality nutrition. In any case, a cocktail is not a complete substitute for food. This is just a supplement that can correct protein shortages.
What to choose
There is such an abundance of sports nutrition on the market today that it’s not easy to decide, even having finally decided that you definitely want to use protein. The age limit is very conditional, but still before the onset of the puberty it is better not to resort to such additives.
For a teenager who sets himself serious tasks and trains a lot in the gym, it is already perfectly acceptable to use supplements. It is not a matter of their benefit or harm, it’s just that up to this age so serious loads that make drinking cocktails necessary are prohibited. The best choice is whey and casein protein. They are assimilated in different ways and together give the full amount of protein for 24 hours.
A young body needs about 2 g of protein per day per kilogram of body weight. Not everyone can eat a dozen eggs, a kilogram of chicken or cottage cheese, so a protein shake may well make up for such a shortage.
Contraindications
When deciding whether to take protein, consult your doctor first. As in the case of adults, cocktails should not be consumed by children who have kidney and liver pathologies. In addition, it is necessary to assess the likelihood of individual intolerance to the components of the cocktail. This is especially true for proteins with fruit flavors, they tend to cause allergic reactions. In this case, it is better to engage in the independent production of protein shakes from milk, kefir, cottage cheese, fruits and berries.