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Whether you're an avid weight lifter, or a budding athlete, protein shakes can
form an essential part of your supplementary diet.
A lot of people discount protein shakes as being unnecessary 'cons'. However,
there is scientific proof that they can and more importantly do help you before,
during and after your workout.
As mentioned, it doesn't matter what you do when you work out, whether you run,
cycle, swim or lift weights, protein shakes can be an excellent 'quick fix' of the
protein your body (and muscles) needs to recover.
Nowadays, wherever you turn in the gym you'll see someone mixing or drinking a
protein shake - but when did they become so popular… and why?
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A brief history of protein shakes
For centuries we have known that human muscles need protein to recover and grow/gain strength.
The main source of that protein used to come from meat, and arguably still does.
However, in recent years (over the past 20 years or so) scientists have been working on
different forms of protein - for people who don't eat meat, for example, and for medical
reasons.
One of the breakthroughs was in the field of whey protein. A substance left after the production
of cheese. This substance has been around for centuries, but never used to its full potential until
recently.
When it was brought into the sports nutrition world a few years ago (sometime over 10 years
ago), whey protein was revolutionary. It was a way for athletes/bodybuilders to take a simple drink
and immediately absorb a lot of protein.
As with anything new, there were several developments along the way, but we reach where we are
today.
The protein shake market is huge - just take a look for yourself. BestProteinShakes.org.uk
strives to review the leading protein shakes on the market so you don't have to go anywhere else to
buy your whey protein.
There are all sorts of different types of protein shake, all sorts of flavours - but there may
only be one that is right for you. Sometimes, it's a simple case of testing a few protein shakes
out to see which one has the biggest (positive) impact on you.
To find out more about which protein shake may be the best protein shake for you,
read this article.
It's important, though, that if you do test a few different protein shakes, remember they aren't
designed as a 'magic' solution. You've got to put in the work at the gym for them to have any
effect.
What protein shakes are, however, are scientifically-proven, unique and amazing vehicles of
protein. Some protein shakes can give you as much as 70g of protein in one serving - which is
massive.
However, you've also got to be careful that you don't 'over-do' it when it comes to taking
protein. You've got to learn the best time for you to take your protein shake. This may be before
your workout, during it or after it. What's more, you've got to work out how many protein shakes
you should take every day.
The average, if you have an athletic build, would be about three per day - that's one in the
morning (before 10am), one after your workout then one before you go to sleep (usually about 1 hour
before you go to bed).
What does the future have in store for protein shakes?
We've come so far already, but there's always further you can go. No-one really knows what the
future holds for protein shakes, but scientists have predicted they will be able to create modified
whey protein that packs more protein per gram than standard whey protein.
This means you won't need to drink as much protein shake in one day - and will actually save you
money because you won't need to replace your whey powder that often.
So, there you have it - a brief guide to protein shakes. There's plenty more information on
BestProteinShakes.org.uk about protein shakes, so take a look around and learn all about the future
of sports nutrition.
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