Why should I take protein? #QoW

QUESTION OF THE WEEK: 

Why should I take protein?

Here at Neat Nutrition, we fancy ourselves a bit like the Mythbusters, only with slightly less impressive beards. We speak to a lot of people who are new to the world of nutritional supplements and the most common questions we’re asked are about protein. There’s a lot of assumptions made about protein and a lot of muddy information out there, so we’re here to set things straight!

Let’s start with the basics – protein is made up of amino acids among other things (check out our blog on amino acids here). Amino acids are the building blocks of our bodies and help to repair cells. When you work out, you create tears in your muscles which need to repair themselves (this is how you build muscle). Amino acids repair these tears.

You can get your protein from food of course (we do enjoy a good grilled chicken breast), but it takes more time for your body to break down the protein in solid food. Add to this the fact that its 2015 and most people fit exercising around busy lifestyles - you can’t always nip home after a workout and cook yourself some turkey! Protein from a shake can reach your muscles in about 30 minutes.

It’s not just your muscles that benefit from protein though. Any tissue in the body uses protein to build and repair. So hair, skin, nails – these are all built from protein. Do you have nails that are slow to grow and split easily? That could be a lack of protein in your diet. Even your body’s immune system is built on protein – it really is amazing!