Tips » Supplementation
Are protein shakes essential?
Lean, muscled physiques have been around for thousands of years. Protein shakes have really flooded the market in the past decade. The advertisers will have you believe that protein shakes are necessary. Of course they will ... what a great form of advertising. Instead of a fast food restaurant banking on the fact that you will enjoy their fatty foods or your kid will want the toy in the special box, supplement manufactuers prey on an irrational fear of catabolism (you'll lose tons of muscle if you don't have our shake every day) or false promises of anabolism (look, Ma, I gained 50 pounds drinking nitroultrawheyfilterizedtech and really I swear I don't take steroids).
The fact is that you can get everything you need from whole foods. While shakes are great for convenience, they also come at an expense. You want your protein to be released slowly except after a workout, when faster proteins like whey are possibly optimal. Otherwise, the shakes you drink are more likely being oxidized/burned for energy and just become expensive food rather than truly contributing to the bottom line.