Do Teen Athletes Need Protein?

Teenagers—they have the potential to eat you out of house and home, especially teenagers that are involved in sports. More than likely they are asking you for protein supplements, too, along with all the other food that they are consuming. It can be a never ending battle trying to keep these athletes stomachs full.
I found myself really questioning the necessity of Protein Supplements when my food bill shot through the roof at the beginning of football season this year. It seemed to be something that the coaches were “suggesting” without really understanding the cost involved feeding growing teenage boys, who are also dedicated athletes.
A typical workout routine for a teen boy on a high school football team is first one hour of lifting weights and then one hour of conditioning—usually involving lots of running. The best time for the athlete to take their protein would be in between the weight lifting and the conditioning. That is the optimal time for your body to be able to absorb the protein and help in the muscle repair process. However, drinking the protein shake during that window usually results in one thing happening: Throwing Up.
Drinking an entire protein shake and then running several miles will make even the fittest person puke. Some of the boys may be willing to make that sacrifice and those are the ones who’ll end up puking every day at practice; however, it’s just not realistic to be making Protein Shakes right in the middle of practice. The coaches aren’t going to stop practice and wait for the boys to mix up their protein. Nor do the boys want their Mommy showing up with their protein shake. So the majority of teen athletes skip that optimal window and their bodies do not heal as quickly.
Why is protein needed and further are protein shakes really even necessary? Is it healthy for kids or will it cause damage down the road to their bodies? What’s the difference between whey protein and other types of protein available? What are the benefits of taking protein while exercising? What does the protein do to their bodies? And lastly, do medical professionals recommend taking protein supplements or is this strictly an “athlete induced” craze?
Because so many parents have these same questions, we are going to address them head on in this  blog. Keep checking back for answers to all of these questions and more as we try and educate the public on the benefits of living a healthy lifestyle and utilizing Protein Supplements.

What other things would you like to know about Protein and Protein Supplements?

Leave us a comment below and we will make sure to cover it.

Check out this video of Rick, Teen Athlete and Provide Gold fan.

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Tags: parents of teens, Protein Supplement, ProvideGold, Teen Athletes

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 28th, 2011 at 1:30 am and is filed under Protein, Protein Supplement, Provide Gold, Teen Athletes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.