For competitive sports, not only BCAAs (double-chained amino acids) are critical, but for amino acids to be effective, they must also, to a large extent, be readily available to the organism. The absorption of proteins is normally 70 – 80% completed three hours after a standard meal. This demonstrates that short-chained amino acid mixtures should be substituted before, during and directly following competitive sports. It is also hypothesized that proteins from animal sources are more easily and more rapidly absorbed than vegetable proteins, in which the absorption is slowed by the cellulose sheath. Normally about 10% of the absorbed proteins are eliminated in the stool, probably as incompletely reabsorbed proteins. In fiber-rich diet, which is generally recommended, digestion can be less complete and the loss of nitrogen can reach up to 30%. Athletes with healthy and fiber-rich diets should consider this fact, and for this reason especially recognize the body’s absolute necessity of a protein, or better yet amino acid substitution during high exertion, in order to avoid an amino acid deficiency and provide for faster recovery. SALUTO (Society for Sport and Health mbH, Halle/Westfalia) writes:

“Through highly interesting research results concerning amateur and competitive athletes (n=1,150) we have found striking deficiencies in the supply of amino acids among the subjects. We have long sought an amino acid mixture that would provide the necessary replenishment of reserves, and in the meantime, we have recommended Fitness Nutrition to many athletes, as our blood tests have demonstrated optimum effects after intake.”

“The recommendations of many nutritional scientists and doctors to systematically take whey protein powder has lead to no demonstrable replenishment of amino acids in blood levels in a study of 365 additional athletes taking doses of three to four tablespoons each.”

The protein quality of a supplement is ascertained through two established methods, each of which casts strong doubt as to their validity. The Chemical Score describes the quantity of limiting (essential) amino acids of the test protein in relation to egg-protein, which is used as a reference protein. The nutritional value of the protein is not considered here, as this would require chemical research. That one or more of the essentials in the test protein may not be usable (for example, because of an inappropriate production process) is also not considered here. A protein with a high (determined by its chemical structure) chemical score could therefore be almost completely ineffective. Another procedure that provides an assessment of the protein quality is biological tests.

Hereby, we discover information regarding the biological value of a protein as well as the net protein utilization (NPU) and the protein efficiency ratio (PER), which are so widely applied in the field of strength training. This is done by measuring the nitrogen balance in animal models (mostly rats), or in humans. The biological value indicates how much protein is held back in the body after re-absorption, the PER indicates the weight increase per gram of nutritional protein, the NPU describes the relationship between stored and expended protein. Weight differences due to water and fat storage are not considered here. Many protein supplements, which are loaded with simple sugar or short-chained carbohydrates for a sweet taste, bloat the body and through this combination result in a clear weight gain; however, this partially gained fatty tissue will not be successively transformed into muscle. A purely chemical amino acid analysis on a package can also unfortunately not accurately serve to measure effectiveness as the case may be, because of limited availability to the organism, negatively acting co-products and the way in which the protein was produced.

Amino acids have the advantage in sports of quickly and accurately restoring a deficiency after physical exertion and thus allowing faster recovery. During the exertion, the amino acids serve to deliver additional energy and they positively influence many metabolic processes for high-performance athletics. Valuable multi-component protein mixtures are generally well suited to muscle building and are optimal for amateurs seeking to enrich their diets with protein. Before and during sports, however, they are clearly at a disadvantage to the pure amino acid preparations, as their re-absorption times are significantly longer, which is detrimental to metabolic re-absorption. It is recommended that amino acids be systematically incorporated for improved performance and faster recovery. More effective than a complete blanketing of all amino acids, we believe that the administering of specific metabolically active amino acids provides greater results.