Philosophical Vegan Forum

Humane Hominid wrote:I use none. Supplements are a scam, for the most part.

Yeah, I kind of wonder how much actual evidence there is behind any of that stuff.
As far as I can tell, there's only just starting to be interest into a skeptical approach to those.

The only recommendations I've seen still involved pretty modest amounts of protein, which are easy to achieve with a diet rich in vegetables, legumes, and whole grains.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12380246

The current recommended intakes of protein for strength and endurance athletes are 1.6 to 1.7 g/kg and 1.2 to 1.4 g/kg per day, respectively. Presently, most athletes consume an adequate amount of protein in their diet. The timing and nutritional content of the post-exercise meal, although often overlooked, are known to have synergistic effects on protein accretion after exercise. New evidence suggests that individuals engaging in strenuous activity consume a meal rich in amino acids and carbohydrate soon after the exercise bout or training session.

For an 80 kg person (around 180 lb), that's 136g of protein, max.

Supplements aren't necessary- although could still be convenient if you don't like to eat (but who wouldn't want to eat an extra meal each day?).


It makes sense that eating a larger volume of whole food, like vegetables that are rich in protein and other nutrients per calorie, would be the ideal way to go for nutrition. I can see being too busy for that, though, and reaching for a protein shake for the sake of convenience.

Protein shakes can be convenient, and a quick source of extra calories. But what most users of them don't get is that it's the excess calories helping them add muscle, not the excess protein. Most of the powders are loaded with way too much protein, which has metabolic issues of its own.

I prefer to make "natural" protein shakes out of whole foods. My usual post-workout shake is 1.5 cups of chocolate soy milk (or just plain water, if I want less calories), 2 bananas, a blender 3/4 full of spinach, 1/2 cup of frozen cherries, 5 soaked dried dates, and 2 Tbsp of ground flax seed or flax seed meal. Typically, it's the sweetest thing I have all day. Most of the rest of my daily diet is starches & greens.