Should my child be taking protein shakes if they are doing sports?

This is a question we get asked the most along with creatine and caffeine.  It is a really interesting question to consider and we will answer it here.

Let’s give some context first.  Out of the three macronutrients (carbohydrates, protein and fat) government nutrition guidelines suggest that protein should make up the smallest amount of each in the diet.  Carbohydrates make up the most with approximately 50 – 55% of the diet recommended to be made up of carbohydrates and then fat makes up between 30 – 35%.  This means that protein is recommended to make up just 15 – 20% of the diet. 

Let’s acknowledge that there is nuance and complexity here (and is certainly a blog/post that we will do in the future).  These percentages are not exactly right for everyone in every situation but as a guide to make a start they are good enough.

Protein roles in the body are many but it is most notably known for repair and rebuilding of tissue.  It is this role specifically within the muscle that has made protein synonymous with athletic improvement and performance.  Protein is required through the diet, it is then broken down to the constituent parts (amino acids) and used by the body to repair muscle tissue that was damaged in exercise.  It’s not widely known that in many ways the exercise itself actually harms the body and, in fact, it is in the body’s recovering from the damage created that the body comes back stronger and ultimately builds muscle.

It stands to reason if protein can do this in the muscle of the chest or the arm then it can also do this in other places where we find muscle tissue, for example, along the lining of the gut.  Protein intake is equally important here, particularly for people who have challenges along the lining of the gut, often characterised by irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) symptoms.

The ability to easily and relatively cheaply make protein into powder (whey was actually a waste product in dairy production) has created a boom in marketing and sales of protein shakes.  This has made protein the number one gym accessory, for years people would feel they had let themselves down if they forgot their protein shake after exercise. Different proteins have been marketed in different ways; whey for muscle, glutamine for gut health and collagen for injury recovery.  All different types of protein, mostly all found in the same protein foods but been marketed to us in different ways.

Let’s get back to the question… does my child need protein shakes if they are competing in sport?  The demands for protein in a young body are high.  There is quick growth going on, particularly around 13 – 18 years of age with the onset of puberty.  If your child is also competing in sports, it’s likely that they are doing more exercise than their less active peers.  Therefore, there is a need to supply more protein into the diet when making a comparison.  Active adolescents need slightly more protein than less active ones.

What is the difference? Let’s take a 40kg 13-year-old boy called Harry.  If Harry is not competing in sports his requirements are approximately 0.8g of protein per kilogram of body weight per day (0.8g/kg/day).  This would mean a total of 32g of protein per day.  Bearing in mind that an Arla protein yoghurt contains 20g of protein just two of these a day would have Harry meeting his protein requirements.

If Harry increased this to 1.2g/kg/day to take into account the onset of puberty and rapid growth then it would be a total of 48g of protein. Therefore, somewhere between 0.8g and 1.2g is a good place for Harry to start.

If Harry gets spotted playing football and joins an academy, his training schedule is likely to increase, depending on the level this could be training or playing matches 4 times per week.  Therefore, his protein requirements will go up to somewhere between 1.2g – 1.8g of protein per kilogram of body weight per day.  Still weighing 40kg and at the upper limit of this range his protein requirement would now be 72g of protein per day.  Let’s highlight how protein requirements can increase based on your child’s unique situation.

This figure is also a moving target because Harry, in our example, will be growing and therefore will weigh more from month to month.  This means that the requirements will go up comparatively.  Say Harry increases his weight to 50kg by 14 years of age and is now competing regularly at a football academy and now running for the cross-country team at school his protein requirements will increase again.  If we take the upper limit as it is recommended (1.8g/kg/day) this would mean that Harry now needs 90g of protein per day.

We now know that proteins roles within the body are most effectively delivered if there is a regular supply of protein into the body.  The evening meal is typically a meal where most people will meet and even exceed protein requirements. Therefore, the focus across a day turns to breakfast and lunch.  Ensuring that our young athletes get enough protein at those meals becomes important to achieving a steady stream of protein.  If protein targets are not met at breakfast and lunch, it can mean that a child is going for many hours without enough protein in the system. 

We have also put together a protein timeline as an example of how higher intakes of protein may be achieved.  This example is over 140g of protein in one day.

Although the protein pool will be restored at the evening meal this is not the best strategy.  For a young person engaged in sport going hours all day without protein and then taking a huge amount of protein in the evening appears not to be as effective as smaller and more often portions.  This is where foods like Greek yogurt, nuts and seeds, milk, eggs and protein-based sandwich fillers become really important.  There is some value in moving away from tradition too, there is no harm in having sandwiches for breakfast, or snacky type foods for lunch, like cheese and crackers. 

We would always recommend natural, whole foods first in any young person’s diet.  However, two challenges exist for parents of youth athletes.  One is the challenge of time and two is the challenge of getting enough food in them.  Parents of youth athletes are often busy driving from school to training session and back.  To get enough food into your young athletes to help them meet their daily calorie requirements is hard work.  Therefore, on occasion having convenient easy to transport solutions can be useful.  Protein based snack bars are good options.  Carrying a bottle of protein drink or making up a protein shake in the car after training can be a lot easier than continually preparing ‘real’ food for your youngsters.  We know that, although they are not always the healthiest option, these foods help parents to fill a gap.  Children are also much more likely to drink a shake as their appetite isn’t always there for eating a wrap or a sandwich straight after training.  However, the best approach is to achieve protein requirements through natural whole foods so if this can be achieved this would be considered gold standard.

Where we would have concerns is where the protein shake or the snack bar replaces the meal itself.  For example, the child may get out of the habit of having breakfast (many kids don’t feel hungry in the morning) and instead get into the habit of having a protein shake.  Where this starts to happen, we always encourage parents to get the child back to eating breakfast rather than the shake.  Keep the shake for top ups and snacks rather than main meals.

There also seems to exist this idea that young athletes need protein supplements (shakes) to build muscle.  This myth can often be perpetuated by the marketing of protein drinks.  However, as we have shown above protein requirements are not as big as you might expect so meeting the targets through food is possible.