The physical adaptations and stressors of free-living athletes make their energy needs for weight maintenance and normal physiological function substantially different from a "healthy" sedentary person or those in controlled research settings. " This paper will explore the unique and multi-faceted nature of free-living, under-recovered athletes, and how the stresses they encounter may affect protein needs. Indeed, it has been stated that: "Although most endurance athletes get enough protein to support any increased requirements, those with low energy or carbohydrate intakes may require nutritional advice to optimize dietary protein intake. An assumption of adequate protein intake during a nutrition assessment should not be made considering suboptimal caloric quantity and quality which are common among athletes and known to elevate protein needs. Among these interrelated factors, inadequacy of dietary intake may be paramount. Dietary protein and select amino acids may be important for athletes during negative energy balance, injuries that do not preclude participation, endocrine exacerbations common to staleness and competition, and immune suppression. These applications extend beyond acute ergogenesis or body composition improvements which are unlikely and often negative in the literature. The multiple roles of dietary protein and key amino acids such as leucine and glutamine create a variety of potential applications for hard-training athletes. Discrepancies in opinion/conclusion are affected by population specificity and variables ranging from total kilocalorie (kcal) intake, to injury, to training status, to dietary protein choice(s). Potentially helpful nutrition interventions for preventing and treating training complications will also be presented.ĭietary protein perhaps more than any other nutrient has been historically celebrated and condemned in the realm of sports nutrition.
Research-driven strategies for adjusting nutrition and exercise assessments will be offered for consideration. This review will address data pertinent to the topic of athletic protein needs, particularly from a standpoint of overtraining and soft tissue recovery.
When applying research to practice settings, one should consider methodological aspects such as population specificity and control variables such as energy balance. These factors, coupled with "two-a-day" practices and in-season demands require that protein not be dismissed as automatically adequate or worse, deleterious to health. Moreover, competitive, "free-living" (less-monitored) athletes often encounter negative energy balance, sub-optimal dietary variety, injuries, endocrine exacerbations and immune depression. Hard-training athletes are different from sedentary persons from the sub-cellular to whole-organism level. Despite a more than adequate protein intake in the general population, athletes have special needs and situations that bring it to the forefront.
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