How Do Protein Shakes Work To Boost Energy And Sports Performance In Kids
Protein is one of the most essential nutrients required for the optimal functioning of the body. It carries out several responsibilities such as repairing the tissues, building muscles, and synthesizing hormones and enzymes. Growing children often require to consume a balanced and healthy diet so as to support their development from an early change.
However, in the case of kids who follow an athletic lifestyle or engage in sports, it is important to consume higher amounts of healthy food groups such as lean protein for child growth. Any physical activity that takes up more than one and a half hours of activity at a time is bound to burn a lot of stored energy within the body, creating a slot for consuming additional food. It is essential that your child fills in this gap with healthy sources of lean protein.
Consuming natural sources of lean protein such as lentils, pulses, and red meat can definitely be a good place to start. However, it can be difficult for your child to meet the recommended daily allowance for protein intake, let alone surpass it. This can happen for several reasons such as your child being a fussy eater or not having the time to prepare nutritious home-cooked meals every single day, owing to your busy schedule.
In cases like this, it is best to supplement your child’s nutritional intake with healthy and sustainable sources of lean proteins such as protein shakes and protein for child growth.
Let us understand how the best health drinks for kids help in supplying additional protein to support your child’s athletic activity and improve their sports performance.
Benefits Of Consuming Protein Shakes
Here are some of the benefits that your child can experience while consuming protein shakes to boost their athletic performance:
Boosting Metabolism
Metabolism is a process that burns the fat stored in your body to produce units of energy required to carry out essential body functions. Most of the food that we consume ends up being utilised for metabolic activity. The heat released within the body during this process is called the thermic effect of food.
Consuming adequate amounts of protein for child growth through shakes and health drinks can help increase your calories burned throughout the day by at least 80 to 100. This effect is especially exaggerated when you maintain a caloric surplus. By experiencing a higher metabolic activity, it is easier for kids to stay in shape, heal faster, and prevent chronic illnesses such as obesity and heart disease.
Aids Muscle Recovery and Growth
Apart from preventing complete muscle breakdowns, consumption of protein for child growth can also be beneficial for strengthening and building your muscles, when combined with a specific exercise regimen.
Proteins contain several essential amino acids and are especially rich in Branched Chain Amino Acids (BCAA) such as Leucine which has a major role to play in aiding muscle recovery post resistance and endurance exercise and promoting muscle growth.
Protein shakes are a very viable option for younger athletes and gym-goers instead of whole foods such as poultry and beef since they can be consumed on the go.
Boosts Immune System
Protein for child growth has a huge role to play in the functioning of the immune system since it makes up the primary framework of the cells in your body. It carries out responsibilities such as boosting the effectiveness of the T-cells on harmful pathogens that enter the bloodstream and cause illness.
The amino acids present in protein shakes help in preventing the body from entering catabolic activity and improving immune response by stimulating the release of lymphocytes within it. This can cause benefits such as an improved healing factor and a reduced risk of several chronic illnesses.
Staying low on protein can lead to nausea, fatigue, and weakness, which can have a negative impact on your child’s athletic performance.
Helps Make Better Food Choices
Consuming protein shakes can have a positive impact on your child’s nutritional choices as protein can help reduce cravings and get your appetite under control. Proteins are tightly compressed and naturally more dense than other food groups such as fats and carbs. This is why consuming even a little protein can make you feel significantly fuller. Doing so can reduce your caloric intake and jump-start your body’s metabolic activity.
Protein for child growth also signals your brain to increase the secretion of hunger satiating hormones such as GLP-1, peptide YY and cholecystokinin, which alter your appetite, while limiting the secretion of hunger hormones such as ghrelin. This can be beneficial for young athletes who are trying to enter the cutting stage without having too much of an effect on their performance.
Recommended Usage:
While protein consumption is essential to boosting your child’s athletic performance, it is also important to consume these protein shakes at the right time. Planning your kid’s protein intake and spreading it evenly through the day helps in maximising their body’s nutrient utilisation, while providing benefits such as:
- As soon as you wake up – this helps in reversing the tissue damage experienced by the muscles during the sleep cycle and preventing catabolism.
- Between meals – this helps in optimising the presence of nitrogen in the body and revitalizing the muscles.
- Before Bed – this helps in keeping the body fueled during the sleep schedule and preventing catabolism and muscle damage.
While protein for child growth has a huge impact on your child’s athletic performance and activity, it is important that you keep in mind that these are simply nutritional aids. They cannot be given to your children as viable replacements for actual meals. The most efficient way to boost their sports performance is to consume the best health drinks for kids in combination with a healthy balanced diet and a rigid exercise schedule.
Consider supplementing your child’s diet with Gritzo SuperMilk, a product designed to meet the recommended daily allowance for protein and several other nutrients within a single consumption.