Protein shakes have come of age in the 21st Century. Where they were once about as suspect as snake oil, the most respected brands can now be trusted to deliver actual tangible benefits. The science behind them is now about as solid as it can ever be, with study after study showing modest but effective gains in strength and mass as a part of a good physical exercise regimen.
The most widely accepted recommendation is to consume a protein shake immediately after a workout, within anywhere from fifteen to forty-five minutes. This is because the body’s metabolism is such that it is most receptive to nutrition right after a vigorous bout of exertion. Anytime after forty-five minutes has been shown to be markedly much less effective, so perfect timing cannot be overstressed: Muscles that have been worked hard need to be fed immediately!
Muscles must be worked hard in order to see any benefits, however; simply drinking these shakes will not work. They are also not to be considered food replacements or meals in themselves, such that one can look to them to consider all one’s daily protein needs. Though the best brands feature a complete protein profile of the essential amino acids required by the human body each day, protein shakes are a supplement – they support, not substitute. This is because the rich biochemical context of food is missing with a protein shake, and it is with a rich biochemical context that our body best responds to individual nutrients.
Protein shakes alone are appropriate, however, after a hard workout and has shown to moderately increase most test subjects’ strength and mass over two to four weeks. The unique state of the body after such workouts is the biochemical context itself, and so isolated proteins in a shake will be of use.