My wife and I got into a discussion the other day about weightlifting and supplements, after I had to use half my trunk for my protein powders and supps (mostly Grow!, Power Drive, and Surge). We both enjoy working out, but I use some basic supps, and used some of Biotest’s prohormones before they were banned.
However, she insists that protein powders and such are unnatural, and refuses to even try them. I used a number of arguments, even showed her the list of ingredients on Grow! to show her it was basically food. However I suppose I’ve just been reading T-Nation too long to make an argument that would appeal to her, I was hoping some one here could give me a hand. (Yes I still use supps, just want to convince her to try some too, or that they are safe for kids with proper instruction)
I suppose that saying, ‘You can lead a horse to water, but…’ applies here. You know the components of the foods you consume so I think it was worth giving it a good shot trying to convince your critic, however then it may get counter-productive… but there’s one component in Whey that could change her mind [and that I’m trying to get elaborated on in a seperate thread], that is glutathione- aka, GHS… a very essential and natural property a healthy body should have. Get some info on that and present it to her, it might soften her opinion a bit.
In addition, it may be a good idea to describe in detail how each ingredient is beneficial and how healthy the amounts of each are to totally diffuse her criticism in a non-argumentative way, at least from a factual standpoint.
for starters, why is “natural” good? and why are these powders not “natural”?
she’ll probably have trouble formulating a good response. Mostly because there isnt one. Asorbic acid (vitamin C) is Asorbic acid. It doesnt matter if it was synthesized in lab. At all. They are the same. The means of transport can make a huge difference in how it is absorbed by the body.
The ingredients aren’t unnatural at all if they are things found in food. Whey protein concentrate is equivilant to most orange juices that you probably drink, it probably isnt just oranges squeezed. The way it is introduced into the body is what may or may not be effective.
There is a big advantage to using nutritional supps. Many needs are not met by food, or at least without large quantities. If you were going to get 1g of protein per pound bodyweight like many suggest, you would probably ingest a large amount of fat and have trouble finding room for all the other foods you need.
Many post workout drinks also include a quick absorbing monosacharide (single sugar). Table sugar is sucrose (a di-, meaning two simple sugars joined together), so to get the same effect of say Surge, you would have to quickly ingest something in a large quantity like say, corn syrup (glucose), and very quickly eat a sizeable quantity of extremely lean meat. I think most would agree that Surge wins out.
The supps. are far from needed, but they can help you get the nutrients you need without creating a tough to follow diet. Many powders also include many trace minerals that are essentially removed from today’s over processed foods. Granted, many fight for the same receptor sites so they dont have as strong of an effect. A lot of today’s foods are what is actually unnatural.
Overprocessed junk is easier to find and cheaper than good wholesome foods. If she has stopped at a fast food restaurant within 6 months, then she should at least try something that could benefit her in some way.
I had the same issue with my wife about two years ago. She’s a carb junkie and barely got 50g of protein a day. She wasn’t convinced to use supps until I made her a bet that she would totally transform herself if she would just give protein powders a try for two months.
Long story short—she made such awesome progress that she’s taken two Low-Carb Grow! shakes a day ever since. I even got her to start on Fahrenheit about a month ago. She’s changed so much in 4 weeks that she swears she’ll never go off of it. So, I suggest you make a bet with your wife like I did with mine. You and I both know that it’s a bet you can’t lose.