Muscle in a box

Protein supplements are now par for the course for fitness aficionados.

In 1983, as reported by the New York Times, the "carefully controlled" diet of an American Olympic cyclist-in-training contained "very little fat, small amounts of fish and chicken for protein and a lot of complex carbohydrates such as fruits and vegetables, breads and pasta".

In 2004, the Guardian reported from Afghanistan on a bodybuilding craze among young Afghans. Makeshift gyms mushroomed across Kabul. But food was scarce and calories in short supply "" so one gym owner bought protein supplements from US troops to give to his poorer clients, free.

Science has revolutionised our diet since the late 1970s, when we really started to worry about macronutrients "" proteins, carbohydrates, fats "" and the processed foods industry took off But in the early 1980s an Olympic-level athlete could still be eating ordinary food.

Now even ordinary people eat extraordinary things in pursuit of better bodies. Protein supplements in particular go hand-in-hand with gym life for aficionados.

Building muscle requires protein, so it seems self-evident that a protein-boosted diet allows one to add more muscle faster. Not only growth but, it is said, greater strength and mass result, and recovery from intense exercise becomes quicker.

There are many sources of protein in everyday food. Engineered supplements, however, provide protein with a high biological value (BV), which means it is easily absorbed and used by the body.

While eggs have a BV of 100, milk 91, beef 80 and beans only 49, whey protein "" the major component of most commercial supplements "" has a BV of as much as 104.

Whey is a byproduct of the pasteurisation of milk (and once it used to be simply discarded as waste). Sometimes whey protein is combined with soy protein (BV 74) in supplements, to keep prices affordable.

Supplements come as powders to be mixed with milk, water or juice (or atta, curry), and "protein bars". High-protein "meal replacement" shakes are also common.

Samir Gadhok, 25, started taking sports supplements in his late teens. He lived in New Zealand and was "boxing and playing basketball and rugby". "Your body needs 1.5 gms of protein for every kg you have per day," he says. "Effectively, I needed 150 gms a day "" which was impossible from three square meals."

Sports nutritionists have their doubts. "Food supplements come in only when there is a deficiency in the food," says Dr P S M Chandran, sports medicine expert with the Sports Authority of India and President of the Indian Federation of Sports Medicine.

"There should be a properly laid-out menu, adhered to and taken in proper quantity," although he concedes that "in a vegetarian diet there could be some deficiency".

Nutritionists have also doubted for years that weight training significantly raises the body's protein requirement. Even for a professional athlete or bodybuilder, at most double the daily normal requirement of protein is more than enough "" and with modern diets that much enters the body anyway. "Any additional protein that the body takes is not stored, it is thrown out," says Dr Chandran.

"I'm a hardcore vegetarian and my protein intake is minimal," says Kapil Vachani (name changed), 31, who therefore takes a protein supplement. "It gives me energy, fills up my stomach so I don't have to eat any junk. A glass of protein shake in the late afternoon kills my urge to eat." Vachani isn't a bodybuilder; he works out and takes supplements to keep fit, and also because "I'm a very skinny person."

"I'm a vegetarian," says Gadhok, so "I started overdosing ... My calcium levels fell, I had high acidity..." Even if you don't overdose, there are side effects.

"You run to the toilet a lot and have disgusting [flatulence] because your body isn't used to the [protein] concentrate ... For the first week you feel hungry and sapped, since you're eating less carbs. Then your body gets used to it."

Gadhok swears by his brand, EAS' Myoplex. "A lot of products you need to be wary of. In India there's virtually no way of making sure of what you're getting."

Dr Chandran agrees: "The supplements available in the market, there's a danger that they are adulterated with steroids," which have a much more potent range of effects, including mood-altering ones. "Nothing is regulated."

"I take GNC's whey protein," says Vachani. "I ask my friends to buy it while travelling. Now it's available here but it's three times the price than in New York." Gadhok explains why: "It comes in suitcases, smuggled in ... I tried to bring EAS to India but couldn't compete with the prices the smugglers were offering."

Karan Nanda, 26, says, "When you join a gym the instructor will [say] 'There's no point in you gymming unless you take this shake.' They thrust their supplement on you. I've tried many gyms, all have the same trick."

One friend suffered the consequences: "The instructor didn't tell him [the supplement] doesn't go with cigarettes. He was a chain-smoker. There was a reaction," and he needed medical intervention.

Gadhok sums up the cautious approach: "Do your homework. Stay with name brands. Don't have too much."