How Much Protein a Runner Really Needs: Dr. Robert Wolfe

As runners, we think about how to fuel properly. That includes carbohydrate and protein, but what about essential amino acids? How do they help us optimize our nutrition to become the best runners we can be?

Dr. Robert Wolfe, Ph.D, is here to talk as both a scientist and a runner. As the director of the Center for Translational Research on Aging and Longevity at the University of Arkansas, he focuses his research on the regulation of muscle metabolism. His research publications have been cited an impressive 75,000+ times, and he shares how amino acids might be able to help your performance and recovery.

Dr. Wolfe has also been running for 60 years and has run an amazing 62 marathons under 2:30 in his lifetime! Coach Claire talks to him about his running career, how to stay young and healthy, what happens in the body when we run, and how our food can help us before, during, and after the run.

Dr. Wolfe also shares his thoughts on the importance of keeping a consistent exercise routine as we age, so there's definitely a lot of great food for thought in this episode!

Dr. Wolfe's undergraduate studies were at the University of California, Berkeley, and he completed his Ph.D. degree at UC Santa Barbara's Institute of Environmental Stress. Dr. Wolfe served as a faculty member at Harvard Medical School for nine years. Prior to accepting his current position in 2006, he was at the UT Medical Branch at Galveston, where he held the John H. Sealy Distinguished Chair in Clinical Research and was Chief of the Metabolism Unit at Shriners Burns Hospital.

Dr. Wolfe has received a number of awards and invited lectureships in recognition of his work. He received the Herman Award from the American Society of Clinical Nutrition for his career contributions. He has published over 452 peer-reviewed research articles, 126 review articles, three books, including the major reference source in the field of stable isotope tracer methodology and has 5 patents. His papers have been cited 50,663 times (h index= 122), and 16,423 (h index =65) since 2011. Dr. Wolfe has been funded continuously by the NIH for his entire career and frequently held two NIH grants per year as Pl.

The focus of Dr. Wolfe's research is on the regulation of muscle metabolism, particularly as affected by aging and stressors such as injury, sepsis and cancer. His research has been performed largely in human patients and normal volunteers. Dr. Wolfe has developed models using stable isotopes to quantify a variety of metabolic processes in human subjects including the oxidation and production of fatty acids, various aspects of carbohydrate metabolism, and the rates of muscle protein synthesis, breakdown, and the transport of amino acids between blood and muscle tissue. Dr. Wolfe is the Director of the Center for Translational Research in Aging and Longevity at the Reynolds Institute on Aging.

Questions Bob is asked:

3:33 Before we talk about the science of exercise metabolism, I want to hear about your running journey. You've been a runner for over 50 years with 62 marathons under 2:30. Can you tell us a little bit about what your story is and how you started?

5:15 I can't imagine that every single run was super fun, so I would love to talk about what your training was like, how you trained for marathons and what are the key ingredients in the recipe for a marathon?

8:06 How old were you when you did your last sub-2:30 marathon?

8:59 As far as fueling goes, what does an endurance athlete need before, during, and after exercise?

12:09 What are amino acids? What are the different kinds (essential, branched chain, etc)? And how are they used in the body?

14:56 When we're eating enough dietary protein, does that mean we are automatically eating enough of the essential amino acids that we need?

16:53 What is the optimal amount of essential amino acids we as individuals need?

18:44 Obviously protein requirements are going to be different for an endurance runner and a bodybuilder, right?

22:51 Is the purpose of taking amino acid supplements to get everything you need for optimum performance without having to eat more food?

25:24 Is there a limit to how much amino acids the body can absorb at one?

27:55 Does the body have a way of storing essential amino acids?

29:22 If you take in too much essential amino acids, do you just excrete it?

29:44 How are the amino acids from the Amino Company produced?

32:09 How do you use amino acid supplements? Do you take it before your run, after, or even during?

36:40 When you are taking amino acids during exercise, do they activate hormones in your body?

41:00 Does your company have an amino acid formulation to help me with my insomnia too?

41:41 Besides leading the Amino Company, you are also the director of the center for translational research on aging and longevity at the University of Arkansas. So what's the secret to staying youthful and vital as we age?

43:39 Do older athletes have an advantage when it comes to longevity and aging?

Questions I ask everyone:

45:32 If you could go back and talk to yourself when you started running, what advice would you give?

47:02 What is the greatest gift running has given you?

47:54 Where can listeners connect with you?

Quotes by Bob:

"Generally speaking, I think the protein aspect of the diet is extremely important but as far as dietary protein, when you're eating as many as 4 or 5,000 calories a day, even a low protein diet is going to provide enough dietary protein to meet your protein requirements."

"It's important to understand that the dietary requirements are telling us not only how much protein we should eat, but how much of each individual essential amino acid we should eat, are predicated on the baseline amount we need to avoid deficiency. And so the key aspect, what we'll talk about with specific amino acid supplementation, is that for optimal physical functioning, particularly with stress like exercise training, that the baseline amount of essential amino acids that you need to avoid deficiency is really not optimal."

"One of the things that obviously we're trying to do is with running is to improve muscle function and muscle strength without increasing muscle bulk because it's just extra weight."

"The thing which is obvious when you see a lot of older people is that ability to function physically is really the primary determinant of quality of life. If you can't get up out of a chair then medical costs and everything else go out the window, but just being able to do the activities you like is so important."

Take a Listen on Your Next Run

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Mentioned in this podcast:

The Amino Company

The Center for Translational Research in Aging and Longevity | UAMS Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging

Runners Connect Winner's Circle Facebook Community

RunnersConnect Facebook page

RunnersConnect Retreats

Email Coach Claire

Follow Bob on:

Email Dr. Wolfe

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