Biotic's Gain

Not as much as most people hope. Protein supplies the raw material your body uses to build and keep muscle tissue, and the authorised GB wording is simply that protein contributes to a growth in muscle mass and to the maintenance of muscle mass. What protein cannot do is decide where that material goes. Muscle is expensive tissue to run, and a body keeps what it is regularly asked to use. Without a reason to hold on to it — lifting, carrying, climbing, pushing against something — surplus protein is largely burned as ordinary fuel or stored like any other excess energy. Eat enough protein and load your muscles regularly, and the two work as a pair. Do only one, and you are doing half the job.

The first article in this series, Do You Need More Protein After 40?, looked at how much to aim for. This one looks at the other half of the equation, which gets far less attention.

What the authorised claims actually say

In Great Britain, only claims on the NHC register may be used. For protein there are four, and this is their exact wording:

• Protein contributes to a growth in muscle mass
• Protein contributes to the maintenance of muscle mass
• Protein contributes to the maintenance of normal bones
• Protein is needed for normal growth and development of bone in children

Three things are worth noticing about that list. First, every one of them belongs to the nutrient, not to any brand or format. They apply to a chicken breast, a tin of lentils and a tub of powder alike, and they apply only where the food qualifies as a source of protein — at least 12% of its energy coming from protein. Second, the word “normal” is load-bearing. “Maintenance of normal bones” is authorised; “stronger bones” is not, and the word cannot be dropped or traded up. Third, there is no authorised claim anywhere on the register that is specific to whey. A long list of proposed whey claims was rejected outright, so no whey product may make one, including ours.

Read the authorised wording carefully and you will see what it does not say. It does not say protein builds muscle on its own. “Contributes to” is doing quiet, honest work there. Protein is one contributor to a process that needs something else to start it.

Muscle needs a reason to stay

Muscle tissue is metabolically costly. It has to be fed, repaired and supplied with blood whether you use it or not, so the body is efficient about how much it keeps. The signal that says “keep this” is mechanical: the tension of a muscle working against a meaningful load. Take the load away and the tissue quietly reduces to match what is being asked of it. Anyone who has worn a cast for six weeks has seen how fast that happens.

Protein and loading do different jobs. The load tells the body to build; the protein supplies the bricks. Miss the first and the bricks sit on the pallet. This is why adding a shake to an otherwise sedentary week rarely changes much, and why the disappointment people report usually means the system was only half switched on.

Ageing tilts this further. Older muscle tends to respond less readily to a given amount of protein than younger muscle does — described in the literature as anabolic resistance, which is a description of how tissue behaves rather than a diagnosis of anything. The practical upshot is simply that the stimulus matters more with each passing decade, not less. There is no authorised claim on the register about ageing, about age-related muscle loss, or about protein for people over 40 specifically, so nobody may make one. What follows here is ordinary exercise and dietary practice, not a health claim.

What “resistance training” means at 45 or 60

The phrase puts people off. It suggests a gym, a barbell and a room full of much younger people, and for most of the population none of that is necessary. Resistance training means asking a muscle to work against a load that is genuinely hard for it — hard enough that the last two or three repetitions feel like an effort. That load can be a dumbbell, a resistance band, a rucksack full of books, a heavy shopping bag, a set of stairs or your own body weight.

What it does not mean is walking. Walking is excellent for a long list of reasons, but a flat walk does not load the legs hard enough to count as a build-or-keep signal, which is why plenty of regular walkers still notice their legs and arms softening through their fifties. Hills, stairs and carrying something change that considerably.

Two sessions a week covering the major muscle groups is the figure most public health guidance settles on, and it is a floor rather than a target. Twenty focused minutes twice a week, kept up for a year, beats an ambitious hour-long programme abandoned in February.

Getting the two to line up

Once you are training, the protein side becomes worth thinking about properly. Two practical points come up repeatedly, and both are dietary practice rather than anything the register speaks to.

The first is spread. Most British eating patterns are lopsided — toast in the morning, something light at lunch, and the great majority of the day’s protein arriving at eight in the evening. Tipping some of that back towards breakfast and lunch means each meal carries a useful amount. The second is proximity. Eating a reasonable amount of protein within a few hours either side of a session is easy to arrange and costs nothing, which is a better reason to do it than any of the more dramatic claims made about post-workout windows.

Neither point requires a powder. We went through that at length in Can You Get Enough Protein Without a Shake? and the conclusion there still stands: food first, every time.

Where a powder honestly fits

A protein powder is a convenience, and it is worth being plain about that. Biotic’s Gain Whey Protein Isolate is a 2lb tub supplying 25g of protein and 5.5g of BCAAs per serving, across six flavours, filtered further than a concentrate so it carries less fat and lactose. That is a description of the ingredient, not a promise. It is useful on the days when the gap between your intake and your intention is a real one, and useless on the days when it is simply added on top of a diet that was already adequate.

It is also worth saying that no separate amino acid product changes this arithmetic; we covered why in What Are BCAAs, and Do You Need a Separate Supplement?. And if you want the underlying numbers, How Much Protein Do You Actually Need in a Day? works through the UK reference intakes.

When to talk to someone qualified

Speak to your GP or a pharmacist before starting resistance training if you have a heart or joint condition, are recovering from surgery or an injury, or take medication affecting blood pressure or balance. Ask them too about unexplained loss of muscle, strength or weight, weakness that has come on quickly, or any concern about bone density — those are questions for a clinician, not for a supplement. Anyone with reduced kidney function should take medical advice before raising their protein intake. A food supplement cannot treat, prevent or cure any condition.

The summary is unglamorous. Protein contributes to a growth in muscle mass and to the maintenance of muscle mass — but a contribution needs something to contribute to. Give your muscles a reason to stay, feed them properly, and allow longer than you would like before judging the result.

More on the range and how the nutrient works on our protein guide.

Biotic’s Gain products are food supplements and are not a substitute for a varied, balanced diet and a healthy lifestyle. They are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. If you are pregnant, breastfeeding, taking medication or under medical supervision, speak to your doctor or pharmacist before use. Keep out of reach of children.