Protein Powder has become a staple in most gym bags. From the ring to the cage, one thing remains consistent among vigorous athletes: a desire to be the best. Athletes today are looking for ways outside the gym to enhance performance, to clinch the competitive edge. Many are turning to protein powders.

Are you looking for the Big Solution, the magic pixie dust that PROMISES “the competitive edge”? As a Functional Medicine doctor I often joke with my patients on the transparencies of supplement marketing, in particular, protein powder. If the protein powder is “super” “packed” with  “utlra strength” and promising the bulging muscles of The Hulk, most consumers are going to lunge straight for the bottle with the largest font and most enticing label.

The real competitive edge can and should actually come from something much more simplified then synthesized protein powder. The best and most efficient form of protein is actually from real food sources, not GNC’s manufacturing warehouse.

The problem with protein powder is that most people are applying it to a less then adequate diet. Too often low quality protein powder is consumed in exchange for a high quality, highly energized meal. Protein powder is meant to supplement the diet, not be utilized in exchange for real food protein.

Protein powders can also be a challenge for your body to breakdown and apply to muscle mass. As a result, the now excess protein gets converted into triglycerides, shuttled in between muscle fibers and stored as fat mass. In fact, it’s that extra fat that gives the elusion of bulkiness to muscle. Keep in mind that bulky muscles do not equate to functional muscles. What matters most is the physical performance of the muscle mass itself, especially in sports like MMA. Functional and sustainable muscle performance depends on how much of the ingested protein is actually converted into muscle mass, not fat in between the muscle mass.

As with all supplements, protein powders are intended to drive specific physiological processes toward a particular outcome. Protein powders are taken with the intent of driving the process of building lean muscle mass. However, if your body is already starving for basic nutrients, it will shuttle your expensive protein to the areas of deficiency first, away from the specific process you’ve intended it for. Trust me, your innate physiology is more consumed by survival then it is by vanity or performance aspirations. If you fail to consume a high quality diet and neglect real food protein, the protein powders are not going to build muscle mass as they are intended.

In Functional Medicine, every patient struggles with various physiological deficiencies. I view my performance patients in the same light.  But before we can rebuild specific deficiencies, we first have to build a solid foundation. This process starts with daily food intake.

For athletes looking to increase their stamina, endurance and lean muscle mass, I encourage red meat for its high fat and iron content. Fatty fish like salmon and trout are also excellent options. Chicken and turkey are good for variety but don’t be afraid to branch outside the low-fat realm of white meat.  For vegetarians, the healthy option is a combination of beans, rice, avocados and nuts for lean mass enhancement.

For optimal recovery time refuel with a combination of proteins and fats. Athletes who train hard but don’t refuel efficiently are going to hit the over training zone much faster then their well fed counterparts. I find that many of my patients suffering from chronic arthritic pains and overtraining syndrome are actually lacking adequate amounts of protein and saturated fats in their diet. Consider that your aching joints might be screaming for the natural fat from meat, avocados, nuts or organic butter.

Real foods are foundational to a solid muscle-enhancing program. Sure, genetics and plain hard work have their roles but without the substrate to build and grow, your muscles will never increase in lean mass. The substrate I’m referring to is whole food nutrition, from Mother Nature’s market, and it’s the foundation of muscle mass assimilation.

So next time you find yourself scouring the vitamin isle for the newest and boldest protein powder, resist the urge to grab the flashy protein tub. Instead head to the grocery store and pick up some real protein at the butcher’s counter or, if you’re more of a gatherer then a hunter, the bulk isle for nuts and beans. You’re gym bag won’t be so bulky but your muscles are likely to pick up the excess mass.