Whey Protein Supplementation And Fatty Acid Synthesis With Exercise

Recent research in the Journal of Nutrition suggests that whey protein supplementation has positive effects on body fat storage and skeletal muscle energy use.  The study suggests that whey protein in combination with exercise, increases skeletal muscle fatty acid synthesis and mRNA expression, and suppresses liver fatty acid synthesis through down regulation of key fat burning enzymes.    

There has been other research on how protein affects liver and skeletal muscle function in relation to fatty acid synthesis.  Prolonged endurance activities use fatty acid synthesis to fuel the workout.  With the use of fatty acids for fuel, glucose is then stored in the muscle tissue for use at a later time.

The study used 24 male rats who were either subjected to inactivity or swimming for 2 weeks, and fed a protein source - either a whey or casein protein supplement.  The exercise and whey protein group suppressed fatty acid synthesis in the liver by reducing the activity of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, malic enzyme, adenosine triphosphate citrate lyase, and acetyl-coenzyme A carboxylase.  Comparatively, the casein fed group resulted in a decrease in ATP-citrate lyase and fatty acid synthase mRNA only.  

The study also found that whey protein increased the activity of fatty acid synthase and mRNA expression in skeletal muscle.  The increase in skeletal muscle activity resulted in an increase in intramuscular storage of triacylglycerol.   Triglycerides are important nutrients in endurance activity when stored in skeletal muscles, which results in a different fuel source for exercise of longer duration.  This results in a decrease in the need for glucose, causing a sparing of the glucose for other activities, and an increase in the amount of fat that is used to fuel workouts, mainly in the skeletal muscle.

While further studies will need to be made on humans, conclusions from the research indicate that supplementing whey protein, in combination with exercise, may decrease the liver fatty acid synthesis (activation) and increases the activity in skeletal muscles. This may be beneficial in maintaining body fat levels through exercise and diet, and making the muscle focus on utilizing another form of energy to fuel longer duration workouts.

CONSUMER ALERT: Not All Protein Powders Are Created With Safe Ingredients. Do Not Consume Any Whey Protein Until You Read This Completely

Resources

“Dietary Whey Protein Downregulates fatty acid synthesis in the liver, but upregulates it in skeletal muscle of exercise trained rats.”
Authors: M. Masashi, S. Kensuke, S. Chiaki, S. Katsumi