Protein intake and muscle development

Protein intake plays a crucial role in muscle development and synthesis. Activation of the anabolic signaling pathway, mTOR, is essential for muscle growth. Factors such as eating amino acids, particularly leucine, insulin-like growth factor, cellular stress, insulin, and glucose can activate mTOR. Conversely, glucagon and cortisol can inhibit mTOR. Activation of mTOR leads to increased protein synthesis, hypertrophy of muscle cells, activation of satellite cells for muscle repair and growth, and inhibition of muscle protein breakdown. Understanding the connection between protein intake and muscle development is important for optimizing exercise and resistance training.