no protein supps arent necessary, however: as quoted from bb.com.
"The biggest advantage of protein supplements is not that they can build more muscle than turkey, chicken or egg whites or any other whole food protein, the biggest advantage is the convenience. Throwing down a protein drink or munching on a protein bar is much more convenient than preparing, cooking and cleaning up after cooking full meals.
Another advantage of supplemental protein sources is that they are manufactured to be digested faster than whole protein sources. In addition to rapid digestion, a very high percentage of good protein powders are completely digested and absorbed due to the amino acid profiles of the supplements and the lack of lactose or fat.
Protein supplements can also offer significant advantages over whole food sources. Good protein supplements can provide the needed amino acids, which are building blocks of muscle, as well as many other important supplements with adding extra, unneeded, fat contributing calories. Some of the better meal replacement products on the market today can also offer a lean enhanced nutritional profile that is hard to match while in the kitchen.
The argument among athletes and nutritionists however has focused primarily on the amount needed and whether if it makes any difference if you eat your protein from a supplement or from food.
If you have the money, it is certainly convenient to just drink down a high quality protein supplement, and adding a high quality supplement certainly can't hurt.
Beyond the convenience however, there is no substantial evidence that there is any advantage to consuming the [protein through supplementation. Does that mean you shouldn't take supplemental protein?
Absolutely not. There are obvious times when one source may have a greater advantage then the other. For example a "fast digesting" proteins such as whey isolate would be an ideal supplement to consume immediately upon waking and immediately following strenuous exercise when your blood amino acid levels are low.
Conversely, eating a protein meal can be advantageous as your last meal of the evening because the digestion process provides a slow steady stream of amino acids to the body when your next meal will not occur for several hours later.
The whole source meal can also speed up your metabolic rate as much as 30% because of the energy necessary to digest, process, and absorb it. This means that out of 100 calories of a protein food such as chicken breast, the net amount of calories left over after processing it is 70.
If you have the time and money, a majority of your protein intake should come from low fat high quality complete proteins food sources. Supplements can be incorporated at important times such as immediately upon waking, immediately prior to work outs (BCAA supplementation) and immediately following strenuous workouts for the optimum situation.
Bottom Line: It really does not make much of a difference in what form you get your protein from as long as it's a complete protein and sufficiently digestible. For the purposes of developing muscle, the only guidelines for protein that you must follow are:
Consume a source of complete protein with every meal
Eat at frequent intervals approximately three hours apart (about six times per day)
Consume a minimum of 1.0 grams to 1.5 grams per pound of body weight."
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