Whey Protein

Whey Protein

Tags: 100 whey protein, protein whey, whey isolate protein, whey powder protein, whey protein powder

Things You Should Know About Whey Protein

Whey Protein – Protein contains Amino Acids and Branch Chain Amino Acids (BCAA’s) which are the building blocks for muscle. Good protein is obtained from whole food protein sources like turkey breast, tuna, chicken breast, lean red meat, cottage cheese and milk, and from protein supplements, popular today due to convenience, ease of use, and economy.

Whey Protein

By far the most popular protein supplement available today is whey protein. Pure whey contains a large amount of the milk sugar lactose, as well as a variety of proteins, fat and cholesterol.

Fortunately whey was discovered to contain high quality proteins and so methods have been developed to remove as much of the undesirable lactose, fat and cholesterol as possible from the protein.

All of these processes result in a high quality whey protein, low in fat and lactose. Always be sure to check the label for which method or methods have been used, as some of the cheaper proteins may use whey proteins that have been processed by cheaper acid treatment or high temperatures and contain high levels of undenatured proteins. If it simply lists whey protein concentrate or isolate you can only assume that it contains a cheaper form of protein.

Benefits of Whey Protein

There are several benefits to choosing whey protein over other protein sources. Whey protein has an extremely high biological value (BV) afforded to it (Whey Protein BV = 104 with Whey Peptides having a BV between 110-159). Whey protein is an ideal source of protein post workout as it is absorbed extremely quickly to help rebuild damaged muscle.

Whey protein contains the highest percentage of BCAA’s of any protein source as well as high levels of essential amino acids. BCAA’s protect muscle from protein breakdown and help to stimulate protein synthesis or muscle growth. Whey protein also contains protein fractions. These are the active components that high quality whey proteins should contain.

Essential amino acids are important as the body cannot manufacture these itself and relies on getting them from the diet. Whey protein may also suitable for some lactose intolerant individuals as it is extremely low in lactose with some whey protein isolates being virtually lactose free.

High quality whey proteins tend to be relatively expensive, with whey protein isolates being the most expensive source of protein available. Whey protein is also low in the essential amino acid phenylalanine as well as glutamine when compared to other protein powders.

Many people probably don’t care about whether the protein they are using is instantised, partially hydrolysed, ultrafiltered, ion exchange whey protein isolate with low molecular weight whey peptides, featuring full spectrum whey protein fractions, including Glycomacropeptides, Beta Lactoglobulin and Lactoperoxidase.

Whey Protein Basics

Whey Protein Concentrate (WPC), and Whey Protein Isolate (WPI). As stated earlier Whey protein is a by-product of cheese and casein production. Denaturing of protein, which occurs through the use of cheaper extraction methods using high temperatures and acid treatment, destroys the important protein fractions, lowering the biological activity or effectiveness of the protein. Never expose whey protein to high temperatures and direct sunlight for extended periods. Also avoid using whey protein in recipes that use high heat – muffins, pancakes etc, as this may denature the protein as well.

WPC & WPI

High quality WPC’s are typically 70-85% protein, and are reasonably low in fat and lactose. WPI’s however are typically greater than 85% protein, with some being over 90% protein. The Ion-exchanged (IE) process produces the most pure protein, gram for gram (around 95% protein), when compared to microfiltration and removes the protein through an ion-exchange column.

Crossflow Microfiltered (CFM) Whey Isolate is produced by passing the whey protein concentrate through natural, nonchemical ceramic membranes to remove the fat and denatured protein and is typically around 91% protein. Since chemicals aren’t used in this process, very little of the protein is denatured so the protein retains the important protein fractions.

Protein fractions

Protein fractions are the active components of whey that have their own unique effects on health and can help enhance immune function and improve recovery from training. To avoid any allergies from this, avoid whey proteins with higher than 70-80% of Beta-lactoglobulin.

Hydrolysates & Peptides

Hydrolysates are essentially smaller proteins. These are produced by subjecting proteins to digestive enzymes, which breakdown the large protein molecule into many smaller proteins.

The lower the molecular weight of the protein the faster the absorption. Whey proteins with added whey peptides will often state the weight in Daltons (D) of the protein: i.e. MW 500D (very low molecular weight), MW 80,000D (high molecular weight).

Simplified by Dino from executive author about  Whey Protein written by Andrew Honore.