We have all heard of whey protein, whether if it was through a fitness magazine, on a daytime talk show or because one of our friends used it – whey protein is one is the best protein sources available. Whey is low calorie and easy to drink, basically add a scoop, add some water or milk, shake or stir and you have a ready to eat meal. The whey protein industry is a huge industry with over a hundred different types of whey proteins available, it can be confusing when trying to choose the right type of whey protein to take. In this article, you will learn everything you always wanted to know about whey. You will understand the differences between concentrates, isolates, ion exchanged, micro filtration, how to properly drink whey, and all the whey protein myths and whey facts.
What is whey made of?
Whey protein is made out of protein, fat, minerals and lactose. Whey used to be available in one form, but now due to many different types of filtering techniques, there are several types of whey available. Over the years, whey has developed into a potent protein source, gone are the days of the market being full of whey protein concentrates, now are the days where concentrates, mixes and isolates readily available for you to consume for you to consume.
Benefits of drinking whey
There isn’t a bodybuilder who has not tried using whey as it is become a favorite post workout protein source after a hard workout as it is fill of BCAA’s (branch chain amino acids) and is one of the highest scoring biological value foods available. On top of being an amazing protein source, medical researchers have proven that whey has anti-aging benefits, can improve liver function, increase serotonin levels, reduce stress, and help fight HIV infection, reduce blood pressure, reduce recovery time from a workout and cut cancer rates. Whey has even been proven to improve a person’s immune system, providing the body with a source of water soluble antioxidants. Whey is definitely a good addition to your post workout out meal as it will speed up recovery and fight off muscular fatigue thus letting you get back to the gym quicker and stronger.
How many types of whey are available?
Regardless of all the fitness advertising you see, there are only several types of whey proteins available. Whey is available in concentrate, isolate, cold cross flow filtered and ion exchanged to name a few. All of these are great, but have different benefits that you should be aware of.
Whey Concentrate
Originally, whey came in concentrated forms, used mainly for baby food and baking purposes. Concentrates usually contain 80% protein and are more of a slow digesting whey protein. Generally speaking, concentrates go through a few filtration methods to increase their protein value. Generally speaking whey protein concentrate is better suited for people who want a slower digesting whey protein. Note that Concentrated whey protein usually has more overall fat than whey protein isolate.
Whey protein isolate
Whey Isolate is a quick digesting whey protein that is best used right after a workout. Whey isolate contains more overall protein that concentrate reaching up to 95% protein. When buying a whey protein isolate, make sure to only buy from reputable brands as the processing of whey protein can actually harm the biological activity and lose its immune boosting effects. Usually this process is done under extremely cold conditions to prevent any biological activity loss.
A major benefit of taking whey protein isolate instead of whey protein concentrate is that there is a much better protein to fat ratio. What you need to remember is that when you are choosing a whey protein, you need to think of how you will use it.
Whey Isolate vs. Whey Concentrate
So if isolate contains the most amount of protein and the least amount of fat, does this mean that you should only drink isolate? Not exactly, although whey isolate is the best on paper and with the invention of ion exchange whey isolate, there is still a small change that the whey protein goes through due to the processing it goes under which changes the overall health effect. This does not mean that it is unhealthy, but it just does not contain all the anti-cancer and antioxidant health benefits as whey concentrate does.
So I you are looking for the whey protein with the highest protein value then the obvious choice is to go for an ion exchanged whey protein, but if you are interested in all the overall health effects of whey protein than the choice leads to a good whey concentrate.
One of the worst things about buying a whey protein is that there is a wide array of marketing techniques used to sell whey.
One of the marketing techniques is to give the process of changing concentrated whey into whey isolate.
Some of the names used to get people to buy a certain brand of whey are: dynamic membrane filtration, electro ultra filtration, cross flow micro filtration, reverse osmosis and many other marketing names to get you to buy their whey products.
One of the best selling whey proteins is cross flow micro filtered whey protein.
Usually this type of whey protein is extremely high in protein and calcium content as well as the process is completely natural and does not use any chemical to change the protein from concentrate to isolate.
So the golden rules of choosing the right whey protein for you are that isolates contain more overall protein than concentrates, yet concentrates are have a better overall nutritional value.
So in conclusion, adding whey protein to your diet is very beneficial, because it is a low calorie protein source and will not only help you lose weight, but will boost up your immune system as well. Make sure to add a whey protein shake to your gym bag for a great post workout recovery drink.