YOU CAN ANSWER THE QUESTION YOURSELF WITH A FEW INFORMATION AND SOME SIMPLE
MATH
How do you pick a protein powder? Do you go on the suggestion of your pal at
the gym and take exactly what he takes? Do you select the botde with the
shiniest, most innovative label, or do you choose exactly what tastes or whaf s
on sale at your neighborhood GNC?
These are serious questions. You know that taking whey protein at the right
times can make all the difference between building an extra half-inch on your
arms or adding 20 pounds to your personal best on the bench press. But not just
any whey will do. There are great whey protein products and there are
not-so-good whey products. And being able to tell the difference between them can
be critical to your gains.
Whey Good
The first step in determining the worthiness of your protein is to give
yourself a pat on the back. You recognize whey's benefits and are including it
in your daily regimen. Ifs enormously advantageous for several reasons,
including amino acid and microfraction content (more on that in a minute) and
digestion rate Whey is one of the richest sources of BCAAs, which include the
three amino acids leucine, isoleucine, and valine. These bad boys have been
shown to be absolutely key for muscle growth and even for energy during
workouts. Whey protein also contains biologically active protein
microfractions, such as alpha-lactalbumin, beta-lactoglobulin,
glycomacropeptides, immunoglobulins, lactoferrin, lactoperoxidase, and various
growth factors. These provide antioxidants, boost immune function, and enhance
muscle recovery and growth.
Probably the most important factor that puts whey protein miles ahead of
other forms of protein is digestion rate. It breaks down very rapidly. In fewer
than 30 minutes it can fasttrack a good portion of its aminos to your muscles,
and that quick delivery to muscle cells has been shown to be vital for pushing
growth.
Milk Made
Whey is one of the proteins found in milk, and whey protein production
starts with dairy cows. Milk is the originating source for most protein
powders. But if you think that supplement companies like Optimum Nutrition,
CytoSport, or Nature's Best are out in the back milking cows to make their
protein powders, you've got another thing coming.
Until the 1960s, many considered whey a waste by-product of cheese SUPPLY
AND DEMAND
It's the first thing you learn in Economics 101, and the supply and demand
model is what you need to understand when it comes to understanding why
protein
powder prices are at a premium.
According to Vince Andrich, president of Vandrich Performance Nutrition Inc.
and author of Sports Supplement Review [Mile High Publishing], "Gn the
supply side of things, New Zealand, the world's largest exporter of milk, experienced
terrible weather conditions in SDlO and 2011 that significantly cut milk
production. At the same time, both China and Russia were importing milk at an
all-time high. One reason for the increased demand in China was the
melamine-ctmtarninated milk incident. Worried about receiving tainted milk from
local sources, Chinese companies looked elsewhere for their milk. China has
increased their importing of powdered milk by more than 50%."
With supply low and demand high, it doesn't take an economics professor to
understand why
protein powder prices are rising. Milk is generally
expensive, regardless of whether it's used to make cheese or
protein powder.
That expense trickles down to the
protein powder manufacturers and, of
course, to you.
FROM COW TO JUG
THIS FLOWCHART GIVES YOU A SIMPLIFIED RUNDOWN OFHOWMILK GOESFROMTHE COW TO
WHEY PROTEIN.
Cow is milkedthe raw! form has al lot of sugar, in the form) of lectose.l
and plenty! of fat.
Milk is pasteurized, or heated to temps that toll harmful bacteria.
Casein and whey are separated
Whey is fillered to remove carbs and fat, forming whey concentrate
Whey concentrate is dried to lumm whey protein concentrate powder
Whey goes through more filtering, such as cross-flow microfiltration, to
form whey isolate.
Whey isolate is done to form whey protein isolate powder.
Whey is hydrolyzed to break protein into smaller pieces.
Whey hydrolysate is dried to form whey protein hydrofysate powder.
Louis Pasteur revolutionized milk production in 1864.
The rinisheo product isa light. water-soluble powder.
Check the label. The very first ingrethent must bee high-quality protein
source.
But to really know whether a whey
protein powder is top-notch, you'll
need to do some math. Take the grams of protein per serving listed on the
supplement facts panel and divide it by the serving size (in grams). This will
give you the percentage of protein in each serving. To be considered a great whey
protein powder, the percent protein per serving (or scoop) should be 80%
or greater. For example, if a whey
protein powder provides 25 grams of
protein per 28-gram scoop, that
protein powder is about 90% protein and
is a great powder for the money. Have a peek at this web-site
best protein powder and learn more.
GREAT WHEY PROTIEN POWDERS
These 10 whey protein powders made our list for delivering 80% or more
protein per serving:
AST VPe Whey Isolate
Source: hydrolyzed whey isolate
Body Fortress Super Advanced Whey Isolate
Source: whey isolate
Dymatize Iso-lOQ
Source: hydrolyzed whey isolate
GNC Pro Performance Whey Isolate
Source: whey isolate
MuscleTech rfitro Isolate 65 Pro
Source: whey isolate and hydrolyzed whey isolate
Nature's Best Isopure Zero Garfa
Source: whey isolate
NOW Whey Protein Isolata
Source: micrafiltered whey isolate
Optimum Platinuni Hydro Whey
Source: hydrolyzed whey isolate
ProLab Isolate
Source: whey isolate
Ultimate Nutrition Iso-Sensation 93
Source: cross-flow micrafiltered whey isolate
GOOD WHEY PROTEIN POWDERS
These supps pack 70-80% protein per serving, slightly lower than the
"greats" due to added whey protein concentrate:
Chamrrinn Pure Whey Protein
Source: micro-filtered and ion-exchanged whey concentrate and isolate
CytoSport Complete Whey
Source: whey concentrate and hydrolysate
Dvmatize Elite Whey Protein Isolate
Source: whey isolate
HAS 100% Whey Protein
Source: whey concentrate and isolate
Met-Rg 100% Utaamvosvn Whey
Source: ultra-filtered whey concentrate
MRM 100% All Natural Whey
Source: ultra-filtered whey concentrate and cross-now micrafiltered whey
isolate
Optimum Gold Standard 100% Whey
Source: whey isolate
Twinlab 100% Whey Protein Fuel
Source: whey concentrate and isolate
Universal Ultra Wbev Pro
Source: ultra-filtered whey isolate
WHEY PROTEIN POWDERS THAT SUCK
Companies like Glanbia and Hilmar start with high-quality milk, but not
every company does the same. To cut costs and make their powders more
affordable, some manufacturers use questionable suppliers. These lesser-quality
powders may also contain impurities and toxins.
The easiest way to spot a powder that's using cheap raw protein is its
price. If it's much cheaper than the major brands, it's likely something is up.
There's only one way for a company to undersell all other reputable brands, and
that is by buying inferior protein. So, be careful of protein powders that are
off-label brands, that you can't find on bodybuilding.com or at GNC or the
Vitamin Shoppe, or that are incredibly cheap. As they say, you get what you pay
for.
Another way to spot a low-quality
protein powder is by checking the
nutrition label. Most good whey protein concentrates are around 70-80%, but
some can fall as low as 35% proteinmeaning the "protein" is actually
more likely a blend of carbs and fat. If a
protein powder lists whey
protein concentrate first on the ingrethents list followed by whey protein
isolate and/or whey protein hydroJysate but has less than 70% protein per
serving, then it likely contains only a small amount of whey.