Hi there seems to be a lot of views on protein powder, and in particular what it's derived from... It can be pretty confusing? So what are people's top three and why? What's the scientific answer? Does higher price actually equal a better product?
My current goals are to drop BF, but really don't want to lose the muscle along with it. I am also upping protein intake from whole foods but find it difficult to do this 5 times a day, so assuming two meals a day will have shakes, so want something to assist in meeting my goals.
Lastly, here's a real stupid question but when people refer to oatmeal, does anybody know what the UK equivalent is? Is it just oats? And if so, how the heck do you make a shake with that as an ingredient?
Thanks in advance for answering my stupid questions guys!!
I'm not trying to be difficult when I say this, but you sound rather new to this, and would benefit from doing some of the reading/research as opposed to just asking for the answer. What that being said, Whey is the most popular form of protein.
When we talk about whey we are actually referring to a complex ingredient made up of protein, lactose, fat and minerals. Protein is the best known component of whey and is made up of many smaller protein subfractions such as: Beta-lactoglobulin, alpha-lactalbumin, immunoglobulins (IgGs), glycomacropeptides, bovine serum albumin (BSA) and minor peptides such as lactoperoxidases, lysozyme and lactoferrin. Each of the subfractions found in whey has its own unique biological properties.
Whey protein although whey, can be manufactured in various forms.
When we talk about whey we are actually referring to a complex ingredient made up of protein, lactose, fat and minerals. Protein is the best known component of whey and is made up of many smaller protein subfractions such as: Beta-lactoglobulin, alpha-lactalbumin, immunoglobulins (IgGs), glycomacropeptides, bovine serum albumin (BSA) and minor peptides such as lactoperoxidases, lysozyme and lactoferrin. Each of the subfractions found in whey has its own unique biological properties.
Whey protein isolates (WPI) are the rage at the moment and are about 90% pure. The problem with WPI is that they are only beneficial in an undenatured state, i.e. native conformational state, and have biological activity. Micro filtration appears to be better as opposed to ion exchange as ion exchange depletes some of the active components of the product. This process increases the protein content, but decreases the subfractions that provide many of the benefits of the product.
This segues us nicely into looking at the micro filtered whey isolates. With the array of more recent processing techniques used to make WPIs-or pull out various subfractions -such as Cross Flow Micro filtration (CFM®), ultra filtration (UF), micro filtration (MF), reverse osmosis (RO), dynamic membrane filtration (DMF), ion exchange chromatography, (IEC), electro-ultrafiltration (EU), radial flow chromatography (RFC) and nano filtration (NF), manufacturers can now make some very high grade and unique whey proteins. the most popular form of micro filtration is CFM, or cross low micro filtered.
A new generation of whey products known as Bioactive Whey Fraction (BAWF) protein is soon to hit the market place, and has the potential to be a worthwhile addition to an athlete's diet. These new BAWF proteins provide the benefits of high protein levels (>70%) accompanied by greatly increased levels of bioactive health-promoting compounds. This innovative product contains all sorts of interesting compounds not found in significant concentrations in either whey isolates or concentrates. BAWF protein contains far higher total growth factor levels comprised from IGF-1, TGF-ß1, and TGF-ß2. It contains much higher levels of various phospholipids and various bioactive lipids, such as conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), phosphotidyl-serine, phosphtidyl-choline, sphingomyelin, and higher levels of immunoglobulins and lactoferrin.
Another fairly new development in whey processing is the ability to isolate certain bioactive subfraction proteins on a large scale from whey proteins, such as lactoferrin or Glycomacro peptide, using some of the processing methods mentioned above. This was not possible to do on a large scale just a few years ago, but can be done today with modern filtering techniques employed by a small number of companies. This allows for a truly tailored protein supplement; the ability to add back in certain subfractions in amounts that can't be found in nature. Take for example the subfraction lactoferrin. In many whey products, it is nonexistent due to the type of processing employed. The best whey products will contain less than 1% lactoferrin-and more like 0.5%-of this rare but important micro-fraction. Some companies are now able to add in a specific subfraction to get a truly "designer" protein. One company is also working on making an isolate that will have higher levels of the beneficial subfraction alpha-lactalbumin, and lower levels of the more allergenic and less nutritive subfraction Beta-lactoglobulin. "High alpha-lac" whey isolates would be potentially superior to what is currently on the market in large scale production
Most people remember hydrolyzed proteins were all the rage a few years ago, then dropped off sharply. "Hydrolyzed" basically means the protein has been broken down partially into peptides of different lengths. Because the protein is already partially broken down, it is absorbed faster, which may have positive effects under certain circumstances, and certain metabolic conditions (i.e., burn victims or people with certain digestive disorders and pre-term infants). Whether or not hydrolyzed proteins are truly an advantage to athletes has yet to be proven.
The hype over hydrolyzed proteins was largely based on one rat study that found fasted rats given Hydrolyzed protein had higher nitrogen retention then rats fed whole protein. Human studies have shown that whey peptide-based diets in patients with cancer and crohn's disease result in enhanced nitrogen retention and utilization. To date, no one has followed up with a human study with healthy athletes showing the same thing.
Please note I cut and pasted parts of this reply from notes I have taken over time for myself on this subject, and therefore can not take credit for all of it. Hope this helps.
