Where is all the whey isolate?

brofessorx

brofessorx

Well-known member
Awards
3
  • Established
  • First Up Vote
  • RockStar
For a protein to be called whey isolate, it must be 90% protein per serving.
I’m having a hard time finding options.

be nice if we could put together a list.

is your isolate legit? (Grams of protein divided by serving size to get percentage of protein per serving)
 
aaronuconn

aaronuconn

Well-known member
Awards
3
  • RockStar
  • First Up Vote
  • Established
I like Rule One and NOW Isolate, however both have protein purity percentages of 87% and 89%, respectively. Close enough to me. And the reason they don’t achieve 90% isn’t due to macronutrients, it’s the flavoring and such
 
brofessorx

brofessorx

Well-known member
Awards
3
  • Established
  • First Up Vote
  • RockStar
I like Rule One and NOW Isolate, however both have protein purity percentages of 87% and 89%, respectively. Close enough to me. And the reason they don’t achieve 90% isn’t due to macronutrients, it’s the flavoring and such
Those are good numbers. 💪
 
sns8778

sns8778

Board Sponsor
Awards
4
  • Established
  • First Up Vote
  • RockStar
  • Best Answer
For a protein to be called whey isolate, it must be 90% protein per serving.
I’m having a hard time finding options.

be nice if we could put together a list.

is your isolate legit? (Grams of protein divided by serving size to get percentage of protein per serving)
If you don't mind me asking, where are you getting the information from that to be called a whey isolate that it must be 90% protein per serving based on the way that you're defining it in your post? (total grams of protein divided by serving size)

The reason I'm asking is that I've never seen that defined that way before.

As aaron mentioned in the post above, a brand could be using a great quality whey protein isolate and just simply not be hitting that percentage because they want to make it taste really good for you and the grams of flavor system used shouldn't have anything to do with whether it is defined as a whey protein isolate or not because whey protein isolate is a type of protein, not a term used to define overall product composition.

By that definition, NOW Foods and Ketogenics IsoWhey wouldn't even be considered legit and they are as legit as it gets.

The total serving size would include the protein itself + flavor, sweeteners, etc. and will likely vary some flavor by flavor within the same brand because different amounts of flavor and sweetener would be used to achieve certain flavor profiles.

I think it would be more accurate to look at the percentage breakdown of the actual macronutrients. '

I'll use Ketogenics IsoWhey Vanilla Cupcake as an example bc it's a top notch Whey Isolate:
  • If you did it the way you were saying, then you would take 25 grams of protein per scoop and divide it by 29.7 grams (total scoop size) and you would get 84.17%
  • ^^^ and the reason is just bc of the flavor system, sweeteners, and ingredients for consistency and in this case, they use natural flavors which require a higher amount of flavor to make it taste good.
  • But if you do it based off of macronutrients, then total calories is 110 calories and break that down as each gram of protein having 4 calories per gram and each gram of carbs having 4 calories per gram and you get 100 calories from protein (25 grams x 4 calories) and 6 calories from carbs (1.5 carbs x 4 calories = 6) and the product says 110 calories which is very common that companies are allowed to round and in this case, props to them bc they actually round up rather than down. But let's use the 110 for the sake of math here. If you divide the 100 by 110, then you get 90.9%.
I hope that makes sense.
 
sns8778

sns8778

Board Sponsor
Awards
4
  • Established
  • First Up Vote
  • RockStar
  • Best Answer
Actually, as an add on about what I mean, you could take Ketogenics unflavored Whey Isolate as an example.

It is 100 calories and 25 grams of whey protein isolate, no other protein sources.
At 4 calories per gram, then every single calorie in it comes from whey protein isolate.

But if you did the math of total grams protein divided by total serving size scoop weight, then you still come out as .899%.

What I'm getting at with that example is a straight whey protein isolate with the only thing added being sunflower lecithin for consistency purposes and zero flavors would still have to be rounded up to meet the 90% by the way of math done that way.

But done as a % of macronutrients, 100% of all calories are from Whey Protein Isolate.
 
sns8778

sns8778

Board Sponsor
Awards
4
  • Established
  • First Up Vote
  • RockStar
  • Best Answer
For anyone that doesn't feel like reading my detailed post above, I'll make this one simple and say that NOW Foods Whey Isolate as mentioned above is a great option but my personal favorite is Ketogenics IsoWhey.

Ketogenics IsoWhey comes in a variety of great flavors:
  • Cold Brew Coffee
  • Blueberry Muffin
  • Vanilla Cupcake
  • Cinnamon Cereal
  • Maple Syrup French Toast
  • Strawberry Shortcake
  • Chocolate Cereal Milk
  • Unflavored
  • Peanut Butter Cookie
  • Fruity Cereal
  • Pumpkin Spiced Glazed Donut
 
DieselNY

DieselNY

Well-known member
Awards
3
  • Established
  • First Up Vote
  • RockStar
For a protein to be called whey isolate, it must be 90% protein per serving.
I’m having a hard time finding options.

be nice if we could put together a list.

is your isolate legit? (Grams of protein divided by serving size to get percentage of protein per serving)
Tons of whey isolate out there. Let's assume we are discussing wpi90 which is pretty much the best of the best with isolate.

But then you need to also consider the filtration. Cold microfiltration and ultrafiltration is the way to go.

Ion Exchange is extremely inferior and just pure crap so you're not getting what you think you are (I'm getting ahead of myself so I'll save that conversation for another day).

You can't use scoop weight to figure out what % whey it is. As Steve mentioned above.

You start with wpi90 and you add 2-4 grams of flavoring and sweetener and/or fiber and that lowers the % BUT you still have 90% wpi.

Let's use Ketogenics whey protein isolate as an example:

With wpi90, around 28gm of powder is needed to yield 25gm wpi, plus 3gms flavoring and sweetener, etc and now you are at 31gms "powder" in a scoop. But your method of using protein grams and total powder weight you get around 80% protein by weight. BUT it's still 90% wpi, it's not an 80% protein but protein accounts for 80% of what is in the scoop/1 serving.

For Unflavored whey you will have approx 28gm of powder in a scoop that yields 25gm wpi.

If a brand lists whey protein isolate then it's 90% protein give or take a fraction of a %. (Unfortunately many brands lie and it's not wpi90 but again I'm getting ahead of myself)...What matters after that is the filtration used and cold filtration is the way to go.

What you do need to concern yourself is when you buy a product that has whey protein concentrate (WPC) because that can be anywhere from 40% to 80% protein and lots of brands use crappy 60% WPC plus loads of flavoring and other ingredients so to the lay person it's near impossible to figure out the protein % by using the total grams per scoop. Most people assume all WPC is wpi80%, its not.

So yes, plenty of wpi90 put there.

Just avoid ion exchange (even though most brands no longer list that it's ion exchange on the label because they know people do not want that crap)... there are some small tell tale signs on a label if it's ion exchange or not and high sodium is the first red flag that it's ion exchange. (200mg)
 
brofessorx

brofessorx

Well-known member
Awards
3
  • Established
  • First Up Vote
  • RockStar
If you’re diluting it to taste better or whatever reason, you are changing the protein content.
86% can technically be rounded to 90%.
Calories can’t be used because it’s highly inaccurate (example , if a medium apple is put in a calorimeter, all medium apples are given that calorie content, highly processed protein products are going to be even more variable) as well as companies are allowed to give an about figure as well.
You can dilute a protein to taste better, sure, but then don’t label it an isolate if its not close.
Example, isopure is like 78% protein. So you can round it to 80%. A concentrate.
its about attracting consumers and selling as little protein per serving for the most money. It’s shady to me.
 
brofessorx

brofessorx

Well-known member
Awards
3
  • Established
  • First Up Vote
  • RockStar
Tons of whey isolate out there. Let's assume we are discussing wpi90 which is pretty much the best of the best with isolate.

But then you need to also consider the filtration. Cold microfiltration and ultrafiltration is the way to go.

Ion Exchange is extremely inferior and just pure crap so you're not getting what you think you are (I'm getting ahead of myself so I'll save that conversation for another day).

You can't use scoop weight to figure out what % whey it is. As Steve mentioned above.

You start with wpi90 and you add 2-4 grams of flavoring and sweetener and/or fiber and that lowers the % BUT you still have 90% wpi.

Let's use Ketogenics whey protein isolate as an example:

With wpi90, around 28gm of powder is needed to yield 25gm wpi, plus 3gms flavoring and sweetener, etc and now you are at 31gms "powder" in a scoop. But your method of using protein grams and total powder weight you get around 80% protein by weight. BUT it's still 90% wpi, it's not an 80% protein but protein accounts for 80% of what is in the scoop/1 serving.

For Unflavored whey you will have approx 28gm of powder in a scoop that yields 25gm wpi.

If a brand lists whey protein isolate then it's 90% protein give or take a fraction of a %. (Unfortunately many brands lie and it's not wpi90 but again I'm getting ahead of myself)...What matters after that is the filtration used and cold filtration is the way to go.

What you do need to concern yourself is when you buy a product that has whey protein concentrate (WPC) because that can be anywhere from 40% to 80% protein and lots of brands use crappy 60% WPC plus loads of flavoring and other ingredients so to the lay person it's near impossible to figure out the protein % by using the total grams per scoop. Most people assume all WPC is wpi80%, its not.

So yes, plenty of wpi90 put there.

Just avoid ion exchange (even though most brands no longer list that it's ion exchange on the label because they know people do not want that crap)... there are some small tell tale signs on a label if it's ion exchange or not and high sodium is the first red flag that it's ion exchange. (200mg)
Yes, you use the serving size and protein per serving. You want to dilute the protein to taste better? Fine. Don’t label it as a whey isolate. Label it as just whey protein and say “ we use the highest quality isolate in making our protein powder”
But then, if you did that, you’d lose some attraction from consumers in the whey isolate kick, most consumers are too uninformed to read or understand the label.
 
brofessorx

brofessorx

Well-known member
Awards
3
  • Established
  • First Up Vote
  • RockStar
if you want quality, taste shouldn’t be an issue.
I know for the majority this isn’t the case, if it was, peptopro would be more popular.
 
DieselNY

DieselNY

Well-known member
Awards
3
  • Established
  • First Up Vote
  • RockStar
Yes, you use the serving size and protein per serving. You want to dilute the protein to taste better? Fine. Don’t label it as a whey isolate. Label it as just whey protein and say “ we use the highest quality isolate in making our protein powder”
But then, if you did that, you’d lose some attraction from consumers in the whey isolate kick, most consumers are too uninformed to read or understand the label.
You have to label it as whey protein isolate even if you don't want too, as pr the FDA. And it is accurate doing that.

You said just say: “ we use the highest quality isolate in making our protein powder”

- correct and that protein is wpi90.

You start with whey protein isolate 90, no matter what else you add later doesn't change that fact that the main ingredient is wpi90. And as long as the grams of protein is declared then you know how much protein you are getting per scoop.

Also, wpi90 is not just popular because it's 90% protein, that's only half of it. It's super clean, trace fat and carbs, nearly void of all lactose, easy on the gut and even tolerated by those who are lactose intolerant.

But if you want to know how much of your scoop is pure protein then sure do the math as discussed above but the math doesn't change the fact that the protein used is wpi90.
 
DieselNY

DieselNY

Well-known member
Awards
3
  • Established
  • First Up Vote
  • RockStar
if you want quality, taste shouldn’t be an issue.
I know for the majority this isn’t the case, if it was, peptopro would be more popular.
I agree with you. For instance I could care less what a pre workout tastes like. All these brands come up with these silly flavors for something that spends a fraction a fraction of a second in most users mouth.

Speaking as a brand, the majority of protein consumers absolutely want the taste and that is why they stick with 1 brand over another.
99% of reviews for protein powders are reviews about the flavor.

People like us who probably consider food as fuel, we are the very very small minority.

And the reason why PeptoPro is not more popular its because it costs $40/lb (and tastes like ass) and while I do like that stuff (on paper) and have a lot on hand it's hard to convince the general meathead public to buy it over wpi.
 
Darkhorse192

Darkhorse192

Well-known member
Awards
3
  • Established
  • First Up Vote
  • RockStar
if you want quality, taste shouldn’t be an issue.
I know for the majority this isn’t the case, if it was, peptopro would be more popular.
bro..its it 2023, you don't have to suck down **** tasting protein in the name of "quality"

PEScience is one of the best quality proteins on the market and their flavors are also top tier. Same with Beverly, Ghost, etc.
 
Rad83

Rad83

Well-known member
Awards
4
  • Established
  • First Up Vote
  • Best Answer
  • RockStar
NutraBio …clean af label and tastes great…
 
LeanEngineer

LeanEngineer

Legend
Awards
4
  • RockStar
  • Established
  • Best Answer
  • First Up Vote
PEScience is one of the best quality proteins on the market and their flavors are also top tier. Same with Beverly, Ghost, etc.
Completely agreed here. PES Select is my go to. I've tasted transparent labs whey isolate but the price is pretty steep on it :(
 

dukes3577

Active member
Awards
3
  • Established
  • First Up Vote
  • RockStar
I believe they are still running 30% off as well
 

chainsaw

Well-known member
Awards
2
  • Established
  • First Up Vote
Any other votes for WPI that is budget friendly?
 

Similar threads


Top