What Is Whey Protein?

There are two types of protein that comes from milk: casein and whey. However, whey protein is considered as a more optimal protein as it contains all the 9 crucial amino acids, it’s protein per serving size and BCAAs are also high with low level of carbs and fat. Furthermore, our bodies can recruit whey protein for the muscle growth and recovery process at a very fast rate.

So basically we have been consuming whey protein from our childhood, it’s just that we were not aware of it.

But this doesn’t mean that you are out of options and have to completely rely on whey protein after all whey protein itself is extracted from milk which is a dairy product, but if you are allergic to dairy products and want a convenient and affordable way to consume protein in your diet, then whey protein powder is probably the best option you’ll find in the market.

How Whey Protein Is Made?

Whey protein is extracted from milk with the help of cheese making process. First, a gallon of milk is converted into a block of cheese, then enzymes are added to the liquid due to which it gets separated into liquid and curd. The liquid that is left over is the pure protein, which later turns into whey. 

It’s important to understand the procedure of making whey protein as it will help in understanding the different types of whey protein powder like isolate, concentrate and hydrolysate.

The protein content in the final version of whey protein keeps getting less and less as the product go through multiple process and filtration.

There are various benefits of whey protein both for the people who keep themselves indulged with the any kind of training and also for the people who led a very sedentary lifestyle.

Whey Protein (Concentrate)

The most common form of whey protein that is being widely consumed is whey protein concentrate. The word concentrate means that product holds 35 – 80 percentage of protein in the given weight. But if you are worried about the protein that you are getting let’s understand it in a simple way, if a scoop holds 100 g of protein powder then around 35 – 80 g of that scoop will be pure protein.

Looking at the price and the value that protein concentrate delivers, it’s a really good option for most of the people, but if you are someone who considers small details like carbs and fats in your protein powder then it’s best for you to go through the label of any product that you are planning to buy as different brands have different nutritional profile for the same kind of product.

Boost Your Knowledge with How Much Protein Is Needed Per Day?

Whey Protein (Isolate)

Whey protein isolate hold a better rank in terms of purity of protein than whey protein concentrate, which is 90 percent of protein by weight. Applying 100 g example again, if the scoop holds 100 g of protein, then it will be providing at least 90 g of protein in that 100 g of scoop.

Many companies brag about having better and purer isolates in their product through marketing tactics and different filtration process like cold filtration or microfiltration. Different sized particles are filtered out from these different filtration methods which helps in getting a clean form of whey.

This doesn’t mean that these different filtration processes don’t yield some minor benefits, but still it’s the protein by weight which defines isolate, not the different types of filtration process.

Due to higher level of protein by whey and extra level of filtration process, whey protein isolate has a relatively higher price compared to concentrate. Furthermore, whey protein isolate also provides a better solubility, due to which it becomes easier to mix and also provides a smoother drinking experience.

Whey Protein (Hydrolysate)

Whey protein hydrolysate has to go through a very different process as compared to concentrate and isolate.

Whey protein hydrolysate is a kind of protein that is made smaller by using enzymes and acids and also to remove bioactive immunoglobulins which supports immune function

Research has shown that whey protein hydrolysate has a faster absorption rate as compared to concentrate and isolate, because hydrolysates don’t need to be broken down in the stomach like other proteins.

Hydrolysates also enhances muscle protein synthesis comparatively at a much faster rate than other form of proteins. However, the research shows that it doesn’t necessarily helps in getting more muscles. This is because the total amount of protein that you consume in a day has bigger role to play in gaining muscles than the rate at which protein is getting absorbed by the body. Whey protein hydrolysate happens to be the most expensive kind of protein out of all types of proteins.

Insights On Soy Protein

Soy protein is not same as whey protein, but most of the times it is compared and criticized when compared with popular dairy protein.

Most of the criticism is because of the phytoestrogens which is present in soy protein. People fear that because of these phytoestrogens their testosterone levels and muscle building level will get decreased.

There are two ways soy proteins are processed which are similar to whey.

In terms of soy protein concentrate, ethanol is usually used by the manufacturers to extract the protein and neutralize the pH level. Most of the isoflavones are removed due to this process which are then left swimming in the ethanol and not in the soybean anymore.

When it comes to soy isolate, applying ethanol to extract the protein is not always necessary. So it’s clearly possible that some soy isoflavones might still be present.

In terms of soy isoflavones (if you are consuming it on a regular basis) it shouldn’t be a concern as it doesn’t cause any major problems related to fertility and health. However, soy can affect the hormones, but for that to happen you’ll have to consume a lot of soy protein isolate, which is rarely possible.