Whey Protein

Still A Bodybuilder’s Best Friend

By Xavier Fox

In many of the articles published in BodyFitness you will see that a reoccurring recommendation for those that wish to add a little muscle is to consume sufficient amounts of protein. One form of protein that appears to be quite popular and a favourite among most nutritional authorities is the type known as whey protein. Whey is such a good source of protein that almost all protein powder supplements are manufactured from it. Although it is very popular and has been around for a long time, it seems that the average person in the gym does not know a whole lot about it, and usually can only tell you that it is made from milk. Therefore, we will take a closer look at whey protein and how to make a good economical decision when attempting to purchase one of the many brands that are on the market.

If you have been subscribing to BodyFitness and reading the abundance of nutritional articles contained in its pages, you should already be aware that protein is one of the three forms of nutrients that the body requires in large quantities in order to survive (macronutrients), and the other two are carbohydrates, and lipids (fats and oils). Water can be considered as an unofficial macronutrient, but if you are ever on a game show, you should say there are only three macronutrients. Proteins contain chains of compounds known as amino acids, and the main element that makes amino acids unique is nitrogen. This element is very important in the operation of many critical bodily functions such as growth, tissue repair, immune system function, manufacturing essential hormones and enzymes, manufacturing energy when carbohydrates are not in sufficient supply, and preserving lean muscle mass.
You have probably even come across the term “positive nitrogen balance” when reading articles about protein and muscle recuperation. This term is used to describe the fact that you must take in more nitrogen (protein) than you burn in order for muscle tissue to be able to rebuild itself. The highest concentration of protein in the body can be found in the muscle fibres. Therefore, you must consume more protein than you burn in order to build muscle. In addition, if you do not consume enough protein each day, your body may cannibalise your own muscles to get it. Plenty of high quality protein is critical, and it supplies the nitrogen needed for anyone that exercises.
The building blocks of protein, amino acids, deserve a closer look. There are a total of twenty-two amino acids that are common in natural foods, and of those twenty-two, there are eight that must be ingested from food sources because our body cannot manufacture them from other nutrients. These eight amino acids are known as essential amino acids (EAAs), because it is essential that we consume foods that contain them so our systems will operate properly. There are seven more amino acids that the body has problems producing during periods of illness, injury or extreme emotional stress, and they are known as conditionally essential amino acids (CEAAs). The remaining seven amino acids can be manufactured whenever the body requires them, so they are called nonessential amino acids (NAAs).
Whey protein supplements are abundant in all eight of the essential amino acids, so they make a superior choice for those that require more protein than the average individual does. Whey also contains sufficient amounts of nonessential and conditionally essential amino acids, but the fact that the eight essential amino acids are present in large quantities means that the body will have what it needs to produce the remaining fourteen amino acids whenever the need arises. Whey protein is a complete protein source.
Whey protein is actually the most plentiful source of branch chain amino acids (BCAAs) of all protein forms. Branch chained amino acids (three of the essential amino acids: leucine, isoleucine, and valine) are very important in the muscle building process. BCAAs are absorbed directly into the circulatory system and do not require processing in the liver, which allows for quick protein synthesis. Studies have shown that BCAAs directly supply the nitrogen needed to create and export concentrations of alanine and glutamine produced by muscle. This causes the branch chain amino acid concentrations to be reduced by any form of exercise. Resistance training with weights has shown to reduce these levels in the system by up to 20%. The branch chain amino acids that were cannibalised from the muscle are converted to the amino acid alanine, which is transported to the liver and converted to glucose. If you supplement with whey protein powder immediately after your workout, there will not be a need for your body to scavenge branch chain amino acids from muscle tissue. Therefore, you will stop the needless breakdown of precious muscle tissue for energy purposes.
Branch chain amino acids serve another purpose in your system. When blood concentrations of branch chain amino acids are high, a signal is sent to your brain that muscle is being broken down. This tricks your body into releasing insulin and cutting back on the production of cortisol. The result is a much more anabolic environment.
Another amino acid that whey protein contains in abundant supply is glutamine. This amino acid has many wonderful benefits, and it accounts for 60% of the amino acids found in muscle tissue. This is yet another reason to make sure that you ingest some whey protein immediately following your workout. It is important to do everything that you can to rebuild broken down muscle tissue. It is also a great idea to have whey protein powder before your workout, so the glutamine and other important amino acids are in sufficient supply to meet the demands of a hard working body.
So, now you know that whey protein is good for you, but you are probably wondering how whey protein is manufactured. Well, when milk is processed to make cheese, the proteins ends up in two forms known as casein (curd) and whey. Casein protein is the form in the cheese, and the whey is separated out of the cheese. This form of whey is mostly water, and it only contains about 1% protein by volume. The rest is vitamins, minerals, fats, lactose, and other nutrients. Fortunately for us, technology has advanced so companies can further process the whey into powder form and make it 80% protein by volume. The forms of whey protein that are products of these manufacturing methods are concentrate, isolate, and hydrolyzed peptides (hydrolysates). Whey isolate can be further broken into two categories depending on the process used to manufacture it, and the type of process used will have an effect on its nutritional makeup.
The crude form of whey protein mentioned above (1% by volume) is what dairy companies use to begin processing whey into whey protein concentrates (WPC); whey protein isolates (WPI), and hydrolyzed whey peptides (HWP). The concentrate form (WPC) will actually end up being 80% less volume than the crude form, and it will still have the same amount of protein. An ultrafiltration process is used to accomplish this. That is the reason that many whey protein powders say “ultrafiltered” on their label. It sounds impressive to the consumer, but all whey concentrate is ultrafiltered. Next, the concentrate form is diafiltered to extract most of the fat, lactose, and cholesterol, and the product is a whey protein that is up to 90% protein by volume. That sure is a big difference to 1% by volume. Imagine how much you would have to consume if it was left in the 1% by volume state as well as the amount of fat you would be taking in! The concentrate form of whey protein is easier for your body to digest and more economical than the isolate form, casein, and egg protein.
Whey protein is made of several functional components called microfractions. These microfractons play a key role in appetite regulation, immune functioning, neutralizing free radicals, and other health promoting activities within the body. Beta-lactoglobulin makes up the highest percentage, followed by alpha-lactalbumin, glycomacropeptides (reduce chance of viral infections), bovine serum albumen (prevents malignant growths), immunoglobulins (help strengthen the immune system), lactoferrin, and finally lactoperoxidase. Try to use whey protein products that are at least 50% beta-lactoglobulin; 15-20% should be alpha-lactalbumin; 4-10% should be immunoglobulins; and the remaining microfractions will be in much smaller amounts.
Hydrolyzed whey peptides (HWP) are the most bioavailable form of whey protein. This means that your system will digest a larger percentage of this form per volume than any other form. Hydrolyzed whey peptides are whey isolates and concentrates that have gone through a specific process that breaks their peptide bonds. This process makes HWP more bioavailable than free form amino acids. HWP is loaded with essential, conditionally essential, and nonessential amino acids, thus making them an important component of whey protein powders. One disadvantage of the HWP is that the breaking down of the peptide bonds causes some of the larger microfractions to become eliminated from the final product. In addition, hydrolyzed whey protein is a product of further processing whey protein concentrates and isolates, and the extra processing does not come for free. This adds cost to the hydrolyzed whey protein form.
Anyone that has taken the time to read the labels on many whey protein powders will most likely remember seeing “ION-EXCHANGE” somewhere on the label in big letters. Like the “ultrafiltered” and diafiltered” labelling, this is a form of marketing that makes the product sound high-tech to the consumer. Ion-exchanged protein isolates are manufactured by using solvents, temperature, and variations in pH to temporarily alter the charge on the proteins to attract them to the oppositely charged resin beads in a reaction vessel. When the protein has bonded to the resin beads, purified water is used to rinse the non-protein materials away. During this process, some of these microfractions in the whey protein isolates can be removed, unlike in the microfiltration process, which keeps all of these components intact in the whey protein. However, the ion-exchange whey protein isolates will contain up to 98% protein by volume.
You may have also heard of cross-flow microfiltration, which is a process that utilizes natural ceramic filters to remove fats and cholesterol. No solvents are used during this process. The advantage of this is that it not only maintains all of the microfractions, it spares much of the calcium and is lower in sodium than the ion-exchange form. Cross-flow microfiltration whey protein isolate has more protein per volume than the whey protein concentrate.
All whey protein is going to be highly beneficial to those that use it, but try to find a powder that uses a blend of microfiltered whey protein isolates, ion-exchange whey protein isolates, ultrafiltered whey protein concentrate, and hydrolyzed whey peptides. This blend will give you the advantages that each type has to offer while still keeping the price economical.
Since we are on the subject of keeping things economical when purchasing whey protein, do not forget to compare the amount of protein you are getting per serving when comparing products. You must consider the grams of protein per serving, the serving size in grams, and the price of the amount of powder in grams to determine which brand is the best deal. Take a look at the following table:

	grams of protein per serve	grams per serve	% protein per serve	grams of powder in container	servings in container	price	cost per serving	Cost of protein per gram
Powder 1	20	22	90.91	550	25	£40	£1.60	£0.08
Powder 2	25	30	83.33	600	20	£50	£1.60	£0.10
Powder 3	19	27	70.37	432	16	£38	£1.60	£0.13
Powder 4	30	32	93.75	608	19	£60	£1.60	£0.11
Powder 5	35	40	87.50	880	22	£70	£1.60	£0.09

This example is completely fictitious, of course, but the point is that we need to examine the differences in the products to help us make our best choice. The grams of protein per serving will tell you how well designed the product is. The higher the pure protein ratio, the lower the percentage of junk like fats, sugars, and fillers are in the mixture. At first glance, a person may think that paying £38 for Powder 3 is a better deal than paying £70 for Powder 5. Closer examination shows that they will actually save £0.04 per gram of protein if they buy the £70 container. This may not sound like a lot, but if you eat 50 grams worth of protein powder each day (which is not that much), then you will save £622 each year.
Another consideration that you need to include is the serving size. If you have calculated that you need 30 grams of protein per serving, then you may choose Powder 4 even though it is slightly more expensive than a few of the others. The reason for this is that it gives you exactly what you need, so there is no calculating or measuring. For example, if you purchase Powder 1, you will always have to be sure that you use exactly one-and-a-half scoops, or you will be getting the incorrect amount. You may wish to pay a little extra for the convenience and precision.
In order to save calories, you might want to choose according to which protein has the highest ratio of grams protein per weight. That way, the powder you are consuming is almost all whey protein and not additives, sugars, and preservatives. Powder 1 has almost the same amount of protein per serving as Powder 3, but if you look carefully, you will have to consume 20% more of Powder 3 in order to get that amount. That means that there are empty calories that will not do you any good.
The main reason that you should be choosing whey protein is that scientific research has proven that whey protein has the highest biological value (BV) of any protein. The balance of amino acids in a specific protein determines its biological value. The biological value of a protein is a value that measures how well the body can absorb and utilize a protein. The higher the biological value of the protein you use, the more nitrogen your body can absorb, use, and retain. As a result, proteins with the highest BV promote the most lean muscle gains. This biological value is analogous to the glycemic index and glycemic load of carbohydrates. Complete proteins have high values since they contain adequate amounts of the essential amino acids to promote normal growth in animals. Proteins of high biological value are found in many animal sources such as milk, eggs, cheese, meat, poultry and fish. Plant sources are normally lacking specific essential amino acids and have lower biological scores. These plant sources must be used in specific combinations in order to yield the correct combination of amino acids for assimilation. In addition, compared to animal sources, relatively large amount of plant products (total calories) must be consumed to get enough protein. The exception in plant products is the soybean, which contains relatively large amounts of high biological value protein. Scientific research has proven that whey protein has the highest biological value (BV) of any protein. With a biological value of 104, whey topples soy (BV-74), casein (BV-77), egg white (BV-88), and even tops milk (BV-91). I mention this because whey protein is the main source of protein used in most protein supplements. People that exercise and perform resistance movements require larger amounts of protein than others, and will need to use protein supplements in order to meet the amount their body requires.
If you are serious about your training you should make whey protein a permanent part of your nutrition program. Without high quality sources of protein, your muscle tissue will not be able to recuperate and develop. In addition, do your research so you can discover which brands have the highest quality, and do not purchase a brand simply based on price or size of the container. As you read earlier, a few factors must be taken into consideration. Whey protein is the way to go!