Whey Protein And Amino Acids Both Are Known To Promote Muscle Recovery Growth And Repair But How Do We Choose Between The Two Or Do We Even Have To
So youve been told you need to get your whey, your protein and your amino acids all in different conversations with nutrition experts or articles from our website and now youve stopped to think, are they the same thing and does one contain the other? Its far from an obvious question as these days with the plethora of protein and fitness supplements available to you there is a good chance you have either tried and tested each of the aforementioned as individual supplements or combined as one in a blend.
What Are The Benefits Of Whey Protein
Whey protein is considered one of the highest quality dietary proteins because it contains all the essential amino acids needed by the human body including leucine, an essential amino acid well documented for its role in stimulating muscle growth. In addition, whey protein helps restore body tissue and muscle and is easily absorbed by the human body.
Protein Characterization By Amino Acid Profile
Since many years whey protein supplements are very popular among athletes, especially body builders and fitness athletes. The optimal amino acid composition of whey protein which shows to be particular rich in essential amino acids is ideal for muscle gain and maintenance. Not all dietary proteins have the same nutritional value, due to a different amino acid profile. The PDCAAS and DIAAS methods are becoming increasingly popular to evaluate the nutritional value of proteins.
For the evaluation of the nutritional value of proteins, the DIAAS method uses data on the digestibility and bioavailability of the individual amino acids and not of the protein as a whole. Ansynth can support in these methods by providing the total overview of amino acids in proteins.
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Amino Acid Profile Analysis
During acid hydrolysis, the non-essential amino acids asparagine and glutamine are converted into aspartic acid and glutamic acid, respectively, and the essential amino acid tryptophan is decomposed, which precludes the ability to detect these amino acids . As tryptophan was not measured, the sum of essential amino acids includes threonine, methionine, phenylalanine, histidine, lysine, valine, isoleucine, and leucine. The acid hydrolysis was performed in the absence of oxygen and the hydrolyzation process was terminated after 12 h of incubation to minimize the reduction of cysteine and methionine. Although the acid hydrolysis is not optimal for all amino acids, we used this procedure for all protein samples to enable direct comparisons between the various protein sources.
Benefits Of Whey Protein
Whey protein may be useful for:
- Muscle building: Muscles love protein, especially complete proteins like whey. Whey protein contains branched-chain amino acids, a specific type of amino acid that helps with muscle building, Smith says.
- Wound healing: The amino acids in whey protein help repair skin and tissues from wounds or surgery.
- Weight gain and nutritional boost: People who need to gain weight can benefit from whey protein. Its also helpful if a person has a long-term illness and needs extra nutrition. If you cant get enough protein from whole food sources, a whey protein supplement can help, says Smith. Its beneficial for people who have chewing or swallowing disorders or a lack of appetite.
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Types Of Whey Protein
What Is Whey Protein Isolate
To understand whey protein isolate, you first have to understand what ordinary whey protein or whey concentrate is. Whey protein is a complete source of high-quality protein derived from cow’s milk, containing a complete amino acid profile. Whey protein has a very high concentration of the essential amino acids, responsible for building and rebuilding lean muscle mass called the branched-chain amino acids . BCAAs are comprised of leucine, isoleucine, and valine Studies have shown that the branched-chain amino acids, especially leucine is responsible for enhancing skeletal muscle and mass.
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Whey protein isolate is a highly purified form of Whey protein. Whey protein isolate goes through a rigorous filtration process, called Cross-Flow Micro-Filtration. Through this filtration process, protein is separated from any additional fat, carbohydrates, cholesterol, and lactose, resulting in a more purified form of protein. Whey protein isolate is therefore a more refined form of protein, without any extra macronutrients. This is especially great, if one of your goals, is to optimize body composition, and burn more body fat, since it contains fewer calories, fat, carbohydrates, and sugar than any other type of whey protein, or casein.
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Your Body Absorbs Casein Protein Slower Than Whey
One of the significant differences between casein and whey protein is how quickly your body absorbs them.
Your body breaks down protein into many small molecules called amino acids, which circulate in your bloodstream until theyre absorbed.
Levels of these amino acids stay elevated in your blood for four to five hours after you consume casein but only 90 minutes after you consume whey .
This is because the two proteins digest at different rates.
As it does in cheesemaking, casein forms curds once exposed to the acids in your stomach. These curds lengthen your bodys digestion and absorption processes.
Therefore, casein protein provides your body with a slow, steady release of amino acids, making it ideal before fasting situations, such as sleep (
, 9).
Summary
Casein protein digests slowly while whey digests quickly. These differences in absorption rates make casein protein good before bed and whey protein ideal for around your workouts.
Reaching Your Fitness Peak
If youre looking for a supportive supplement to enhance your athletic performance, both during endurance and resistance exercise, then youd be better served by a free amino acid supplement that includes the essential amino acids .
Amino Co scientists also added citrulline, an amino acid that boosts arginine levels for better blood flow and oxygenation. Thats the beauty of free amino acid formulasyou can design them for your precise needs!
Perform has been shown in clinical trials to:
- Boost peak muscle response 4 times more than testosterone or human growth hormone
- Optimize strength and endurance
- Improve focus, concentration, and brain function
- Quickly rebuild muscle tissue for reduced recovery times
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Can I Consume Whey Protein If Im Lactose Intolerant
Studies show that most people can tolerate 5g of lactose per single dose, which should make whey protein products suitable for most people. However, the degree of lactose tolerance differs from person to person.
If you are unsure about your lactose tolerance, your doctor can determine your threshold level.
What Can I Make With Whey Protein Powder
Whey Protein Shake – Plain, unflavored, or unsweetened whey requires just water. If you look at the back of your whey container, pouch, tub, the directions will include quantities of water and protein to put in a shaker and where to find some great recipes.
If you want to up the flavor, though, you’ll look into making smoothies.
Creative smoothie recipes will help you figure out a way to make your whey taste even better and give you a maximum amount of nutrients.
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Whey Protein Isolate Benefits: Reduces Hunger
Diets higher in protein are typically correlated with sustained satiety. The hierarchy for macronutrient satiety, is similar to that observed for diet-induced thermogenesis. Protein is the most satiating macronutrient, followed by carbohydrates and fat, which are the least filling. Whey protein isolate provokes the strongest reduction in hunger followed by Casein and Soy. Decreased hunger rates coincide directly with higher leucine, lysine, tryptophan, isoleucine, and threonine response, which makes Whey Isolate the best protein source to increase satiety With increased fullness, you can focus on hitting your macronutrient intake and performance goals.
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Getting The Best Of Both Whey And Free Aminos
The better protein supplement for you depends on your fitness and health goals. Amino Co scientists, including Dr. Robert Wolfe who was one of the lead authors on the aforementioned study, have determined that combining whey protein with free essential amino acids is advantageous for healing and recovery from illness, injury, or surgery, or when the body is under intensified stress.
They developed a high-quality recovery blend called Heal made with optimal proportions of whey protein and essential amino acids. Clinical trials show that Heal is 3 times more effective at stimulating muscle growth and muscle repair than any other protein source.
This protein supplement is also unique in that it helps calm inflammation and preserve muscle mass even in states of complete inactivity such as bed rest. Studies have shown marked improvements in physical function and strength just 6 weeks after surgery.
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Naturally Occurring Amino Acids Vs Spiked Protein Powders
While this issue isnt nearly as much of a problem as it was 5-10 years ago, it still exists — spiked protein powders. What we mean by spiked is that extra free form amino acids, such as L-Glutamine, L-Taurine, or Creatine, were added in addition to whey protein in countless mass market protein powders.
These added amino acids artificially inflated the protein count on many protein powders, meaning that you werent really getting as much protein as the label claimed.
How can you tell if your protein is spiked?
Take a look at the ingredients panel and if you see a bunch of free-form amino acids listed before or after the whey protein, chances are pretty good that its spiked.
Now, the amino acids that were about to discuss below are the ones naturally occurring in whey protein, theyre not separate ones added to artificially enhance the protein content. Most protein powders will list which amino acids are naturally occurring in their whey protein powder on the side of the tub, but few people rarely know what those amino acids do, outside of the BCAAs, and that brings us back to the point of this article — a close up look at the individual amino acids in your whey protein powder.
So, lets get to it!
Whey Is Highly Bioavailable
A critical but often neglected point about dietary protein is that source matters.
For example, it is not only the quantity of protein that is important, but also the amino acid profile, and how bioavailable those amino acids are.
Currently, DIAAS is thought to be the best measurement of the protein quality of a specific food .
DIAAS measures the total digestibility of each amino acid in a protein, so it is very accurate.
According to DIAAS, the higher the rating, the higher the protein quality of a specific food.
As shown by studies into the DIAAS rating of different foods, whey protein offers one of the highest quality sources of protein. The list below shows how the protein quality of whey compares to several other protein options :
- Milk protein concentrate: 1.18
Key Point:
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Infant And Expected Mothers Nutrition
Whey proteins are used as a vital ingredient in a wide variety of infant formulas especially for premature infants owing to the fact that it contains many of the components found in human breast-milk . The infant formulas containing whey proteins are thus considered as the best alternatives to breast feeding. The addition of LF to a feeding formula can increase the levels of Bifidobacteria in bottle-fed babies, which decreases the potential of developing atopic disease for at-risk infants with family history, as well as improved gastrointestinal immunity. Certain types of whey proteins-based infant formulas have also been shown to help to reduce crying in the case of infantile colic. In addition, whey proteins are an excellent choice for the expectant mother who needs an increased amount of proteins. Pregnancy can increase the body’s protein needs by up to 33% , this increased requirement can be effectively achieved based on a diet involving whey proteins.
A. Kilara, M.N. Vaghela, in, 2004
What Is The Main Difference Between Whey Protein And Plant Protein
Typically, animal-derived protein contains the right proportions of the essential amino acids needed by humans.
Very often proteins that originate from plants do not contain the right proportions or sometimes even lack certain essential amino acids needed in human diets. The correct combination and often larger amounts of different plant protein sources are thus needed to fulfill daily needs .
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Which One Is Better Whey Vs Casein
Although both whey isolate and casein protein are derived from dairy and have a high amino acid content, whey isolate is considered to be more anabolic due to its rapid digestion rate. Yet despite this fact, studies suggest that even though whey initiates muscle protein synthesis faster than casein, there is no difference between performance indicators.
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Is Whey Protein A Byproduct Of Cheese Making
It can be, but it depends. The molecular structure and nutritional benefits of whey protein can be sustained regardless of the extraction process from the milk. Utilizing 100% of an animal’s milk yield serves incredible interests to the balance of nature thus, we do love using 100% of it no matter what the diary product.
Whether the whey protein is extracted from pasteurized milk by mechanical means , or via natural enzymes for cheese making, the whey has the same potential of becoming denatured. Some grassfed whey brands depend solely on their ability to guide consumers in making pragmatic inferences around “Native Whey,” emphasizing how mechanically extracted whey directly the milk has advantages over conventional methods regarding the level of denaturation.
Not only is this false logic, but the opposite case is much more durable and representative of reality. Looking at all the details starting from the quality of the milk selected for the process and merely focusing on the unintentional nutrient stripping that is caused by the native filtering method, the case becomes more than apparent.
To put this idea to rest, please check out our blog around the marketing terms “Undenatured & Non-denatured.” For now, though, “Native Whey” is simply a not-so-clever marketing ploy, offering zero realized benefits and designed to separate you from your money.
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Trying To Decide If You Need More Protein In Your Diet
SWOLVERINE is an endurance athlete and active lifestyle brand. Made for the elite athlete, and the strong-willed our products were designed to fuel your athletic performance. We perform when you perform.
We believe that everyone can optimize not only their athletic performance but their human potential. The way we believe we can optimize performance is through transparency, clinically effective doses, and clinically proven ingredients with evidence-based outcomes. We provide the nutrients you need to power your active lifestyle.
References
- Joy, Jordan M et al. Daytime and nighttime casein supplements similarly increase muscle size and strength in response to resistance training earlier in the day: a preliminary investigation. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition 15,1 24. 15 May. 2018, doi:10.1186/s12970-018-0228-9
- Volek JS, Volk BM, Gómez AL, et al. Whey protein supplementation during resistance training augments lean body mass. J Am Coll Nutr. 2013 32:122-35.
- Wilborn, Colin D et al. The Effects of Pre- and Post-Exercise Whey vs. Casein Protein Consumption on Body Composition and Performance Measures in Collegiate Female Athletes. Journal of sports science & medicine 12,1 74-9. 1 Mar. 2013
Which Is The Best Whey Protein Product
Generally speaking, most pure whey protein products use similar ingredients and are not significantly different from each other.
However, an independent laboratory that tests various supplements called Labdoor has published a ranking guide of popular protein powders.
These rankings take the purity, nutritional value, ingredient safety, and label accuracy of the different whey protein products into account.
Aside from this, taste and value should be the key deciders for similar products.
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What Is The Best Whey Protein Isolate Supplement
Swolverines Whey Protein Isolate is the best whey protein supplement. Each flavor Honey Cinnamon Peanut Butter, Chocolate, and Vanilla contains 26 grams of ultra-pure, cold-pressed, rich and creamy, micro-filtered Whey Protein Isolate per serving.* Sourced from the happiest cows in America, free of rBGH , Swolverines Whey Protein Isolate is loaded with the building blocks you need to build your athletic performance and strength.* Each scoop contains added digestive enzymes to maximize the rate of absorption, which is key to optimizing muscle growth and post-workout recovery. Well turn your post-workout shake into the most exciting part of your workout!
In Which Products Can I Find Whey Protein
Whey protein is used in various kinds of processed foods primarily in fresh dairy products, cheese, sport nutrition beverages and protein bars.
If a food product contains whey protein, it is declared on the ingredients list. Whey protein is also widely used in infant formula and medical nutrition.
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