WHEY PROTEIN DEMYSTIFIED:

Many people get confused as to whether they should buy 100% Whey, 100% Whey Concentrate, 100% Whey Isolate or 100% Whey Hydrolysate.

There isn't a huge difference, except to your wallet, but read through this thread to learn the key points...

Whey is a protein found in cow's milk.

So, whey is essentially filtered milk.

Not a drug. Just filtered milk.

Milk, cheese, yogurt, whey, same same.

Whey is also cysteine rich which boosts glutathione production which can neutralise free radicals and reduce oxidative stress.

Cow's milk protein is made up of a slow releasing protein called casein, and whey is a fast releasing protein, making up about 80% and 20% of the cow's milk protein respectively.

Either kept together as milk protein, or separated into whey, or casein, these proteins get filtered to remove the fat and carbs, the first level of filtering results in what's called concentrate, which yields an end result of about 80% protein with some fat and carbs left over.

The next level of filtering results in a product that is about 90% protein with fewer carbs and fats which is called isolate.

The digestion and absorption speeds between the two aren't much different but isolate is more expensive due to more processing.

Hydrolysate is adding acids and/or enzymes to practically predigest the protein, this is used in clinical settings, and is much more expensive, there really is no need for 99.99% of people weighing cost to benefit, no edge to be gained but it will hit you in the wallet, hard.

Don't get sucked into thinking that hydrolysate is the gold standard, isolate takes the silver and concentrate is inferior, this is simply not the case.

Price per kilo is higher for isolate and insane for hydrolysate with negligible differences, and no greater muscle growth.

100% whey would suggest it's all whey but possibly/likely a blend of concentrate and isolate, or even just concentrate, whereas 100% isolate would have to be pure whey whey isolate as the sole protein ingredient in the formula.

Hydrolysate just makes your whey protein cost more.

If you're lactose intolerant, get isolate - it has most of the milk's carbs [lactose] filtered out, more so than concentrate, as an extra insurance policy you could take lactase enzymes beforehand just to be sure.

If you're not lactose intolerant,
concentrate will do a fine job.

I usually utilise cheaper isolate when massgaining for the extra carb and fat calories that come with the protein, and shift to isolate when I need to up my protein but keep fat and carbs as low as possible when fatloss and musclemass maintenance are the focus.

However for most intents and purposes, a concentrate or concentrate and isolate blend will do just fine.

Don't get sucked into marketing hype and ridiculous prices, as all the different brands do is add their own flavouring to the same raw ingredients.

There's no need for added amino acids either, especially not BCAAs, nor Leucine either as whey is about 25% BCAAs anyway, adding more of these doesn't make it more anabolic/anti-catabolic.

20-40g per feed is ideal, recent research suggests up to 70g if older too.

Whey is whey, find a brand that provides good value for money, [a] flavour[s] you like, no amino acid spiking [adding cheap aminos to whey to "boost" overall label protein content], and guarantees clean / contaminant free status if a youth/drug tested athlete.

There may be some benefit to utilising milk protein, or casein before bed to lose less muscle at the tail end of our sleep, this isn't dramatic in a day but may be significant over a year. It's not just about what we gain but also what we don't let ourselves lose, like money.

Yogurt also counts here, I have always recommend @FAGEUK / @FAGEUSA brand over all others as it's got the best nutritional content due to the number of cultures used let alone the protein content, without the chalky taste and texture the "skyr" equivalents have.

I also like to make use of @eatleancheese products, particularly their smoked cheddar and smoked shaker in place of regular cheddar and parmigiana.

I run the cheddar through a tumbling box grater and mix it through chilli etc.

Dairy's the best courier of bioavailable calcium.

That about wraps that up.

If there are any questions this thread raises, well, feel free to tweet the questions to me, and I'll do my best to help you out.

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