Benefits of Whey Protein?

Whey protein has grown in popularity with body builders, dieters, and those looking to maintain their health and well being for numerous reasons...

First of all, as a pure protein source, nothing can beat whey protein. It has the highest BV value of all proteins (Biological Value -- a term used to measure the amount if "usable" amino acids a protein source delivers) - around 100. (Many advertisers claim whey has a "BV" value in excress of 150, but that's impossible as well as misleading, since the maximum BV score is around 100).

The quality of whey as a protein source is only a small part of the story, of course.

Whey protein provides the building blocks of glutathione (GSH), a critical component of a properly functioning immune system, and probably the most important anti-oxidant in the body. Additionally, whey protein has been reported to increase immunity, supress hunger and encourage fat burning, lower cortisol levels (a stress hormone), fight cancer cells, and have anti-bacterial and anti-microbial activity.

Pretty impressive stuff indeed. But there is a hitch...

Whey protein is made up of a blend of smaller protein "subfractions" or peptides (you may have even seen some of these subfractions labelled on your whey protein product -- lactoferrin, alpha lactalbumin, immunoglobins, and beta lactoglobin are but a few you may already be familiar with).

Each subfraction has it's own unique and beneficial characteristics. And in large part, it is these peptides (singularly, or in concert with others within the whey protein profile), to which the health benefits mentioned earlier are attributed.

So what's the hitch?

The most beneficial subfractions comprise only a tiny percentage of the overall makeup of the whey protein. Lactoferrin, for instance, a subfraction that has been demonstrated to display "antimicrobial" activity, accounts for less than 1% of the total whey protein profile.

Worse still, it is these critical and most important subfractions that are most often compromised (denatured) in the filtering process (by high heat or acidic conditions), and/or are filtered out of the final product almost all together. Denaturing a protein or protein subfraction robs it of its "biological activity", meaning it provides little in the way of additional health benefits.

As consumers, it is important that you and I receive all the benefits of whey protein as flaunted at us by its manufacturers... and that means getting a complete, biologically active protein profile.

Ion-exchange protein, for instance, is one the worst forms of whey protein isolates when it comes to filtering out these critical subfractions. The best whey proteins (as far as keeping these critical subfractions and biologically active) are formed by the cold-temperature microfiltering process.