Why choose whey protein products?

Why protein has a number of health benefits, so it’s worth looking at the wide variety of products available

Over the last ten years, whey protein has become increasingly popular with athletes and body builders for its ability to increase strength and build muscle tissue. However, it is not just used as a sports nutrition supplement anymore. It is now widely regarded as being beneficial to a variety of different people and for that reason it can be found in pharmacies and health food shops.

Protein is important for repairing cells and building and repairing muscles and bones. It also provides us with a source of energy and controls many of the vital processes related to metabolism. Without it, all cellular development, respiration, and renewal would cease. It is essential, therefore, that we get enough protein in our diet. Whey protein provides an excellent source of the essential amino acids needed to fuel the body and maintain muscle mass.

There are three types of weigh protein:

• Concentrate
• Isolate
• Hydrolysed

Whey protein isolate is the purest form of whey protein, although all three types provide significant health benefits to people of all ages due to their high amino acid content. Why protein is very easy to digest and so taking whey protein supplements is an easy and convenient way to guarantee a healthy, high-protein diet.

Whey protein products are particularly beneficial to active individuals, individuals who exercise and professional athletes because it is the richest source of the essential amino acid, leucine. The body requires higher amounts of this amino acid during and following exercise. Research has shown that individuals who exercise benefit from diets high in leucine and have more lean muscle tissue and less body fat compared to individuals whose diet contains lower levels of leucine.

Whey protein supplements are now sold widely in health food shops, some chemists and online. It comes in powder, capsule, and tablet forms, and is a key ingredient in protein shakes. Whether you are a serious athlete, have a weak immune system, or are seeking to lose weight, whey protein supplements are definitely worth a try. They are even worth considering if you are worried about the natural aging process.

As with many sports and nutrition supplements there are a number of companies who sell products of a low or questionable quality, so you should do some thorough research before you make any purchase.

What Is Whey Protein? How Is Whey Protein Made?

Whey protein is derived from sweet dairy whey, a by-product of the cheese and dairy food industry. Not so long ago, whey was considered a useless waste-product and was disposed of -- in rural Ontario, Canada, where I grew up, and where there was a cheese factory on every corner, it was spread on the roads in the summer to keep the dust down (no kidding!). Of course, this hasn't been done now for years -- but for the longest time whey was dumped -- in rivers, streams, on roads, and even in the ocean.

No surprisingly, this environmental hazard alerted governments, and dairy producers were forced to discontinue this practice. It also forced them to take a closer look at what they were throwing out. Although whey in its raw state is a pretty disgusting concoction, containing mostly lactose (milk sugar), fat, and ash (minerals), it's protein profile alerted manufacturers to a potential income source, and thus the first primitive whey protein powders were born.

Nonetheless, these first whey protein powders wouldn't have impressed you or I, as they contained a measly 10-15% protein, and tasted pretty awful. Things progressed when French researchers developed a filtering process (called "ultra filtration"), which was more effective at separating the protein from the lactose and the ash, increasing the protein content of these powders to as much as 70%. Over time, the efficiency of the ultra filtration process improved to the point that the protein content of such powders increased to around 80 percent.

The next breakthrough in whey filtration came about in the form of the "ion-exchange" process, in which protein is isolated from the raw whey by the merit of positive and negative charges. By taking the ion-extracted protein and processing it through the "ultra filtration" process, protein powders where able reach 90% purity (i.e. minimal amounts of fat, ash, and lactose remaining in the final product).

Not all proteins are ion-exchanged, of course. The best whey proteins are created by a blend of the ultra filtration process and the newer micro and nano filtration processes. This involves processing the protein garnered from the ultra filtration process through a series of ceramic filters with tiny (read "microscopic") holes. Whey protein formulated in this manner is slightly purer than ion-exchanged protein (generally averaging about 90-94% purity). Best of all, it tends to deliver a protein with all its critical fractions and sub-fractions intact (more on the importance of this in the following articles), and a greater percentage of branch-chain amino acids.