Protein powder is a type of sports nutrition with a high protein content, low in fat and carbohydrates. Protein powder is most often produced from cow’s milk, it goes through several stages of processing and purification, and the finished product is a whey protein concentrate. The protein powder is usually white, but to improve taste, manufacturers add flavors to the finished powder. Therefore, the color of the protein can vary depending on the flavor.
Content
Types of protein powder
Protein powder can be made not only from milk. It is made from eggs, soy and even beef. Therefore, according to the product from which the protein is made, they are distinguished:
1) Whey protein is made from milk.
2) Egg protein is made from eggs.
3) Soy protein is made from soy.
4) Beef Protein is made from beef.
5) Multicomponent protein is made from a mixture of proteins, most often it is whey protein concentrate, casein protein, egg protein, soy protein.
Whey protein
Whey protein is the most widely used protein in the sports nutrition market. It has a good amino acid profile and is inexpensive.
Whey protein consists of globular proteins that are obtained from cow’s milk during the production of cheese. This protein contains lactose (milk sugar), so it is poorly absorbed by people with lactose intolerance. For other people, it is the best choice for building muscle mass or saving muscles while losing weight.
When it gets into the human organism, whey protein (like other types of proteins) is decayed to nonessential or essential amino acids. Amino acids serve as the building blocks for our muscles while gaining muscle mass. Well, during a calorie deficit (losing weight), they protect the muscles from destruction. Protein, which contains all eight essential amino acids, is complete. And whey protein is just the case.
Whey protein differs in the rate of absorption into concentrate, isolate, hydrolyzate and casein.
Whey protein concentrate
The most common type of protein powder. It is made from milk whey. This type of protein powder is not the purest. In the best case, the concentration of protein can reach 80%, so it is the cheapest whey protein. All whey proteins are fast-absorbed proteins in terms of assimilation rate, the whey protein concentrate is assimilated in about 1.5-2 hours. Therefore, the best time to use it is the morning, after training, and throughout the day (when the interval between meals is no more than two hours).
Casein protein
This type of protein powder is made from cottage cheese, so its price is slightly higher than whey protein concentrate. Casein protein has a high concentration of protein, it reaches 85%. According to the rate of absorption, this protein belongs to the slowly digestible proteins, casein is absorbed in about 4-5 hours. Therefore, the best time to take it is the evening, or rather before bedtime (to supply the muscles with amino acids throughout the night).
Whey protein isolate
It is made from milk. This type of protein powder is subjected to more thorough purification, because of this, the concentration of protein is very high and reaches 95%. Accordingly, it also has a higher price compared to whey protein concentrate. This protein is a fast-absorbing protein, the isolate is absorbed in about 1 hour.
The best time to take whey protein isolate is the morning and immediately after training. But athletes often use such protein during the day (while losing weight) because the protein isolate has fewer calories than the concentrate.
Whey protein hydrolyzate
It is made from milk. This type of protein powder is a partially decayed protein (a similar process occurs in the intestines). Therefore, this type of protein does not take time to digest and begins to be absorbed immediately after ingestion. The assimilation time is 10-20 minutes. All this makes this type of protein the most expensive, 2-3 times more expensive than whey protein concentrate. Most often, the hydrolyzate is used by professional bodybuilders as the replacement of amino acid complexes. For amateurs, there is no point in overpaying for this type of protein.
Egg protein
This protein is made from egg white. Sometimes yolks are added to ingredients that increases the amount of fat of protein powder. Egg protein made from only egg whites is called egg albumin. This type of protein, in terms of the rate of assimilation, refers to fast-absorbing proteins. In terms of price and concentration of protein, it is comparable to whey concentrate. Egg protein has a good amino acid profile, but in terms of leucine content it is inferior to the concentrate, 9% versus 11% in the concentrate.
This protein does not contain lactose, so it is well suited for people with lactose intolerance. Due to the fast absorption rate of 1-1.5 hours, it is better to take it in the morning and after training.
Soy protein
This protein powder is made from soy (soy isolate). Soy is 5 times cheaper than milk, that is why soy protein is the cheapest on the sports nutrition market. Unscrupulous manufacturers often dilute whey concentrate with soy isolate to reduce the cost of the production process. There are studies that show that soy protein, used for a long time (more than 1 month), reduces testosterone levels by 10%. In addition, soy is a vegetable protein, so protein made from soy is worse absorbed by the body. The advantage of this type of protein is that it is suitable for vegetarians.
Beef protein
This protein powder is made from beef using a special technology. This protein has a good amino acid profile and a fast absorption rate, approximately 2 hours. Therefore, the best time to take it is in the morning, after training and throughout the day. Due to the fact that this protein is made from beef, it is lactose free and is suitable for people with lactose intolerance. In terms of protein concentration, beef protein is approximately similar to whey protein concentrate and even better in some parameters, for example, beef protein is better absorbed. Also, the benefits include the fact that such protein contains creatine in its content, since beef protein is made from meat. Therefore, it is well suited for athletes who are gaining muscle mass. For the price, this protein is slightly more expensive than whey protein concentrate.
Multicomponent protein
This protein powder is a mixture of proteins. The most common ingredients are Whey Protein Concentrate, Casein Protein, Egg Protein, or Soy Isolate. Due to this content, the multicomponent protein possesses fast and slowly digestible proteins, which allows you to quickly raise the concentration of amino acids in the blood and keep it high for a long time. This protein is universal in terms of the time of intake, it can be used at any time of the day. When choosing such a protein, you need to pay attention to the proportion in which various proteins are mixed in the content. The content of whey protein concentrate and casein must be at least 3/4 of the product.
How to prepare protein powder
Back in the early days of the sports nutrition industry, protein was mixed with a mixer or blender. By far the most popular and quickest way to make a protein shake nowadays is to stir it in a shaker bottle. Now there are a wide variety of shaker bottles: with nets, with a tornado stirrer, electric shaker bottles, shaker bottles with pill boxes, etc. As they say, tastes differ. The gif above shows how to properly stir the protein powder in a shaker bottle =)
The best time to use different types of protein powder
The table shows the best and worst times to consume different types of protein powder.
As you can see, the best time to consume casein protein and multicomponent protein is before bed. Egg and beef proteins are the best to take in the morning, before and after your workout. Whey concentrate is the most flexible and effective protein powder, and can be taken almost at any time (before or after training, in the morning, and between meals). Soy protein, on the other hand, is the worst.
How much protein powder should I take
Protein powder is a superb source of protein, but it cannot be substituted for protein that comes from regular food. Protein powder serves as a supplement to your diet and is not your body’s primary source of protein. You should get most of your protein from regular food. A protein cocktail is good for those times when you can’t have a full meal, such as immediately after a workout. Therefore, I recommend taking no more than 2-3 protein shakes per day.
Talking about the amount of absorbed protein in one meal. There is a rumor that the human body is not able to absorb more than 30 grams of protein in one meal. I narrated about it with more details in the article about animal and plant protein. Well, if necessary, the human intestine can absorb 500 grams of fat, 600-700 grams of protein and 20 liters of water in one day. Therefore, you do not need to limit yourself to 30-gram portions of protein. It would be more correct to calculate the required amount of protein according to your weight. Then you need to subtract from the resulting number protein that comes from food, and get the lack of protein consuming several protein shakes.
Protein powder and erectile dysfunction
Another rumor that is surfing the internet. If you read the article carefully, you realize that protein powder is a natural source of protein. It is made from milk, eggs, beef or soy. Eating these products, they do not affect potency in any way. Accordingly, the protein powder made from these products will never affect your potency.
