You can answer the question Yourselfwith a few facts and some simple math

BY Jim stoppani, ph.d.

110 MUSCLE & FitnESS — 12.11

How do you choose a pro-tein powder? Do you go on the recommen-dation of your buddy at the gym and take

what he takes? Do you pick the bottle with the shiniest, most cutting-edge label, or do you choose what tastes good or what’s on sale at your local GNC?

These are serious questions. You know that taking whey protein at the right times can make all the difference between building an extra half-inch on your arms or adding 20 pounds to your personal best on the bench press. But not just any whey will do. There are great whey protein prod-ucts and there are not-so-good whey products. And being able to tell the difference between them can be critical to your gains.

whey GoodThe first step in determining the worthiness of your protein is to give yourself a pat on the back. You recognize whey’s benefits and are including it in your daily regimen. It’s enormously advantageous for several reasons, including amino acid and microfraction content (more on that in a minute) and digestion rate. Whey is one of the richest sources of

BCAAs, which include the three amino acids leucine, isoleucine, and valine. These bad boys have been shown to be absolutely key for muscle growth and even for energy during workouts. Whey protein also contains biologically active protein microfractions, such as alpha-lactalbumin, beta-lactoglobulin, glycomacropeptides, immunoglobulins, lactoferrin, lactoperoxidase, and vari-ous growth factors. These provide an-tioxidants, boost immune function, and enhance muscle recovery and growth.

Probably the most important factor that puts whey protein miles ahead of other forms of protein is digestion rate. It breaks down very rapidly. In fewer than 30 minutes it can fast-track a good portion of its aminos to your muscles, and that quick delivery to muscle cells has been shown to be vital for pushing growth.

milk madeWhey is one of the proteins found in milk, and whey protein production starts with dairy cows. Milk is the originating source for most pro-tein powders. But if you think that supplement companies like Optimum Nutrition, CytoSport, or Nature’s Best are out in the back milking cows to make their protein powders, you’ve got another thing coming.

Until the 1960s, many considered whey a waste by-product of cheese

Cow is milked—the raw form has a lot of sugar, in the form of lactose,and plentyof fat.

Milk is pasteurized, or heated to temps that kill harmful bacteria.

Casein and whey are separated.

Whey is filtered to remove carbs and fat, forming whey concentrate

Wheyconcentrateis dried to form whey protein concentrate powder.

Whey goes through morefiltering, such as cross-flow microfiltration,to form wheyisolate.

Whey isolate is dried to form whey protein isolate powder.

Whey hydrolysate isdried to formwhey protein hydrolysate powder.

Whey is hydrolyzed to break protein into smaller pieces.

This flow-charT gives you a simpli-fied rundown of how milk goes from The cow To whey proTein.

Supply and demandIt’s the first thing you learn in Economics 101, and the supply and demand model is what you need to understand when it comes to understanding why protein powder prices are at a premium.

According to Vince Andrich, president of Vandrich Performance Nutrition Inc. and author of Sports Supplement Review (Mile High Publishing), “On the supply side of things, New Zealand, the world’s largest exporter of milk, experienced terrible weather conditions in 2010 and 2011 that significantly cut milk produc-tion. At the same time, both China and Russia were importing milk at an all-time high. One reason for the increased demand in China was the melamine-contaminated milk incident. Worried about receiving tainted milk from local sources, Chinese compa-nies looked elsewhere for their milk. China has increased their importing of powdered milk by more than 50%.”

With supply low and demand high, it doesn’t take an economics professor to understand why protein powder prices are rising. Milk is generally expensive, regardless of whether it’s used to make cheese or protein powder. That expense trickles down to the protein powder manufacturers and, of course, to you.

Louis Pasteur revolutionized milk production in 1864.

The finished product is a light,water-solublepowder.

From Cow to Jug

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112 MUSCLE & FitnESS — 12.11

does your protein suck?

production that was routinely dumped or fed to livestock. Today dairy com-panies recognize its value and have set up factories to concentrate and purify the protein. Due to the limited number of suppliers, most supplement compa-nies acquire raw, unflavored protein powders—whey protein isolate, whey protein concentrate, whey protein hydrolysate, calcium caseinate, or micellar casein—from the same handful of manufacturers, including Glanbia, with headquarters in Ireland, and Hilmar Ingredients, in California. Then they add their proprietary blend of ingredients, including everything from additional nutrients (like extra aminos and enzymes to help digest the protein) and flavoring to coloring and other ingredients to produce their final blend— which ends up in the jug on your kitchen counter.

surveying the fieldOn its own, whey protein powder is far more effective than any other protein form on the market. But the efficiency of individual products con-taining whey protein varies widely, mostly due to the type and amount of whey and the other ingredients mixed into the final blend.

Great whey protein powdersWhen you buy a protein powder, your intention is to buy protein and not carbs or fat, because they’re easy to get in your diet. So when you’re laying down your hard-earned cash for a jug of protein, skip the blends with high amounts of carbs and fat. A quick glance at the supplement facts panel will show you how much of each are in the product.

You’re not done yet. Keep scan-ning down the label until you get to the ingredients list. The information contained here is the key to knowing whether a protein powder is really amazing or simply passable. First, you might notice that most whey protein products contain more than one type of whey. You might see whey protein isolate, whey protein hydroly-sate (aka hydrolyzed whey protein), or whey protein concentrate.

To be considered a great whey protein, the product must list whey

protein isolate or hydrolyzed whey pro-tein isolate as the very first ingredient. That’s because whey protein isolates are the purest forms of protein you can get, with some being more than 90% protein. And hydrolyzed whey protein isolate means that the high-quality whey has been predigested into smaller protein fragments for even faster digestion than regular whey isolate. Whey protein concen-trate, on the other hand, goes through less filtering, which means fewer of the natural carbohydrates found in milk are removed. The result is a whey product that is much lower in protein content. Although most whey protein concentrates are somewhere between 70–80% protein, some can be less than 35%. This is why most

companies make a big deal about their whey protein isolate powders. (This is also why isolates and hydro-lysates generally cost more.)

But to really know whether a whey protein powder is top-notch, you’ll need to do some math. Take the grams of protein per serving listed on the supplement facts panel and divide it by the serving size (in grams). This will give you the percentage of protein in each serving. To be considered a great whey protein powder, the percent protein per serving (or scoop) should be 80% or greater. For example, if a whey protein powder provides 25 grams of protein per 28-gram scoop, that protein powder is about 90% protein and is a great powder for the money.

Check the label. The very first ingredientmust be a high-qualityprotein source.

Whey proteinconcentrate goesthrough less filtering, meaning feWer carbs are removed.

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Whey protein poWderS that Suck

Companies like Glanbia and Hilmar start with

high-quality milk, but not every company does the same. To cut costs and make their powders more afford-able, some manufac-turers use question-able suppliers. These lesser-quality pow-ders may also contain impurities and toxins.

The easiest way to spot a powder that’s using cheap raw pro-tein is its price. If it’s much cheaper than the major brands, it’s likely something is up. There’s only one way for a company to undersell all other reputable brands, and that is by buy-ing inferior protein. So, be careful of protein powders that are off-label brands, that you can’t find on bodybuilding.com or at GNC or the Vitamin Shoppe, or that are incredibly cheap. As they say, you get what you pay for.

Another way to spot a low-quality protein powder is by check-ing the nutrition label. Most good whey protein concentrates are around 70–80%, but some can fall as low as 35% protein—meaning the “protein” is actually more likely a blend of carbs and fat. If a protein pow-der lists whey protein concentrate first on the ingredients list followed by whey protein isolate and/or whey protein hydro-lysate but has less than 70% protein per serving, then it likely contains only a small amount of whey.

great Whey protein poWderS These 10 whey protein powders made our list for delivering 80% or more protein per serving:

AST VP2 Whey IsolateSource: hydrolyzed whey isolate

Body Fortress Super Advanced Whey IsolateSource: whey isolate

Dymatize Iso-100 Source: hydrolyzed whey isolate

GNC Pro Performance Whey Isolate Source: whey isolate

MuscleTech Nitro Isolate 65 Pro Source: whey isolate and hydrolyzed whey isolate

Nature’s Best Isopure Zero Carb Source: whey isolate

NOW Whey Protein Isolate Source: microfiltered whey isolate

Optimum Platinum Hydro Whey Source: hydrolyzed whey isolate

ProLab Isolate Source: whey isolate

Ultimate Nutrition Iso-Sensation 93Source: cross-flow microfiltered whey isolate

Champion Pure Whey Protein Source: micro-filtered and ion-exchanged whey concentrate and isolate

CytoSport Complete Whey Source: whey concentrate and hydrolysate

Dymatize Elite Whey Protein Isolate Source: whey isolate

EAS 100% Whey Protein Source: whey concentrate and isolate

Met-Rx 100% Ultramyosyn Whey Source: ultra-filtered whey concentrate

MRM 100% All Natural Whey Source: ultra-filtered whey concentrate and cross-flow microfiltered whey isolate

Optimum Gold Standard 100% Whey Source: whey isolate

Twinlab 100% Whey Protein Fuel Source: whey concentrate and isolate

Universal Ultra Whey Pro Source: ultra-filtered whey isolate

good Whey protein poWderSThese supps pack 70−80% protein per serving, slightly lower than the “greats” due to added whey protein concentrate:

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