Whey Protein: Helpful or Hype?
January 2nd, 2009
If you’re enjoying the convenience of whey protein, you may be paying for it with your health. Whey protein has nearly become ubiquitous in today’s fast paced culture, especially among athletes and weightlifters. Even if you’re not consuming whey protein powder directly, it’s being used in many of the processed foods and snack bars that you may be eating. Whether you’re trying to up your protein intake, add convenience to your diet, or both, your efforts may be backfiring on you.
How About Some Waste For Breakfast?
Whey is the liquid that is left over from the milk curdling process that’s used to make other dairy products. The dairy industry originally considered it a waste product and was dumping it just as you and I dump our garbage. That was until someone came up with the idea of processing it even further and selling it.
The Truth About Dairy
Processed foods are always lower in nutritional quality than natural whole foods and whey is a processed product that comes from pasteurized milk. The pasteurization process heats the milk to high temperatures to kill bacteria. All of the enzymes and some of the vitamins in the milk are destroyed and some of the amino acids are altered. As a result, your body has to do more work and consume more of it’s own resources to digest and assimilate it, and a good portion of the protein and other nutrients will not even be usable. If your body does make use of the altered proteins, it may lead to cell malfunction, and with enough cell malfunction, you begin to malfunction.
In addition to whey being a processed and low quality source of nutrients, many people have intolerance or sensitivity to dairy. If this is the case, it is causing intestinal inflammation that is compromising digestion even further and setting the stage for health issues.
Quality vs Quantity
Protein powders and snack bars are especially popular among athletes and weightlifters. What’s ironic is that because of the additional physiological burdens they are putting on their bodies, it’s even more important for them to consume high quality nutrition, but instead, they are consuming excessive amounts of whey and embracing quantity over quality.
The bottom line is that the high quality of nutrition from natural whole foods can’t be beat. They provide high quality nutrients in the exact forms that our bodies have evolved to expect them in. Not only is the nutrition in processed products like whey altered, less usable, and potentially harmful to our bodies, much of the nutrition is destroyed during the processing. If you don’t like the idea of sacrificing your health for convenience, and especially if you’re an athlete or weightlifter looking to improve results, seriously consider natural whole foods over the convenience of processed foods and powders.
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Hi Vin,
I just bought myself a big 20 gallon jug of whey protein so that I can bulk up, then I read this post. I was led to believe by the label on the jug that whey protein was easily digestible by the body and was a great thing to consume right after a workout to help speed muscle recovery. Hmm, maybe not. What would you recommend I consume post-workout to help speed muscle recovery?
Thanks!
After a workout, I would recommend a typical meal based on natural whole foods that includes a high quality source of protein such as grass fed beef and possibly some additional fruit or grain to help replenish your glycogen storage.
Although post workout shakes are popular and convenient, real food is always preferable to powders and supplements. Real food will do more to support your health, and better health means better progress and recovery.
not all whey proteins are created equal – undenatured whey protein is different than regular whey protein.
Hi Niccay, thanks for your comment!
Yes, protein powder from dairy that isn’t denatured through pasteurization is definitely superior. However, it’s very hard to find. Even protein powders from the dairy of grass fed cattle are usually pasteurized and are also quite expensive. A high quality protein powder once in a while isn’t such a bad thing as long as dairy intolerance isn’t an issue, but it certainly doesn’t compare to real food!
But what about only using 100% Whey Protein like the GNC kind or something with low Carbs and Saturated Fats for ONLY after a workout? is it still bad? I thought that you have a SMALL Window to get some protein into you quickly..and if you go home and eat a turkey sandwich on wheat bread or some tuna it takes a while to digest and your window disappears…true?
Thanks I am new to this too.
Ed
Hi Ed, thanks for your comment!
The issue here is supporting your body’s ability to recover from a workout with top quality nutrition. No matter what the percentage of whey is, it’s still highly processed, and as such, is very much inferior in quality to natural whole foods.
In addition, I wouldn’t be concerned about consuming quality carbs or saturated fat after a workout. Your body becomes more sensitive to insulin after working out and will readily assimilate carbohydrates to replenish the glycogen used during exercise. Furthermore, saturated fat is not the cause of heart disease and is essential for adequate cell repair which is part of workout recovery.
Yes, there is a post workout window when your body is more receptive to nutrients. However, I think it’s a mistake to use processed foods to speed up digestion to take advantage of it. Keep in mind that our ability to increase muscle strength and size is a result of evolution, and as such, was adequately accomplished for millions of years with natural whole foods. The powders and sugar loaded sports drinks that people rely on to maximize the benefit of this window were clearly not part of our evolution and aren’t conducive to optimal health. Great health will do much more for your workout recovery than any supplement or powder. Unless you’re looking to have biceps the size of your head, I think you’ll be able to make great progress simply by focusing on your health and eating high quality whole food throughout the day. Of course, this only applies if you’re following a decent training program.
I suggest you read the interview I did with top powerlifter Eric Talmant. It includes a lot of great information that is directly related to this subject. I also wrote another article about protein powder and building muscle mass that you might find helpful as well.
Thanks Vin,
I have a personal trainer and he has said one thing and then said another and sometimes it gets confusing. Like when I brought up the protein..I told him I have been using muscle milk but I think it is stopping my body from burning fat after my work out because of the saturated fat and sugars it has.
her agreed and told me leaner is better.
So I have stopped with the muscle milk shakes and I was going to buy the Whey but the more I read the more I find it wont help anymore than eating good food.
I am over weight and currently doing circuit training stuff 15 reps lower weight stuff. and i feel i don’t need any of that at this time so thank you for your quick response and your information. people need to realize that a lot of this advance supplement stuff is more for the power lifter looking to be Schwarzenegger lol I just want to lose 100 pounds and be fit toned and strong. I am 34 with the health of a 54 year old and feel like crap.
Thanks for your info Vin.
Ed.
Hi Ed, you’re quite welcome!
I’m sorry to hear that you’re not doing as well as you’d like. What’s important is that you’re doing something about it! Stay dedicated to your health and you’ll likely feel 34 when you really are 54!
It sounds like you’re being confused by conflicting information. Here’s a simple piece of advice for you to consider. Eliminate sugar and refined carbs. Here’s an article to help you get started. If you want to take this a step further, you can eliminate grain based foods altogether. A real simple rule to follow is to only eat meat, fish, fruit, and vegetables. Although there are many factors involved in weight loss, I think this is the most sensible, healthy, and effective approach.
Exercise will help, but too much if it may actually hurt your progress. As such, it shouldn’t be the foundation of your plan. Be selective with your exercise and consider doing high intensity interval training instead of traditional cardio.
Finally, embrace the fact that this will take time. 100 pounds is a lot to lose and it may very well take you a year. If you push too hard, you’ll likely burn yourself out and give up. Take it slowly and make sure your weight loss plan is based on healthy principles that you’re willing to follow for the rest of your life.
Good luck! Feel free to email me through the contact form on the menu bar if you have any questions.