Post Workout Protein: Whey protein isolate vs. concentrate

WHY IS PROTEIN IMPORTANT

Protein is important for all of our goals related to working out.

If you want to lose weight, protein is important for keeping you feeling full longer and increasing the rate you burn calories.

If you are wanting to get stronger, protein is important for repairing tissue after you workout so it builds back stronger and ready for the next workout.

If you are just trying to be healthy, protein helps improve digestion and gives your system what it needs to build new tissue and repair old tissue.

PROTEIN SOURCES

We do recommend people aim to get 2/3rds of their daily protein goal from their food sources. Real food simply offers opportunity that supplements will not.

Chewing real food thoroughly helps us digest things more efficiently.

Consuming different protein sources (animal and plant sources) also brings us a wide variety of other nutrients that are present.

SUPPLEMENTS (AKA PROTEIN POWDER & SHAKES)

There are three main options when shopping for a protein supplement:
– Why Protein Concentrate
– Whey Protein Isolate
– Casein Protein

Casein protein is a slower absorbed protein that we rarely recommend. For hard gainers, or people with intentional goals of layering on a bit more muscle, Casein Protein supplements are great for bed time as they help combat the cost of your overnight fast (going without food) on your gains.

But we are here to discuss the other two supplement options.

WHeY CONCENTRATE VS. WHEY ISOLATE

Whey Protein Concentrate is 80% Protein + 20% other Macros & Nutrients like dietary fat and carbohydrate (like lactose).

That means:

• Concentrate is more bio-available (if not lactose intolerant) which means your body is able to digest and use more of the protein you consume compared to Isolate.
• Concentrate can be cheaper because it requires less processing which leads to less purity but leaves mostly what you need.
• Concentrate can be the better option if you are focused on performance and health (and not lactose intolerant or resistant).

Isolate is 100% Whey Protein – Isolate is just Whey Protein Concentrate that goes through more processing which removes most of the lactose and dietary fat that remains present in Whey Protein Concentrate.

That means:

• Isolate is easier to digest for those who are lactose intolerant
• Isolate can be more expensive because it requires more processing but that improves the purity of what you are consuming
• Isolate can be better if on a strict diet because there is less fat and carbohydrate present

THE VERDICT

Whey Isolate is our favorite to recommend. Specifically the Whey Protein Isolate from Thorne (previously we had been fans of Swolverine’s Whey Protein Isolate but they have not been in stock for almost a year so we will wait to see if they changed things once it is available again. Thorne prides itself on third party testing meaning what they say is in there is actually in there. The FDA does not regulate supplements so you must trust the brands you are buying from).

Lactose intolerance is increasing and many of us find dairy not always sitting the best in our stomachs. Isolate removes any concern for that. And knowing that the supplement contains at least 90% protein means we can be confident we are not consuming much of anything else as the processing removes all of the guess work.

That being said, a whey protein concentrate from a reputable brand can serve you well especially if you do not have any issues with dairy. If you are getting a majority of your protein from your food sources then a quality whey protein concentrate will absolutely get you across the line each day in terms of your protein intake.

Let me know what you think!

-Ben

FROM THE LIBRARY

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