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Which Whey Is Best?

With so many protein powders available these days, it's hard to know exactly what you're getting, if you're actually getting anything good at all!  So many claims are made by manufacturers over their protein powder being fast release or a slow release or a slower fast relase than the faster fast release...it goes on.  So what are they actually talking about? And which protein powders are best to use and when?

To simplify things for you a little, there are basically two types of protein powders, whey and casein.  Whey is fast acting.  Casein is slow.  Whey is rich in branched chain amino acids and is absorbed quickly in the body.  Casein, however, coagulates and forms globules in your stomach and therefore takes much longer to break down.  Casein is therefore the classic "slow release" powder.

Due to the refinement in the process of extracting some of these components, there came to be a difference in the quality of whey that became available.  Whey concentrate was your base level variety.  Then came along isolate in all its arrogance.  Here was a protein powder that contained an even higher quality and even faster absorbing form of protein than what was offered through just the concentrate.  That is why isolates are more expensive than concentrates.  It's because of this reason that some manufacturers tout some of their proteins as being a "slow fast relase" (whey concentrate) and the "fast fast release" (whey isolate).

Casein was mostly shunned by the bodybuilding community for many years as it was thought to be an inferior quality protein that served no purpose for mass building.  In recent time, however, we've now come to realise that a slow release protein is ideal under certain circumstances.

Also, in recent times, a new bad boy has surfaced to knock whey isolate off its high perch as the pinnacle of protein quality.  Like most things in science, what looks great in the laboratory and what actually happens in the body are largely ignored until some "genius" finally asks the question.  Well, that's exactly what's happened in the field of protein powders.  For years we thought the best and fastest way to administer protein is if we got it into its purest form ie amino acids.  Your body was sure to absorb these the quickest because its in its simplest single molecule form right??  Well, the way that protein is absorbed in the gut is actually in its dipeptide form (2 amino acids joined together), so if you had a powder predominantly in THIS form it gets absorbed even faster than any isolate could ever do.  Enter hydrolysed whey, or a whey hydrolysate.

So, what's the best quality protein powder on the market? A whey hydrolysate is faster than an isolate, which is faster than a concentrate.  But we're still talking about just whey here, and whey in and of itself is the faster acting protein.  The best time to have your faster acting protein powders is immediately post workout.  If you've got the budget, post workout consume a hydrolysate.  But if all you can afford is a concentrate, well this will still work just fine.

The best time for casein is prior to bed.  As it is slow release, it will have a trickle effect on keeping your blood amino levels more stable during your overnight fast.