how to choose protein powder

protein is the main component of muscles, bones, skin and other organs in the body. Protein helps improve athletic performance, repair damaged muscles after exercise, and help restore muscle glycogen. Protein will not be directly converted into fat by the body (protein is first decomposed into amino acids in the body, and then some amino acids will be converted into glycogen, ketone bodies and other substances in the liver but will not be synthesized into triglycerides.

Protein powder is probably one of the most commonly used supplements in the world (except vitamins) because:

It is convenient: it is much simpler to make a cup of protein powder after exercise or during meals than to eat 1 egg whites or a large piece of chicken breast

Healthy: a spoonful of protein powder contains about 23-25g protein, 1-15 calories, 4-9g carbohydrate and 2-4g fat. A lean steak contains 24g protein, 28-32 calories, g carbohydrate, 2-25g fat and 7mg cholesterol. 3 cups of milk (732g) contains 24g protein, 444 calories, 36g carbohydrate, 24g fat and 72mg cholesterol. With the same content of protein, the calories, fat and cholesterol of protein powder are far lower than those of food

Save money: with the same content of protein, it is often cheaper than fish and steak (in the United States, there is an international freight charge for going to China, and there may be tariffs, I don't know how to compare it)

Besides providing extra protein, there are many other health benefits, such as improving immunity

It tastes good. At the same time, it is suitable for all ages

But there are probably not hundreds of brands and varieties of protein powder on the market. The ones from big factories and small factories, which are famous and small, have never been heard before, are really similar to those simulated on Taobao, and the same brand has different series from low to high. How can we choose the one that suits us? I try to provide some experience from the different types and main differences of protein powder.

if you don't look at the gimmicks in the brand and trademark market, in the final analysis, I mainly look at these things when choosing protein powder:

1. What kind of protein powder

In short, protein powder can be divided into animal sources and plant sources according to its sources. The most common animal-derived proteins are whey protein whey protein and casein protein casein separated from milk. The most common plant proteins are soybean protein, rice protein, soybean protein and flax protein.

Animal-derived protein powder is much more advantageous and more common than plant-derived protein powder in terms of nutrition and taste (basically 95% of protein powder in the American market is animal-derived, but it is strange that many people eat soy protein because of brainwashing of certain brands in China). People who exercise rarely use soy protein, except for religious reasons (vegetarians) or for the need of estrogen supplementation (people with low estrogen).

Whey protein

Whey protein comes from milk (protein of milk is 2% whey protein and 8% casein; Protein in human breast milk is 4% whey protein and 6% casein. There is less than 1g whey in 1g milk, so it is not cheap. It is called "the king of protein" because of its purity, absorption rate and amino acid combination. Whey is a liquid by-product separated from milk when making cheese. For most people, whey protein is the source of protein powder with the best comprehensive performance: taste (the best), quality (one of the best) and cost (one of the lowest). In addition, whey protein has some advantages that are often overlooked:

it contains a lot of Cysteine amino acids, which helps the body to produce glutathione GSH, and some recent medical experiments have proved that it has a role in helping the body fight free radicals, even fighting some cancers and reducing the risk of heart disease and diabetes.

It contains immunoglobulin that is necessary for human immunity. Effectively improve the immunity of white blood cells

It contains a large number of BCAA branched-chain amino acids that cannot be synthesized by human body, which stimulates muscle synthesis and metabolism and delays central fatigue

Whey protein concentrate (WPC) is divided into three types from low to high according to its purity and processing.

protein in whey is filtered by ultrafiltration technology and then dried. The content of protein can range from 34-8% (some unscrupulous merchants, including many domestic imitators, use WPC34, that is, the concentrated whey protein with the lowest content, as the main material, and then add some cheap non-essential amino acids such as Glycine, Alamine and Taurine to make the protein content show up to the standard when the instrument is tested, similar to the concept of Sanlu milk powder putting melamine to improve protein reading). Concentrated whey protein is usually the highest-selling protein powder because of its low price. You'd better choose a big brand with moral integrity, or a brand indicating the use of WPC8 (but don't buy WPC8 powder from Taobao. WPC8 powder is a food raw material but not food, and its bacterial content does not meet the food requirements. It is illegal to sell WPC8 powder to ordinary consumers in the United States)

whey protein isolate (WPI)

Separation of whey protein is based on concentrated whey protein. The separated whey protein has better taste and higher biological value, and is easier to be digested and absorbed by the body except for the fat and lactose in whey protein.

hydrolyzed whey protein hydrolyzed whey protein (wph)

hydrolyzed whey protein is the product of hydrolyzing separated whey protein. Hydrolysis is one of the necessary procedures for the body to consume and absorb protein. Hydrolyzing protein powder directly in advance saves the process of body, which makes the body absorb protein faster. At the same time, hydrolyzing whey protein can stimulate the body to produce insulin, which can supplement muscles with carbohydrates to the greatest extent after exercise. At the same time, the hydrolyzed protein powder will hardly cause body allergy, and it is the main component of low allergen infant formula.

most brands in the market are not composed of one protein powder, but a combination of several, such as the blending of concentrated whey protein powder+separated whey protein powder+egg protein powder+casein powder+soybean protein powder, and the price of separated whey and hydrolyzed whey is different

casein casein protein (also known as milk protein)

protein in milk is 8% casein, so it is also called milk protein. There is basically no difference in taste, nutritional value and biological value between casein and whey protein. The only difference is the speed of body absorption: casein is absorbed slowly and whey protein is absorbed quickly.

After strenuous exercise, the muscle glycogen in the body is seriously lost or even negatively balanced, and insulin is extremely sensitive. Therefore, if protein and carbohydrate are supplemented quickly at this time, all nutrients will be concentrated on repairing muscle fibers and will not be converted into fat. The 15-3 minutes after exercise is called the "golden window", so whey protein and simple carbohydrate (if juice or fruit) are the main supplements after exercise (other foods or protein cannot be absorbed quickly, which means wasting time) < p

People often ask which is better, whey protein or casein, but they don't say which is better, but their uses are different.

egg protein powder egg protein

A long time ago, egg protein was the most common protein powder, but with the development of food processing technology after World War II in the last century, whey protein beat egg protein in taste and cost, which is not common now.

vegetable protein

among all plant proteins, soybean protein and hemp protein are the most common. Because these two contain eight essential amino acids, other plant proteins are missing one or two (animal proteins contain all amino acids, so animal proteins are much more common). Compared with whey protein, soybean protein contains phytoestrogens (suitable for people with too little estrogen, but too much estrogen is not good) except cholesterol.

2. Taste and the use of sweeteners

Protein powder itself has no taste, neither sweet nor salty, and some of them are even bitter, such as hydrolyzed, while soybean protein usually has a strong beany smell. Therefore, most protein powders will use flavoring agents, or sugar substitutes, or natural, or a mixture of the two. Which flavoring agent has no effect on the nutrition of protein powder, but only affects the taste. But if possible, choose protein powder with natural flavoring as much as possible. After all, sugar substitutes, especially aspartame (the main raw material in cola), have an impact on fat reduction efficiency. There are not many big brands that use pure natural flavoring agents in the market, and the quality and taste are guaranteed. It seems that only dymatize all natural elite when protein is isolated from whey protein.

And the taste of protein powder is also very important. After all, something you drink every day is very annoying if it makes people sick. After all, everyone has different tastes, and you may not like what I like. Dymatize's another ISO-1 specially designed for women has two flavors: Cookie N Cream and Gourmet Chocolate.

3. Bad additives in protein powder

I think this is the main problem. The key to distinguish between good and bad protein powder is to look at this. First, we should avoid putting some "filler" in those cheap protein powders (to be honest, if you carefully look at different brands or even different series under the same brand, the cheaper brands basically add non-essential amino acids such as Glycine, Alamine and Taurine to "improve" the content of protein in instrument testing); Second, the most important thing is to avoid those series that put Creamer (similar to coffee companion) in protein powder in order to improve the taste and concentration. As we all know, Creamer is a pile of hydrogenated oil, trans fat and concentrated corn syrup, and good healthy food will be turned into junk food by this.

4. Good additives

Common good additives are:

Lecithin–Lecithin is a healthy fat extracted from soybeans, which has the function of enhancing memory and protecting cardiovascular health. When added to protein powder, it can improve the solubility of protein powder. Reduce caking

Digestive enzymes–Adding digestive enzymes can help people digest amino acid of protein

–whey protein contains Glutamine acids, but it is not balanced, and some brands will add amino acids necessary for the body during exercise to improve the nutritional composition and value

CLA, MCT and cellulose–CLA and MCT are all extracted from fat, which helps to reduce fat. CLA is a conjugated fatty acid, which can inhibit the activity of lipoprotein lipase, reduce the synthesis of endogenous fat and improve fat metabolism. MCT, whose full name is medium-chain triglyceride, is often used as one of the food supplements for postoperative patients, which can improve the thermogenic effect of food and help improve metabolism and reduce fat. Cellulose is necessary to maintain health and accelerate fat loss. Everyone knows

carbohydrates and fats–some bodybuilders like to use protein powder with carbohydrates and fats to supplement nutrition and help gain muscle, but this kind of thing has its own name called Mass Gain Muscle Increasing Powder

5. Price

The price of protein powder is high or low. In most cases, the price of protein powder mainly depends on the type used (whey protein or plant protein; If it is concentrated whey protein, is it WPC34 or WPC8? Are there any more advanced protein isolates? What about hydrolyzed protein? ) Most protein powders are not a single source, but a mixture of several protein powders according to their ingredients and uses (quick absorption or slow release). One of the principles is that the higher the ranking, the greater the content, although the specific content is often unknown. The raw materials of protein powder are basically the same, so if one is half cheaper than the other in the same size, it is estimated that the cheaper one is more likely to use cheaper raw materials with lower purity. Of course, sometimes it depends on whether bad additives are added to the protein powder to reduce the cost, or whether it contains good additives to enhance the performance.

should I eat protein powder?

this is a difficult question to answer. In principle, protein powder, like all supplements, is not necessary. You should first consider getting enough protein from your diet. However, in real life, few people can just eat enough protein, and the calories, fat and cholesterol contained in other foods are not over the standard (except protein, there are calories, fat and cholesterol in a piece of beef). So in some cases, protein powder is indeed a more convenient substitute. In addition, whey protein has all other advantages that protein can't match when supplementing after exercise: it is absorbed quickly (it is absorbed faster when mixed with water than milk).

how much should I eat?

There are various opinions on the Internet, ranging from the USDA's suggestion of .36g(1 kg =1.1 lb, a 16-lb man is just 58g and 12oz of steak) to the suggestion of 3-4g per lb by some fitness coaches. Which is correct? In fact, as far as ordinary people are concerned, two eggs and one piece of meat a day (equivalent to .36g/ lb) is the minimum requirement, but it does not mean that this amount cannot be exceeded.

Many experiments show that increasing protein intake properly is beneficial to reducing fat and health. The University of Illinois once conducted a controlled experiment. Two groups of people with similar health status and weight ate the same food and exercised the same amount. After 16 weeks, the person with a weight of .36g/ lb lost an average of 12 pounds, while the person with a weight of .8g/ lb lost an average of 2 pounds. But that's not the point. The point is that compared with the control group, the average blood pressure, LDL bad cholesterol and triglyceride levels of people who consume .8g/ lb are lower, and the chance of getting heart disease in 1 years is 3% lower than that of the control group. Many experiments show that properly increasing the proportion of protein in calories is good for health and fat reduction.

So how much protein should we eat? In my opinion, ordinary people basically don't exercise, and the minimum demand can be met by ensuring .36-.4g/ lb body weight every day (or 18% of daily calories); For people with moderate to high exercise intensity and fat loss, the protein required is much higher than that of ordinary people. It is good to control the exercise intensity at .8-1.2g/ lb (or 3-4% of daily calories) (in other words, a woman weighing 115kg needs to exercise for about 6 minutes every day.