What is Whey Protein Isolate?
Whey protein isolate is a natural dietary supplement most often used by bodybuilders and athletes to help recovery after training and to aid muscle growth.
What is Whey Protein Isolate Made From?
Whey protein comes from milk. You’re probably familiar with the idea of ‘curds and whey’ (even if only from the nursery rhyme). Milk naturally separates into these two. The ‘curds’ are the fatty, solid part used to make cheese. The whey part is largely water but also retains more than 95% of the milk’s albumins and lactose, and most of the protein with only a small percentage of the fat.
The process of isolation takes out the remaining fat, the carbohydrate and the lactose from the whey. This is done by a process of filtration.
The final step in the process is to dehydrate the liquid in order to produce whey protein isolate powder. This stage is mainly for convenience of delivery rather than adding anything to the process.
By the time it has been processed, the whey isolate is comprised of around 95% protein.
Why Use Whey Protein?
All of us will have protein naturally in our diets as it is essential to life. Proteins aid the repair of muscles as well as bones, they give you energy and are part of the body’s metabolism.
Proteins are vital for anyone undertaking a challenging training regime. When the body undergoes rigourous physical exercise, it needs many more ‘branched chain amino acids’ (if you want to get science-y they have name like isoleucine, leucine and valine). These branch chain amino acids are found in great concentration in whey protein.
Although it possible to find these branched chain amino acids in everyday food, with the amount required by the body when in serious training, a dietary supplement will give these in a much more compact and easily digestible form. They will also most likely provide this protein in a much less fatty package – making it more efficient.
Other Uses of Whey Protein
It’s use in training is the most popular use of it, but by no means the only use. It is also useful for diabetics needing to control their blood sugar levels. Diabetics are at risk of high blood sugar after a high carbohydrate meal. Taking some whey protein prevents this from occurring.