So believe me or not, Whey Protein is heavily, and I mean heavily misunderstood by the common Indian person. In fact, people turn extremely apprehensive and sceptical when they realise a near and dear is consuming whey protein. I too, have been victimized by those people. One fine day when my relatives popped up in my house and found a mason jar of MuscleBlaze Whey Protein, they immediately burdened me with comments on how unhealthy and harmful it is to my health, whilst snacking on deep-fried Indian snacks. The hypocrisy is seriously overwhelming. Anyway, I tried to test out my knowledge and explain to them what Whey Protein was but failed since they were so held up. Anyway, that’s enough of an introduction.
Let me be clear, whey protein in contrast to popular opinion is not only for those jacked muscle-heads booming with bro-science, it is a craft of nature which can be used for perfecting your body and getting in the best shape of your life. Do you remember the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears? “She was eating the curd and whey” That’s what whey is, it’s a derivative of milk albeit much less fattening than its cousins: butter and cheese. Now for most of you, lactose-intolerant people who are about to click away hold on. The process of converting that liquid into the powder form (be it dehydration, microfiltration or other methods) that cuts out almost 95% of the lactose. So those of you who are not severely allergic to lactose should be okay. Anyhow you always have the option to switch to various other types such as Pea Protein or Soy Protein. However do keep in mind that these substitutes can never replace whey protein since they lack in many overlooked benefits of whey protein such as some BCAAs or Blocked Chain Amino Acids, which cannot be found in these substitutes.
I am sure most of you being Indians will be familiar with Paneer or Cottage Cheese or Ricotta cheese and will be no alien to the process of its creation. Adding some acidic substance such as lime juice to milk will instantly coagulate it and form paneer. Now the slightly greenish liquid leftover, that is whey. Yes, surprise surprise, it’s not some chemically or artificially made substance which instantly gives you gains. Now, the paneer is a different type of protein which is referred to as Casein. Some of you planning to purchase protein might have heard this term. Casein is higher in calories as compared to whey; since it contains a higher amount of lactose (a sugar present in milk) and a higher amount of fat. Hence casein takes a longer time to digest unlike whey and is consumed mostly in the night before sleeping, to aid the body’s recovery through the slow supply of protein, throughout the night.
Whey Protein is available in markets in primarily these 3 categories:
1) Whey Protein Concentrate: 70-80% protein with some milk sugar and fat.
2) Whey Protein Isolate: 90% protein with lesser milk sugar and fat.
3) Whey Protein Hydrolysed or Hydrolystate: Nearly 0% milk sugar and fat, also added with enzymes to improve digestion
Now, is most of the times unless deeply scrutinized these types do not matter, except for their price tags and marketing propaganda of course. Leave those worries to your diet and exercise. Being majorly protein and protein is 4 calories per gram, a single scoop (30g) of whey protein should be around 120-150 calories.
As I stated before, protein is not just for shredded muscle-heads screaming towards their next dead-lift, but you can use it too for a simple goal such as weight loss. Following are the advantages of whey protein:
1) It keeps you full, and vehemently reduces those sugar cravings that you have, which lead to snacking and insurmountable calorie gain.
2) It’s goddamn convenient. All you need is water and a shaker and you are set. Anywhere, anytime you want to battle those cravings, one scoop is more than enough.
3) It preserves muscle and aids fat loss. Now you must be doing some workout to get into a good shape, be it steady-state cardio or lifting dumbbells in the gym, all require protein for the recovery of your muscles. However, when you lose/gain weight, you don’t specifically lose/gain fat. It is a combination of several things, such as fat, muscle, waste, water, etc. Hence to LOSE fat and preserve/recover that muscle, protein is necessary.
4) Improves muscle performance
5) Lowers blood pressure
6) Reduces symptoms of stress
7) Increases your water intake
8) Contains antioxidants
Trust me the list goes on and on. Finally, when do you consume it?
Honestly anytime but here are few things you must know. Most people who can afford only a single scoop of whey protein a day should take it post-workout. Since this is the time, the muscles crave protein. Whey protein being a fast-digesting protein, it can be quickly digested by your body. Next, you can consume it in the morning, since your body is in a fasted state and the body starts using any available source of energy, and this (not immediately) but can aid muscle loss, hence consuming protein will prevent that. Finally, it can be used as a perfect snack to pamper your taste buds with a sweet taste and yet prevent those unwanted calories. Now if you really want to splurge you can always make whey protein pancakes, cupcakes and the list goes on.
Now if you still are sceptical about whey, let me get a bit nerdy with you. There is a scale called PDCAAS or Protein Digestibility Corrected Amino Acid Score. This rating has been adopted by the US FDA and the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations/World Health Organization (FAO/WHO) in 1993 as "the preferred 'best'" method to determine protein quality. Now in that scale, whey protein is a near 100, while other protein sources such as chicken are at 95, beef at 92 and soy at 91. Pea protein isolate is at 89. This scale surely has its limitations like every other calculation, but is a tried and tested method in proving how easily our body can digest a protein source such as whey.
Finally last but definitely not the least, the price. Now for providing you with some perspective, I shall be comparing a Rs. 3000 Whey Protein supplement with a much cheaper and more inferior quality product available in the Indian market: Protinex.
· 1kg of Whey Protein is Rs. 3000. 1 serving of Whey Protein is 30g. Hence the cost of 1 serving will be Rs. 90. Let’s even take Rs. 100 for an easier calculation. Now 100 rupees gives 24g of protein hence 1g of protein is Rs. 4.1
· 250g of Protinex is Rs. 375. Similar to Whey Protein, 1 serving of Protinex too is 30g. Hence the cost of 1 serving is Rs. 45. Now, this is surely cheaper than Whey Protein. But now let’s scrutinize.
· From these 45 rupees, you get 9.6g of Protein. Hence each gram of Protinex is Rs. 4.5
Yes, Hard work I understand that shocking reaction. Finally, whey protein is not some magical tool which will turn you into a shredded aesthetic body-builder; it is a tool to make your journey more comfortable and easier. Hard work and consistency always pay off. Cheers!
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