How to Choose the Right Protein Powder For Bodybuilding

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When you walk into a supplement store or browse through a supplement website… there are thousands of competing brands of protein powder. I bet you wonder… the same as I do… what is the difference between all of these protein powders and which one is the best one for me?

First of all, know this… there are different kinds of protein powders. The main ingredient can be whey, milk, egg or even soy.

And then you can break these down some more…

You have your whey protein isolate, whey protein concentrate, hydrolyzed whey, calcium caseinate, egg white, whole egg and on and on. Enough to make your head dizzy, huh?

That is why I’m here looking out for you today with this brand new, spankin’ article…

The next obvious question about protein powders is what EXACTLY is the benefits you can get from all these different, somewhat unpronounceable forms of protein?

Boy, I’m glad you asked… because I didn’t want to say anything…

Let’s start off with Whey protein powder. It is comprised of twenty percent of the total milk protein. a by-product of cheese manufactured from cow’s milk. It has lots of amino acids and is easy for your body to digest.

The next protein that I want to talk about is the Casein protein which makes up about eighty percent of the total milk protein. It too has an excellent amino acid profile, just like the whey protein but it takes longer for your body to digest. In short, during your workout and right afterwards, casein protein is not a good idea because your body needs extra protein NOW… not later. You need a protein that can be absorbed faster by your body…

I have to warn you… I’m not a big fan of soy based proteins. It is a controversial subject for many folks. There are many researches that suggest soy products can be a medical risk. I would suggest that you choose another source of protein and stay away from soy powders.

There is another source of protein powders that is a blend. Usually it is a combination of the whey protein concentrate, whey protein isolate, egg protein, casein protein and sometimes soy protein. Blends are good when you want a full spectrum of proteins that can be digested by your body over a period of time.

My experience from the supplement stores is that most of the whey protein powders are mostly made of whey concentrate mixed with a small portion of whey isolate. And the reason for that is called, keeping the cost down. You see, whey isolate is more pure and higher quality source of protein than the whey concentrated. Also, whey isolate has less fat.

So the supplement manufacturers mix them together to get a better source of protein and less fat than if they just sold their brand as whey concentrate.

Now, whey isolate gives you the highest yield of protein that you can get from milk. However, the additional expense may not necessarily guarantee it is going to give you bigger muscles. Therefore, I would conclude that the additional expense of getting whey isolate powder may not justify the added cost.

Here is what I recommend that you do:

Since Whey protein is quickly absorbed by your body, use this source before you workout, right after you workout (up to 6 hours) or when you wake up from a night’s sleep because your body needs protein NOW.

The slower digested proteins, casein protein would be good to ingest anytime of the day except the times above for the whey protein. Your body isn’t in a rush and having a constant supply of protein is good for maintaining your muscles.

If you have to use a blend of proteins which has both, whey protein and casein protein — use this cheaper version of protein powder 6 hours after you finish working out.

Protein powders can also be used as a meal replacement drinks but keep in mind that your body wasn’t designed to drink it’s meals. Try to focus on good nutrition and eat good quality protein meats, good carbs and good fats several times a day. It’s OK to use protein drinks as a supplement but try not to use it as an permanent meal replacement…

Combining both the protein shakes plus eating a full spectrum of good quality foods would be the best way to support your muscle growth.

One more thing… I don’t like ingesting artificial sweeteners. And a lot of protein powders have them in their list of ingredients. For some of you, artificial sweeteners may have adverse affect on your body such as headaches and painful jaws. If this is you, you would best be served to look a little harder because some of the bigger supplement suppliers on the Internet carries brands of protein powder without the artificial flavors, colors and sweeteners. There is very little price difference. But then again, that is up to you…

Now grow some muscles…

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Source by Matt Taylor