WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN A PROTEIN POWDER

Most people don’t need supplements.  Eating a diverse diet of whole foods in the amounts that we recommend can give you almost all of the results that you are looking for.  However, we realize that life is busy and you don’t always have time to sit down with a protein rich meal.  Since we generally recommend a relatively high protein diet for most people, you might find it challenging with a busy work/life schedule to get your daily goal of protein in through food alone. Enter supplements.  Since we’re talking about protein here, let’s delve into protein powders.  

They are EVERYWHERE and there are TONS of choices out there.  I mean, I KNOW that you can buy them at the grocery store, and I wouldn’t be surprised if you can find them at a convenient store and the flea market!

There’s a reason that the protein powder industry has EXPLODED.  It’s relatively cheap per serving ($1-3), it’s convenient (just mix with water), it’s tasty (mmm… chocolate) and it works!  

So let’s say that you go into a vitamin store with the intention of getting yourself some protein powder to supplement with…. seems simple enough… OH NO! There are 7,000 choices that all claim to make my bicep pop out of my shirt! How do I know which one is going to really help me reach my goals of the ultimate flex?

Let’s figure it out.

First let’s talk about 3 different kinds of protein powder that you might come across so that we have some context. There are many other protein supplements out there but you’re sure to see these. 

Casein:

There are two proteins that make up dairy.  Casein is one and Whey is the other (we will get to whey in a minute).  To “make” casein, whole milk protein is treated to separate the curds (this is the casein) from the whey.  Once the whey has been removed, the remaining casein is filtered and further processed into the powdered form you’re used to seeing supplements in.  Casein is a “complete” protein since it’s from an animal source and it’s known for being thicker than whey protein and it’s also known for taking longer to absorb than whey protein.  For this reason it’s gained favor as a “nighttime”protein. 

Vegetarian Protein:

You’ve probably seen vegan/vegetarian proteins either online or at the store.  So what’s the deal? They are typically made from Soybeans, Peas, Hemp or a combination of veggies.  These can be good options for vegans and for people who are either allergic to or do not tolerate dairy well.  Then tend to have an earthy taste and are typically thicker than dairy based protein powders.  The thing to pay close attention to with is the Amino Acid content and breakdown.  More on this later.

Whey Protein:  

We saved this one for last because it’s the king of protein powders.  The gold standard, the “can’t lose” option.  It’s by far the best selling form of protein and it’s for good reason.  It’s cheap, it’s easy to find, comes in a bunch of flavors and it just plain works.  Remember how casein was made by separating the whey from the casein? Well once the whey is separated out and filtered/heated and turned into whey concentrate.  In this form the powder is about 60-70% protein by weight. Whey “concentrate” typically still has a few grams of carbohydrate and fat still in it.  If the concentrate is further micro filtered/washed it becomes whey “isolate”. In this “isolate” form, it’s pretty much pure protein with no carbohydrates and no dietary fat present.  Even the naturally occurring sugar “lactose” is processed out of whey protein. 

Ok so now that you know what you’re looking at on the front of the label at the store, let’s talk about what to actually LOOK for when choosing one.  

Amino Acids.

The reason that we eat food with protein in it is because the amino acids contained in them are the building blocks for the muscle that we are trying to build and maintain.  Those amino acids trigger muscle repair and growth when we eat them.  

There are 9 essential amino acids that we must get from our food because our bodies cannot make them.  They are Histidine, Isoleucine, Leucine, Lysine, Methonine, Phenylalanine, Threonine, Tryptophan (turkey anyone?) and Valine.

We need all of these amino acids for muscle building, but we need 3 of them (called the BCAA’s) in certain amounts.  The three Branch Chain Amino Acids (BCAA’s) are Leucine, Isoleucine and Valine.  

Leucine is the big boy of the group.  If you don’t have 2.5-3g of leucine in a meal (along with the other essential amino acids) or protein shake, you have not met the threshold to trigger muscle protein synthesis (growth and repair).  Let me say that again.  If your protein source doesn’t have at least 2.5g of leucine per serving, taking one serving of it isn’t doing the trick. Typically, quality protein powders have about 5-6g of BCAA’s in them.  Usually they are found in a 2:1:1 ratio between Leucine:Isoleucine:Valine.  That ratio, along with that 5-6g serving of BCAA’s meets that leucine threshold.  Remember Casein? It has LESS leucine than whey, so in general we prefer and recommend whey to our clients if they are supplementing with protein. 

Still on the amino acid topic, we need to talk about complete proteins and incomplete proteins.  Complete proteins contain all 9 Essential Amino Acids and incomplete proteins don’t.  Unfortunately MANY vegetarian protein powders out there are NOT complete protein sources.  If you still eat eggs, there are protein powders made from egg protein that ARE complete.  Other veggie proteins that ARE complete proteins to look for are soy and pea.  Common protein sources that ARE NOT good options for protein supplementation would be Collagen, Chia and Hemp.  Just like all protein supplements, check the label to make sure you are getting ENOUGH of the good stuff.   Tricky brands will short the amount of BCAA’s to save money.

What to NOT have in your protein powder.

So you know what TO look for, now let’s talk about what to avoid.  We recommend looking for the shortest ingredient list that you can find.  

Quality protein doesn’t need much added to it. Yes that includes sugar.  

Get your vitamins and minerals from your food, not your protein.  Most protein powders are flavored since unflavored supplements usually taste like a sock, so do expect to see some flavorings.  As far as the actual nutritional content (macros), we prefer powders that get you 20-25g of protein per serving, less than 3g of carbohydrates and less than 2g of fat.  There’s no reason to include carbs and fat into your protein shake.  After all, you’re trying to get protein.  Save your carbohydrates and fat for real foods!

The last thing we want to touch on is quantity.  

Eat real food as much as you can and use supplements as a fall back plan.  Try to plan out your day of eating so that you don’t get stuck drinking 3 protein shakes to meet your goals.  I mean, who wouldn’t want to eat real food?  If you are going to have more than 1 protein shake per day, spread them out at least a few hours.  Putting 2 servings into one shaker and drinking it all at once doesn’t have the same muscle building benefits of spreading them out.  Once you’ve triggered muscle protein synthesis, it’s triggered and has a refractory period in which it cannot be triggered again.  

So there you go.

Now you can walk into the supplement store, stare down that wall of powders and know what to look for when you flip the label over.  

Let us know if you have any questions!