Whey Protein Isolate: From wasted by-product to superfood

Introduction
It’s interesting to note that what we considered to be useless only a quarter of a century ago, a prominent example being whey, a by-product of cheese, has been toted by almost every fitness expert and organization in the business to be the best source of protein (and essential amino acids) available to man, even better than the white of an egg. This only goes to show how much we knew a few decades ago, and despite all our advances in research and development, we will still have to change preconceived notions about ideas, thoughts and principles that seem infallible.

An Overview of Whey Protein

Time and time again, athletes have found high-quality whey to be an excellent source of protein, and so it seems that ‘whey’ has indeed reinvented itself into the superfood that it is regarded today. Ironically, this is true of nature for a long time as everything is recycled, a lesson that we’re beginning to take very seriously off late.

Very simply, whey protein is merely the collection of globular proteins from whey such as beta-lactoglobulin, alpha-lactalbumin, and serum albumin, and comes in three forms, namely the isolate, concentrate and hydrolysate.

Whey Protein Isolate: Uses and Benefits

Since its primary use is for health purposes, whey protein isolate is produced in two ways known as the Cross-flow Microfiltration and the Ion Exchange method, with the former focusing on the producing the highest quality of protein available for whey protein isolate, whereas the latter focuses on the latter.

Currently, the weight loss drinks that they use whey protein in are either a blend of the whey concentrate and isolate, or consists entirely of either of these products thus varying in the quality and quantity available in whey protein isolate used accordingly.

And of the two, its isolate form is the purest of the lot regardless of the method used while not necessarily giving you more bang for your buck as most people think that it's ok to spend less on whey protein drinks that are a combination of both instead of just being made of pure whey protein isolate.

However, what makes this form of whey protein great is that it removes the fat, lactose and bioactive compounds, resulting in almost 90 plus % in weight making it the best protein food available for those who are in bodybuilding in order to gain muscle mass safely, along with maintaining a milky taste that can be used with one of your favorite recipes as well.

Apart from just building muscle, whey protein isolate has several other health benefits as has been researched by the medical community over the past few years such as:

- Has the highest concentration of branched chain amino-acids

- Boosts immune support by producing the antioxidant Glutathione

- Contains quadrapeptides that decreases muscle soreness during training

- Has a very high Biological Value, the measure of absorbed protein in a food that will become a part of the protein tissue in the body.

- Helps in reducing LDL cholesterol production

In Closing

While whey protein isolate is discovered to be the best protein source around, this is one source of protein that should not missed out especially if the aforementioned benefits need to be taken advantage of. It is indeed in exploring Nature that we find most of our solutions, even though it can be as simple and presumably insignificant just like whey has been for health and fitness.

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