If you're trying to get more protein into your diet,
then protein powders can be an easy and convenient choice.
I'm gonna go through how to pick a quality protein powder.
And I'm also going to cover considerations for people with digestive
issues and for vegetarians and vegans as well.
At the end,
I'm also in going to include an important warning about making sure that your
protein powder is safe and actually contains what the label says.
I'm also gonna tell you what type of protein I use and why. The serving size to
optimize muscle protein synthesis is between 20 and 40 grams of protein. Now,
whatever form of protein powder that you're using,
make sure that you check the label to find out what the amount of protein is
you're getting per serving size.
So first we're gonna look at dairy protein powders because they tend to be the
most common. And as you're gonna see, they're also the most beneficial.
In many cases, whe protein is sold in three forms, whey isolate, whey
concentrate and whey hydrolysate. Whey protein isolate is faster
absorbed and utilized.
It tends to be easier on the digestion and it's pretty much pure protein.
In fact, it has to be at least 90% protein.
It's also lactose free and it's higher in losing than the other forms of
whey, which is one of the key amino acids.
Now whey concentrate is slightly cheaper, so that's a benefit,
but it does tend to contain more fat and less protein. Whey
concentrate has to contain between 35 and 80% protein by weight.
And if you're trying to add protein, more is better. Now
whey hydrolysate is the most expensive of the three.
And there's no evidence that it's any better than whey isolate.
So you can pretty much eliminate that from your picks.
The other form of dairy protein is casein, and this is a slower release protein.
And we used to say that because it is slower release that it's best to take it
before bed. That that would be the ideal one to have prior to bed.
And then your muscles would be repairing during sleep.
It doesn't actually seem to be any more effective than whey isolate.
So using whey isolate at night is just as effective.
A couple other forms of protein that are less widely available, egg and beef.
So egg can be fine if that's something that agrees with you,
beef protein is a lot more expensive and it also tastes a little
bit strange. I've used it in the past. But it can be a good option
if for some reason you can't have dairy or plant sources of protein.
Now I'm gonna cover some of the plant sources of protein that you can use.
If dairy doesn't work for you and you don't wanna use beef or egg.
A complete protein consists of nine essential amino acids that your body
can't make itself.
And 11 non-essential amino acids that your body can produce on its own.
Most plant sources of protein tend to be incomplete and that they don't have all
the essential amino acids.
Legumes and veggies tend to be low in methionine
and cysteine while grains, nuts, and seeds tend to be low in lysine.
As long as you're having those two different plant protein types over the course
of your day, then you're fine.
So combining pea and rice proteins allows you to have a
complete protein. Pea protein has lysine,
whereas brown rice protein has methionine.
So if you take them both together,
you have a complete protein. And brown rice protein appears to be as effective as
supporting muscle growth as whey protein.
Another plant protein option is hemp.
Although I have to say that I've used hemp and it just tastes awful.
It's really difficult to cover up that bad taste.
So it's only if you absolutely need to use it, that I would use hemp.
It is a complete protein, so you don't need to combine it with anything.
Another option is soy protein. Soy protein is a complete protein.
There has been some controversy over soy, but for the most part,
it looks like that it is safe.
And it has been shown to reduce menopausal symptoms in women who are going
through menopause.
Keep in mind that soy is a legume like peanuts and kidney beans and
chickpeas. So that means that it can cause digestive discomfort.
If you're prone to that or more sensitive, like I am keep that in mind,
if you do have a sensitive digestion.
So what makes a good protein? Part of it is what I just talked about,
which is whether it's complete animal sources of protein are complete and you
don't have to worry about that.
But you have to be a bit more careful with plant-based sources to make sure that
you're getting both groups of amino acids.
Reading the label on your protein powder is really important.
The ingredients are listed in descending order by weight so that, you know,
what's actually mainly in that product.
Some manufacturers are a bit dodgy and they do something called protein
spiking,
which means that they're adding non-protein sources just to spike the nitrogen
levels. Things like glutamine and creatine, instead of actual protein.
A lot of manufacturers will use protein blends. So on the label,
you might see that there's whey isolate and whey concentrate or some sort of
proprietary blend of protein.
That means that it's not clear how much of the package is whey isolate and how
much is whey concentrate. And as we've talked about way,
isolate does seem to be the superior choice in most cases.
The main message there is to avoid protein blends,
where it's not clear how much there is of each product,
and you're not getting as much protein for your money.
Another thing to look out for is sweeteners.
Most manufacturers will add in a sweetener of some type.
These can be things like sucralose or acesulfame potassium.
There are other sources like stevia and recently I've seen more monk fruit,
which I guess is a naturally sourced sweetener. Whether it's natural or not,
doesn't make much difference for the most part.
Even these artificial sweeteners have been considered safe. However,
if you do have a sensitive digestion,
you may notice that they can cause loose bowels,
especially if you're taking a protein powder several times a day.
And for some people, they just don't agree with their digestion at all.
So they need to avoid them together. I have IBS and GERD,
so that means that I have lower digestive issues. And I also get acid reflex.
I'm gonna talk about some considerations for acid reflex in a second.
I don't seem to have any issues with Stevia or monk fruit,
but if you have a sensitive digestion,
definitely pay attention to how you feel after having these protein
powders and whether it's agrees with you or not.
There are other additives that you might wanna be aware of.
So as you're reading the label,
look for things like guar gum or different kinds of gums.
Those can also affect people whose digestion is sensitive. In a good quality
protein powder,
the manufacturer will usually include the specific amino acid profile
for the protein.
So whether it's a whey based protein or it's a plant based protein,
they'll include exactly how much is in there of lysine or glutamine
or other amino acids. Another thing to consider is the taste.
I tend to find the whey proteins, the most tolerable in terms of taste.
But if you're having a smoothie and you're blending it in with fruit and milk
and perhaps yogurt, then it might not be such an issue.
If you're just putting your protein in a shaker and having it after your
workout, then mixability is really important.
Sometimes proteins can have a chalky taste and in the case of plant based
proteins, I find some of them are quite gritty.
So there's little pieces in there.
So it's not often pleasant to take it down that way.
And it is important that this is something that taste wise is tolerable for you
because otherwise it's gonna be a real struggle to get that protein in.
If you have any food allergies,
it's important that you read the label carefully.
Most of them will let you know if there's milk or soy in there.
It may be very small amounts. I've already talked a bit about digestive issues,
but in particular, if you suffer from acid reflex,
then you probably want to avoid chocolate flavoring or anything
that's citrus based like a pineapple flavor. I mean, that's not that common,
but I have seen it. And I used to like it. Those can be common reflex triggers.
So you probably wanna go for either a plain or a vanilla flavoring.
Some protein powders do contain contaminants like cadmium and
lead and BPA that you don't wanna get too high amounts of in your
systems. Particularly if you're taking protein several times a day.
Manufacturers are not required to test for these things. However,
some good manufacturers choose to do that testing,
and then they have certifications.
So there's the GMP good manufacturing practices and also
NSF. So look for those symbols on the protein package,
and you can also investigate the company a little bit,
what they say in terms of their particular testing processes and at least the
basic claims that they make in terms of their product purity and whether you're
actually getting what they say they're giving you.
So now I'm gonna tell you about the protein powder that I use,
because I have such a sensitive digestion. This is the weight isolate,
and you'll see it's got 130 calories,
one scoop that's providing 31 grams of protein. So that's really good.
That's where we're looking for. And if you look closer at the label,
this is really important to me, it's a whey isolate. And then just an enzyme,
blend proteins, lactase, and amylase.
So the important thing is that there's just whey isolate in here.
This is also available in vanilla. So that's what we've got here at the moment.
This has just got vanilla being extract and monk fruit.
It may or may not cause issues for people who have sensitive digestions.
This is not a sponsored video.
That's just happens to be the protein we're using right now.
We do have one other protein that's been hanging around here for a while.
It's my husband got desperate one day.
He didn't have an order of the regular stuff.
So he stopped by the grocery store and got pea protein and hemp
protein. Also satchi inchi and maca.
So there's a lot of things mixed into this one.
This is a plant based protein per scoop. So this is a 40 gram scoop.
It provides 20 grams of protein. So it's not bad.
It could be a little bit higher for sure. And as I recall,
this one is not particularly tasty, either.
The one that I use for one scoop, it's 31 grams of protein.
But when I add that with a high protein milk or some yogurt,
then that's quite a lot that I can get.
Sometimes I can have 50 grams of protein in a shake,
and that's really easy for me to add to my diet. Let me know in the comments,
what type of protein powder that you use and why,
or ask me any questions you like about a particular protein that you're
considering. Please hit the like button,
if anything I said was helpful. And subscribe and hit the bell for more evidence
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