Your muscle building and recovery process is highly affected by whey protein. It’s far superior to all other forms of protein in providing your body with the perfect amino acid profile for muscle building, strength, and recovery. Bodybuilders and professional athletes rely on whey protein supplements due to its fast digesting properties. There’s a reason we drink protein shakes and stay away from the chicken and fish at opportune times. Your daily protein consumption should go beyond just quotas. It needs to be come from a variety of sources. Whey protein, which is derived from milk, is the ultimate source of protein and the highest quality of protein available. Let me explain why whey protein supplements are better than natural, protein-rich foods at certain times.

Biological Value

Whey protein has the highest biological value of any protein. Biological value measures how much of the protein that is consumed is actually absorbed and utilized in the body. If a protein has a BV of 100, it means that all of the protein absorbed has been utilized with none lost. For example, whole eggs have a BV of 100. Whey protein has a biological value of 104. You may ask how this is possible. How can there be 104% if 100% is the highest? Since whey protein is superior to whole eggs in terms of BV, the percentage sign on BV had to be dropped and the scale extended beyond 100, using the chemical score of the protein.

Amino Acids

Protein are large molecules that consist of a chain of amino acids. Some amino acids are responsible for the growth of the skin and nails and others are for hormone production. There’s even some amino acids in the body that have more ambiguous functions. However, there are also amino acids that are strictly responsible for muscle growth and recovery. This is where whey protein serves it’s true purpose.

If you eat natural, protein-rich foods like chicken, fish, or eggs, you get all the amino acids required to stay healthy. This is essentially why all-natural foods like this should always be the foundation of your diet. General health should always come before your muscle building endeavors. Remember, supplements are supplements. They are there to assist your dietary needs.  They should always be used as a supplement to a healthy diet. Your diet must consist of well-rounded meals that include protein sources such as eggs, chicken, fish, and steak. However, there is one time of the day that whey protein is superior to any other protein source since whey protein is easily digestible and is absorbed by the body very quickly. When you finish your resistance training workout, your body is in desperate need of certain amino acids to jumpstart the recovery process. It needs them and it prefers to get them quickly. Whey protein is ideal when it comes to your post-workout nutrition since it is so quickly digested and utilized by the body.

After you workout, you need to get a type of amino acid in your body that is specifically responsible for recovery and repairing your broken down muscle tissue during your workout. Whey protein has all the muscle building ingredients, specifically high in the branch chain amino acids (BCAAs) leucine, isoleucine, and valine, which are building blocks essential to survival. Your body does not produce BCAAs naturally so you must get them from food or supplements. Many studies confirm that leucine is the most important BCAA in terms of muscle growth and recovery. Consuming lots of leucine leads to greater muscle protein synthesis, the process that helps promote muscle growth and recovery. Whey protein is approximately 12% leucine; therefore, about 27g of whey protein would need to be consumed to reach the threshold for maximal anabolism, whereas a source like chicken, which has a protein content of about 7.5% leucine would require 43g of protein to reach the leucine threshold required for maximal stimulation.

In other words, you need less whey protein to get more out of your muscle building efforts.

Digestion

Whey protein is the fastest absorbed protein, more so than egg, casein, or other forms. This is why it’s essential to take during your post-workout time when your body is starving for nutrients. After exercise, the body is deprived of gylcogen, decreases its rate of protein synthesis, and increases its rate of protein breakdown. Taking a whey protein source will successfully reverse this trend.

Perhaps the most important factor in your post-workout nutrition comes down to timing. You might as well forget your protein if you don’t consume it at the opportune time. It is absolutely crucial that you consume your post-workout protein immediately after exercise. This phenomenon is commonly referred to as the “window of opportunity”. Research has shown that consuming a post-exercise meal immediately after working out is superior to consuming one only one hour later. You must get your protein in your body as fast as possible and whey protein will get all the protein digested and used in your body within an hour to an hour and a half. If you wait too long, glycogen replenishment and protein repair will be compromised. Even protein-rich foods won’t be digested in the body as quickly, and they often lack the proper amount of leucine and other amino acid profiles to build your body up properly.

You also should consume whey protein immediately upon waking up in the morning. More than likely, you have been in a slumber for 6-8 hours without any food intake, which means your body is very catabolic. Your body is literally starving for nutrients at this time and it is best to feed your body with the fastest form of protein available. Look no further than whey protein for this very purpose.

In addition to your whey protein, you also must get the proper amount of carbohydrates to replenish glycogen stores. Healthy fats should be limited to 15-20% of your total dietary consumption.

Macronutrient & Micronutrient Profile

In terms of macronutrients, whey protein has the highest quality protein with the least amount of fat and carbohydrates. Other protein-rich foods like chicken or whole-eggs can have higher amounts of fat and sources like milk or yogurt can be high in carbohydrates. Fat and carbs are essential for the body to function, however, when trying to get really lean, fat and carbohydrate intake needs to be kept in check. In terms of that perspective, whey protein wins in terms of low fat/low carb protein sources, which is the best for macronutrient density.

Whole foods have more micronutrients in the form of vitamins and minerals. That part is obvious. However, whey protein does have specific, valuable micronutrients not as readily available in natural foods. For example, whey protein is a terrific source of immunoglobulins and lactoferrin. Immunoglobulins (also known as antibodies) are proteins that are used by the immune system to identify and destroy pathogens. Lactoferrin is a protein that binds to iron, thus denying iron to bacteria, microbes and viruses, which ultimately die as they require iron to flourish. Whey protein is made up of 3% immunglobulins and 1% lactoferrin. Therefore, whey protein can be more beneficial to your immune system than other protein-rich foods like chicken, turkey, red meat or even egg whites.

Satiety

Research has concluded that your body functions better with smaller meals and can even increase your metabolism and muscle building capabilities. Research has also confined that diets high in protein foods are shown to greatly increase our satiety compared to foods high in carbohydrates and/or fats. The most effective way to curb appetite is dairy-derived whey protein. Studies confirm that people feel less hungry and have greater fullness when protein is added to water beverages.

You may think that you aren’t having a real meal when you have a protein shake. In reality, you are consuming a supplement. However, a protein shake can be considered a meal for you. It’s exactly like soup. The reality is when you mix a whey protein powder with water or milk, you’re creating a protein soup. You’re suspending a solid and a liquid, which is exactly what soup is.

Therefore, when consuming a whey protein shake, you can actually curb your appetite faster while putting less calories in your body, thereby gaining all the benefits of the actual protein. This can in turn keep you leaner while increasing your ability to consume the more important smaller meals.

Affordability

Whey protein is the least expensive of high quality protein. In addition, it is a way cheaper option than buying natural foods like chicken or eggs. You can get a month’s worth of daily whey protein consumption for less than 50-60 dollars. It’s very hard to beat that price tag shopping for natural protein sources at your local supermarket.

As stated above, natural foods should always be the foundation of your diet. Your general health does not rely on your whey protein consumption. Rather, your general health is determined by your overall macronutrient and micronutrient profile. However, talking about a pure bodybuilder’s perspective, whey protein proves superior to any other ingredient out there.

Source

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/issa4.htm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYV60aV7RjU