I could write a 10-page post that still wouldn't cover everything, so I will keep this simple. I don't endorse any particular brand, nor do I claim to know everything there is to know about protein powders. But it's always helpful to hear what other people are doing, eating, lifting, etc. So I thought I'd share what protein powder I like in hopes that someone will have an even better, more accessible option.
I use Vitasport Pro7ein Synthesis. It's not that easy to find but I love it.
I was looking at all the crap near the counter at the gym one day and one of the trainers said to me, "go check out Nutrishop. They'll hook you up." So I walked down to this Nutrishop place.
The guy inside the closet-sized store said, "lemme guess, you want to lose weight and gain muscle."
Like the idiot that I am, I said, "yup!"
He was cool enough to make up a bunch of options for me to test to see what flavor I liked before I committed to a 5lb jug of powder. He also made up a bunch of amino acid/energy mixes for me to try, gave me a generous sample, and threw in a t-shirt. Fuck yeah!
It wasn't until I started comparing the nutritional facts on the Pro7ein label to other powders that I realized that dude totally steered me in the right direction. It might not be the best in the world but it's definitely better than most and it's still affordable.
I like that it has pretty low amounts of fat and carbs, reasonable amounts of cholesterol and sodium, and it's got 34g of protein per serving. People only need about 20 - 25g of protein per serving anyway.* Excess protein gets stored as fat or taxes your kidneys by creating excess urea or when the microbiome within your gut breaks down everything left over, makes you smell horrific.
It's also a blend. From the Nutrishop site," a unique blend of 7 forms of protein including WPI Protein Complex (Cross-Flow Microfiltered Whey Protein Isolate and Hydrolyzed Whey Protein Isolate) and WPC5 Protein Complexâ„¢ (Whey Protein Concentrate, Hydrolyzed Casein, Potassium Caseinate, Micellar Casein and Egg Albumin). "
What I also like about Pro7ein is that it has all the amino acids you would get from one of those amino energy powder mixes.
For those of you keeping score at home, that's all the essential amino acids our bodies do not make on their own, plus 8 of the ten amino acids our bodies make on their own. It looks like all we're missing here is Glutamine and Asparagine.
An article entitled, The Biology Project published by The University of Arizona's Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics had this to say about Asparagine, "Asparagine is the amide of aspartic acid. The amide group does not carry a formal charge under any biologically relevant pH conditions. The amide is rather easily hydrolyzed, converting asparagine to aspartic acid. This process is thought to be one of the factors related to the molecular basis of aging."
I don't know about you, but I'm cool with the amounts of Asparagine my body makes on its own. The section about Glutamine was equally enlightening. The bottom line is it's doubtful you need more than what your body already makes.
There's a great doc series called Changing Body Composition through Diet and Exercise with Michael Ormsbee. In episodes 8 & 9 he covers protein. What resonated the most for me was his statement on complete proteins. Ormsbee said, "if the protein you're consuming is not a complete protein, it's a wasted protein." I am a little skeptical about that statement but it definitely got me doing more research about the protein I consume.
In order for proteins to be complete, they need all the essential amino acids. The amino acid that is frequently left out is Lysine. Lysine is primarily only found in animal products although some legumes and nuts contain small amounts of Lysine. So, if that vegan protein powder you're slamming every day is missing Lysine or doesn't even list amino acids on the label, you may want to do some more research.
Let me know what you're using in the comments below. I'd love to learn more about other options.
*Stuart M. Phillips & Luc J.C. Van Loon(2011)Dietary protein for athletes: From requirements to optimum adaptation,Journal of Sports Sciences,29:sup1,S29-S38,DOI: 10.1080/02640414.2011.619204
Good quotes from the abstract:
"an optimum quantity of protein to consume to maximally stimulate MPS after resistance exercise appears to be around 20–25 g of high-quality protein."
"A dose of protein that appears to maximally stimulate MPS appears to be in the range of 20–25 g, although this estimate may be lower for lighter athletes (i.e. <85 kg)."
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