Tag: nutritional facts

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Whey Concentrate vs Whey Isolate: Which Whey Protein is Right for You?

When it comes to protein there are lots of choices on store shelves. From the standpoint of digestibility, full spectrum amino acid profiles, ease of mixing and taste, whey protein is often thought of as the superior form of protein. When choosing a whey protein though, there several elements to keep in mind to know which one is right for you.

Let’s start with where whey protein comes from. All whey comes from milk. It is separated from milk during the cheese making process when the milk separates into cheese curd and liquid whey. While the solid cheese curd goes on to be made into all kinds of wonderful cheeses, the liquid whey can be used to make whey protein.

In its original liquid state, whey is a mixture of mostly water with some protein, fat, carbohydrates and lactose. Once it arrives at the processing facility, it is carefully filtered to remove excess fat, lactose, carbohydrates, and any other naturally occurring ingredients. Eventually, after enough of those ingredients are removed, the remaining product is approximately 80 percent protein. So, for every 100 grams of powder you’ll get about 80 grams of pure whey protein. This 80 percent protein is known as a whey protein concentrate.

If you continue to filter the 80 percent protein, you can remove a little more lactose, carbohydrates and fat, which creates a whey protein isolate that provides up to 90% protein. So in this case, 100 grams of powder would give you about 90 grams of protein.

You might think the 90 percent isolate is your best choice, but this may not be the case. Though there are differences in absorption speed and bioavailability, one of the key factors to keep in mind is lactose content. An isolate contains almost no lactose whereas the concentrate contains a small amount of lactose.

If you are lactose intolerant, whey concentrate may cause some bloating and even gas. You’ll know if you have a lactose sensitivity after your first protein shake; no protein shake should ever leave you feeling bloated. If you are lactose sensitive, opt for the isolate.

If you have no lactose sensitivity, either type of protein will be fine. Assuming you can use either, here are a few more characteristics that may help you make your final decision. Whey protein concentrate is the best choice if your goal is to maintain a healthy weight and you’re using shakes in between meals to help keep hunger at bay. It is actually digested a little slower than an isolate.

This means it will help you feel full longer, which is a good thing when you are working towards a weight-loss goal. Another great feature of whey concentrate as compared to an isolate is a lower price point.

If, on the other hand, you are engaged in an intense form of physical activity and want to maximize muscle recuperation, an isolate may be a better choice as it is absorbed faster and is easier for the body to break down and use.

So what’s the bottom line? If you are lactose intolerant, go for the whey protein isolate. If you are simply looking for a great quality protein to support overall good health, help meet your weight-loss goals and save money, try the concentrate. If you are a hard training athlete, the isolate will serve you best.

 

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Does fruit make you fat?

Fruit is healthy, full of nutrients, vitamins, minerals, and low in fat and calories. Today we will discuss the truth about fruits and the myth that it will make you fat!

The old adage that your body is a temple is well known and still has relevance today. Without a solid foundation a temple cannot be successfully constructed and will eventually collapse. The same holds true for the human body.

The importance of nutrition is imperative as the foundation of any successful fitness program. The core of this foundation should be based around food. Just as certain compounds are necessary to build a solid foundation in a building, specific foods are necessary to build a solid nutritional foundation.

Why Fruits Are Important!

With the advent of so many nutritional approaches to achieve the ideal look, numerous inquiries regarding the practice of omitting fruit, fruit juices or any of its derivatives from a diet have surfaced. Fruit is a healthy food, full of nutrients, high in fiber, vitamins, minerals, and low in fat and calories. It is a common practice for bodybuilders during pre-contest preparation to omit fruit from their diets, as it should be for anyone looking to minimize body fat. We will discuss the chemistry behind the efficacy of this practice.

Our bodies can only absorb monosaccharides (glucose, galactose, or fructose), the single units of sugars and starches. Once absorbed through the small intestines into the portal vein, and then circulated into the bloodstream through the liver as blood glucose, our bodies can put glucose to work in three ways.

The Three Ways Our Bodies Put Glucose To Work

  1. It can burn the glucose immediately for energy if blood glucose levels are not at a stable level of 20 grams blood borne glucose circulating per hour.
  2. If it is not needed for energy immediately, then it is converted into glycogen in the liver or muscles. The liver has the capacity to store 100 grams of glycogen. The muscles have the capacity to store between 250-400 grams of glycogen, depending on muscle mass and physical condition. Liver glycogen supplies energy for the entire body. Muscle glycogen only supplies energy to muscles.
  3. If the body has an excess of glucose, and all of the glycogen stores are full, the surplus glucose is converted to fat by the liver and stored as adipose tissue (bodyfat) around the body. If needed, fatty acids can be burned as fuel (BUT the fat cannot be converted back to glucose).

Now that we have outlined how our bodies use glucose, we will discuss why fruit (fructose or fruit sugar) is detrimental in an attempt to maximize fat loss. Since muscles have the specific purpose of contraction, they have a limited number of enzymes for glycogen synthesis. Muscle only has the necessary enzymes to convert glucose (and nothing else) into glycogen. The liver, however, is able to make glycogen from fructose, lactate, glycerol, alanine, and other three-carbon metabolites. Muscle glycogen, which is similar in structure to starch, is an amylopectin (branched chained polymer containing hundreds of glucose units). Unlike muscles, which can only supply energy to themselves through the stored 250-400 grams of glycogen, the liver is responsible for supplying energy to the entire body.

If You Have Fruit Or Fruit Juice The Following Conditions Occur

Referring to the three ways the body uses glucose, assuming that blood glucose levels are adequate, the glucose will then be stored as glycogen. Muscle does not have the necessary enzymes to synthesize fructose into glycogen; therefore the liver converts this fructose into liver glycogen. It would only take three, 8-ounce glasses of orange juice to fully replenish liver glycogen stores. Since the liver is responsible for supplying energy to the entire body, once its stores are full, a rate limiting enzyme in glucose metabolism, which is responsible for signaling the body to store glucose as glycogen or convert it to fat (phosphofructokinase), signals the body that all stores are full. If the glycogen stores are signaled as full, then the third way our body uses excess glucose is to convert it to fatty acids and store as adipose tissue. In essence, fruit sugar is easily converted to fat.

Many may be asking why then is fruit low on the glycemic index? If it does not cause a sudden release of insulin, then how could it ever be a poor food choice? Once the fructose (fruit sugar) enters the liver and liver glycogen is already full, then it cannot be used by the muscles for glycogen or energy production.

It is converted to fat and released back into the bloodstream to be stored as adipose tissue. The low glycemic response is based on the fact that fructose leaves the liver as fat, and fat does not raise insulin levels.

This is the biochemistry behind the recommendations to limit fruit in your diet. As mentioned, fruit is a very nutritious food full of vitamins, minerals, fiber, and low in calories and fat. If your goal is to exclusively to minimize bodyfat, then it is advisable that you consume more complex carbohydrates, which will go to replenishing muscle glycogen stores rather than fruit, which will only replenish liver glycogen stores, and is useless in muscle glycogen replenishment.