"Solving the Protein Puzzle"

Protein is especially important for children and growing adolescents, who have higher protein needs than adults. Athletes need slightly more protein to satisfy their greater needs of muscle maintenance and repair.

Many people supplement their diets with Protein powders. This is a useful way to increase protein intake quickly and easily. But there are so many to choose from. I have been in health food stores where several long isles are stacked with huge jars of protein powders, one brand after the other. Are there differences between them? If so, what makes one protein powder better than another?

Here's an article from the Essential Edge magazine which discusses several aspects of protein and protein sources:

Solving the Protein Puzzle

Protein is needed for muscle growth and body repairs. That is why protein has been a hot item in the performance nutrition market for the last 40 years. A new surge in interest in protein stems from the fact that health experts now promote muscle building as the best way to permanently shed unwanted body fat. Muscle tissue burns 20 to 25 times more calories than fat. As always, it takes high-quality protein to build muscle. Along with building muscle and sculpting a lean physique, research indicates that protein also has "functional" properties that are essential for a number of health-promoting benefits. Not only is protein good for the athlete, but it's also good for anyone who wants to enhance overall well-being.

With so many protein supplements on the market, you may wonder which protein is best for you. Vegetarians may be particularly interested in high-quality protein supplements, since it is difficult to get high amounts of pro-tein from vegetable sources without increasing calorie and carbohydrate consumption. Some vegetarian athletes consume up to 75 percent of their protein in supplement form.

While there are many manufacturers of protein, few take the necessary pro-cessing procedures to produce a high-quality product. Some companies charge very low prices for their protein, but they offer products that are not what they are reported to be. The quality of protein is vitally important. The higher the quality, the better the body is able to absorb and utilize the protein. It really doesn't matter how much protein you consume if your body does not assimilate it.

The following information will help you to distinguish high-quality proteins from lower quality, less effective products. Working hard to improve your body is a waste of time if you are using low-quality protein supplements.

Whey Protein

Whey protein is probably the most popular protein on the market and for good reasons. Whey protein dissolves completely in water, making it easy to mix and easy to assimilate. Whey protein ranks high in biological value (BV), a measurement that determines how well nitrogen from the protein is used by the body. Nitrogen is an important nutrient for muscle growth in most mammals. Research shows that whey protein contains compo-nents that may actually enhance the body's immune response. Let's take a closer look at some of the beneficial components of whey protein.

Branched-chain Amino Acids (BCAA) Found in Whey Protein

Athletes, bodybuilders, and dieters wishing to lose excess fat are particu-larly interested in branched-chain amino acids (BCAA) and will often go to great expense, dollar-wise, to obtain them. Protein manufacturers infer that greater muscle growth is achieved when you use BCAAs separately from those that exist in regular whey protein. Since whey protein contains the highest naturally occurring concentration of branched-chain amino acids (23 to 25 percent), there is no reason to purchase them separately. Whey protein is an economical way to obtain the BCAAs needed by the body.

Microfractions

Microfractions are significant components of whey protein. Microfractions enhance body functions and are sometimes referred to as the "functional" properties of protein. Research is showing that protein microfractions may have powerful and beneficial effects on the body. Important microfractions include: lactoferrin, lactoperoxidase, immunoglobulins, and glyco-macropeptides (GMB). See the chart below on whey protein.

Whey Protein and Glutathione

Aside from building muscle, whey protein increases the body's produc-tion of glutathione, a peptide that helps support the body's immune sys-tem. Immune-enhancement is one of whey's main functional properties. Glutathione is also a naturally occurring antioxidant. Antioxidants are particularly important for athletes and for people who are highly active. Activity creates unstable molecules in the body called free radicals. Free radicals are believed to cause damage to cell walls and are believed to be a cause of premature aging.

Methods of Protein Processing

For a long period of time, whey was a by-product of cheese making. The curds of milk are separated from the liquid whey. The curds were used to make cheese, and the whey was thrown away. Finally, someone decided to check the whey for nutritional value and found it to contain a high-quality protein. The key was separating this protein from fat, lac-tose (milk sugar), sodium, and other undesirable ingredients.

It is important to keep stressing quality in whey protein. Poorly processed whey proteins, such as those hydrolyzed and heat-processed, lose many of their sought-after benefits. Poor-quality proteins not only lack important nutrients, but they may also contain the unwanted ingre-dients listed above. A closer examination of manufacturing procedures will help you choose high-quality whey protein.

Ion Exchange

Ion exchange is probably the most well-known procedure for extracting whey protein. This method of extraction swept the country because of its seemingly superior protein-processing ability. Ion-exchange proteins are manufactured by adding resins to whey, which attach to the protein. Once attached, the manufacturer pulls the resins from the whey. Next, the manufacturer reverses the charge of the protein ions so that they release themselves from the resin. While ion exchange may be an ade-quate means of obtaining good whey protein, the process does have seri-ous drawbacks.

First, ion-exchanged protein contains a high amount of sodium (89 per-cent in the sodium ratio). Excessive sodium is absorbed into the blood-stream and into muscle tissue, which causes a retention of water. Muscles filled with water will eventually deflate, causing a loss in mus-cle size. Excess sodium also creates an imbalance with potassium and electrolytes. These imbalances have negative affects on metabolism.

Another disadvantage of ion-exchange protein is that it loses many of the important microfractions discussed earlier. Ion-exchange protein lacks GMB (important for immune function), lactoferrin, and lactoperoxidase. This significantly decreases the value of the protein, particularly its effects on immune function. Finally, ion-exchange protein is higher in fat than protein from other methods of extraction.

Microfiltration

The highest-quality whey protein is obtained from a method called micro-filtration. In this process, protein is physically separated from the whey by a microscopic filter. Because the protein is not exposed to heat or chemicals, microfiltration preserves important components of whey, such as lactoferrin, lactoperoxidase, GMB, calcium, and magnesium. Concentrating protein by microfiltration yields whey protein in its most natural form. For optimal results, use microfiltered whey protein.

Predigested Proteins

Since proteins are not easily digested, many consumers are attracted to proteins that have been predigested. Unfortunately, predigested proteins are often exposed to excessive heat. Heating the protein destroys the pro-tein microfractions, which have powerful beneficial effects on the body. Good protein supplements include proteolytic (protein breakdown) enzymes and other substances that help to increase protein digestion. Look on the label for added enzymes. This is another feature of a high-quality protein.

Another way to improve protein digestibility is to improve the body's abil-ity to absorb nutrients. Some research shows that increasing or promoting the growth of friendly intestinal bacteria helps improve protein absorption.

Soy Protein

Because it is from a plant source, soy protein is often overlooked by ath-letes or people wishing to increase muscle. Single-plant proteins are gen-erally considered incomplete proteins, meaning they do not contain all of the essential amino acids for muscle growth. Many of the first soy pro-teins to enter the market were crude soy powders, full of sodium and car-bohydrates. Fortunately, this all-vegetable source of protein has gone through some changes.

The latest research indicates that high-quality soy protein isolates rank as one of the highest proteins in the Protein Digestibility Corrected Amino Acid Score (PDCAAS). This test, developed by the World Health Organization, was created to rank proteins in their order of completeness for humans. The top score of 1.0 is listed as a complete protein. According to test results, soy ranks equal in completeness to milk and egg protein. Interestingly, soy ranks even higher than beef. Research indi-cates that soy protein has a high nutritional value and that it could serve as a sole source of essential amino acids and nitrogen in human adults.

Glutamine and Arginine

One of the advantages of soy protein over whey protein is that it contains a large amount of two important amino acids, glutamine (L-glutamine) and arginine (L-arginine). L--glutamine has powerful fitness benefits. L-glutamine protects muscle tis-sue and keeps it from breaking down and being used by other systems in the body. L-glutamine also helps the body maintain healthy immune and digestive systems.

One important action of L-glutamine is that it stimulates muscle growth. In a study at Louisiana State University, Tomas Welbourne showed that oral doses of L-glutamine raised human growth hormone (hGH) levels over four times that of a placebo. Along with a number of beneficial effects, including keeping us young, hGH is known for its ability to increase lean muscle mass while diminishing excess fat.

The other important amino acid, L-arginine, also displays promise in promoting hGH. L-arginine also acts as a potent blood vessel dilator, permitting more blood to travel to muscle tissue to supply important nutrients and oxygen vital to muscle growth and body repair.

Genetically Modified (GMO) Soy

Much of the available soy in the United States is genetically modified (GMO). GMO Soy has an added gene from an unrelated organism (plant or animal) that allows it to survive sprayings with herbicides. We have no idea the extent of adverse effects that GMO soy has on people-it could be devastating. Before untested, genetically altered foods are used in the marketplace, science needs to conduct thorough, long-term evaluations of these foods. When shopping for soy protein, demand non-GMO, organic, high quality source.

Egg Protein

Eggs have stood the test of time. They have been used extensively by bodybuilders since the sixties, and they are still recognized as an excel-lent source of protein. Egg-white protein ranks as one of the highest-quality proteins available. Eggs have a very high amino acid count and stand as an excellent alternative to meat proteins. Another advantage of egg-white protein is its low-fat and carbohydrate profile.

Combinations of Proteins May Be Best

When we observe nature, we find that proteins are eaten in combinations and not just one at a time. Mixing the different, high-quality proteins with all of their nutritional benefits may provide a synergistic benefit not found in individual proteins taken alone. For example, whey protein is relatively low in glutamine and arginine. Soy protein contains relative-ly high amounts of these amino acids. Adding soy protein to whey pro-tein enhances the amino-acid profile, making a more complete protein. Combining proteins may also increase their microfraction activities, immune function, and antioxidant capabilities, as well as their ability to increase muscle growth and repair.

Shopping for a quality protein can be a difficult experience unless you know what you are looking for. Check labels carefully! Be aware that high-quality proteins are more costly than poorly processed proteins-you get what you pay for. Don't be tempted to buy large quantities of protein at super-low prices. Don't sabotage the hard work you spend los-ing weight, building lean muscle, and improving your health by giving your body cheap fuel. High quality is more costly, but the results obtained from a quality protein are worth it -- and so are you.
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Reprinted from Essential Edge, Fall, 2000

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