What is it and where does it come from?
Protein can be found in a variety of foods including beef, chicken, eggs or fish. These foods however tend to be lower in biological value (BV) of protein meaning you have to eat a lot of it just to get the protein required and in most cases you'll end up consuming much more in calories, fats and carbohydrates than you need, just to get the protein.
There are many types of protein available like casein (pronounced kay-seen) a cheaper low biological protein which is poor in levels of amino acids (normally around 60% - 70% BV compared to Beef which is 80% BV ) and is used to produce low quality or the cheaper end of the market protein drinks.
Whey concentrates the most common "whey" protein and it comes from the process of turning milk into cheese and you get a bye product called "whey". This has a higher biological value (normally around 70% - 85% BV) with good active amino acids and is a good mid range protein source.
Whey Isolates is the purest form of whey protein available with the highest biological values and amino acids (normally around 90% - 98% BV) meaning you can take less per serving, and per day than a whey concentrate or casein because its pure protein with very little fat or lactose.
So...why is whey protein powder so important?
Any form of exercise will result in you needing to increase your protein intake to help in the recovery of your muscles and inturn increase your strength, speed, endurance and power. If you don't use a good quality protein it could result in loss of muscle tissue and tone, a reduced immune system, slower recovery and lack of energy ensuring that your training is actually going backwards and you're going to get smaller, weaker, and slower in your chosen sport.
How much should be taken?
There are many different answers to this and if you search the internet you'll find more than you bargained for but as a simple rule of thumb we would recommend the following
Athletes – (cover model look) 1g to 1.5g of protein per kilo of bodyweight per day Weight lifters and bodybuilders 1.5g to 2.0g of protein per kilo of bodyweight per day (This can be increased up to as high as 2.5g per kilo for maximum fast results) General fitness 1g to 1.5g of protein per kilo of bodyweight per day
Are there any side effects?
Generally there are no real side effects from protein you might find that you get a little bloated and some wind from the cheaper end of the market proteins and extremely high doses of whey protein is not recommended, as this will cause the body's liver to be overloaded and you won't get the same benefits as with a consistent lower amount taken three to five times per day.
There is a lot of conflicting information on the internet about protein?
The internet is an amazing tool, but the real problem is when it comes to specialised subjects like sport nutrition many smaller start up company's rip off other websites as they cant be bothered to put in the time and energy to write there own finding or experiences or simply don't have the knowledge to advise, so what happens is you end up with half truths and regurgitated rubbish that often started out correct but ends up wrong.
I expect if you look hard enough this protein guide has been copied (even though it's copyright protected 2010) The best advise I can give you is stick to one good supplier that can not only offer you good prices but advice and help along the way.
Everybody claims to have the best protein? But which is right for me?
Personally I would rather take a better quality protein (whey or isolate) with less fat and calories over a cheap and nasty protein. Protein is the number one building block to increase your muscle size and strength and without it you're not going to make the gains you want and you're not going to be training or recovering at your peak, so a simple rule of thumb is Cheap proteins give you cheap gains! Be aware that from a cheap protein you could be taking it up to 6-8 times a day and that if it's high in fat or calories you could gain unwanted pounds. A good quality whey or isolate will always have lower calories and fat and you normally only have to take around 2-4 servings per day dependent on your size and training style.
When and how should I take protein?
Spread your protein out evenly over the day but what ever time of the day you train ensure that you take a protein drink 2 hours prior to training and one within 20-30 minutes of finishing your training. As much as possible try and take your protein with water and don't make the school boy error of mixing a pint of it to drink, not even the hardest of protein users can stomach this. Read the instruction on the tub carefully but usually 200ml of water is enough per serving.
Can you recommend a protein?
We don't sell cheap protein...we sell protein cheap...there is a big difference!!! But I would recommend....
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