I’m a big proponent of getting adequate protein. Protein is broken down into amino acids in the body and amino acids are the building blocks of all cells and tissues. If you want to be healthy, you need to eat enough protein for your body weight and activity levels.
Whey protein is a great way to get additional protein in your diet. It’s fast, it’s simple and it tastes good. However most whey protein is highly processed with chemicals, preservatives and other additives.
How do you know which whey protein to purchase?
There are a lot of choices when it comes to whey protein. I recommend a whey isolate. But then there are a host of other issues to consider such as toxicity. Yes, heavy metals are commonly found in most whey protein. Metals such as arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury.
Then there is the issue of GMO found specifically in soy but also found in a sneaky ingredient called maltodextrin (GMO corn). Of course if your protein is certified organic it will not contain GMO. But remember just because it’s organic doesn’t mean that it’s not highly processed. Most whey protein isolates start from ultra-pasteurized milk that has antibiotics and growth hormones and are then exposed to acid processing, stripping alkalinizing minerals, naturally occurring vitamins and lipids. Organic whey protein is made from organic milk so it will not have the hormones or antibiotics but can still be highly processed and heated during processing.
The best whey protein is manufactured from cows that have not been given hormones (rBGH free). It should be non-denatured which means it is not processed with high heat which breaks down and changes or putrefies the protein.
Non-denatured whey protein provides all 9 amino acids which assists in weight and fat loss, muscle growth, and immune system health.
A checklist of a quality Whey Protein:
- Non-denatured – Low heat processing
- Low toxicity – Third party analysis and testing for heavy metals
- Simple ingredients – The label should have Whey protein, perhaps a natural sweetener and or a natural flavor
I recommend Whey Pro Complete as the best whey protein available. For more information: Whey Pro Complete
A few years ago Consumer Reports investigated protein powders and found that several popular highly processed protein powders like Myoplex, Muscle Milk, Designer Whey and GNC brand all contained arsenic, cadmium, and lead.
