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Whey isolate versus concentrate

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Protein powder is something that the health and wellness world has fallen in love with! And why wouldn’t we! Everyone would love to be stronger, leaner, and healthier. Protein powder helps us accomplish just that!

Sport nutrition stores have blown up and become all the rage, especially for gym rats dedicated to getting buff. But working out in the gym only goes so far in ensuring that our bodies develop the muscles we work really hard for.

In fact, nutrition is a huge component in helping us develop muscles. One of the key staples to our diet should be protein. But sometimes we can use a little extra help from protein powder. It provides us with a fast way to refuel the body after hitting the gym and gives our muscles exactly what they are looking for—protein.

But did you know that there are many different types of proteins for us to choose from? In fact, there are two main types of protein—isolate protein and concentrate protein.

So which one should you be using? We are going to look at whey protein isolate vs concentrate and give you all the facts so you can decide for yourself!

But before we go too much further, lets first look at what whey protein actually is!

Whey Protein

This type of protein is made from milk and actually captured the same way that cheese is processed. The whey is squeezed out of the milk and captured in liquid form. From there, the liquid is transformed into powder through a range of techniques that ultimately give you a powdered protein with all the amino acids required to help you build muscle! Whey protein is extremely popular, especially for those looking to grow their muscles! But we bet not many people actually realized that whey protein comes from milk!

Whey Protein Isolate

The reason that whey protein isolate is so special is because of the way it is filtered. Because of the finite process that takes place during the transformation from liquid to milk, there is often only less than 1% of the lactose in the whey protein! This is quite incredible and very helpful when it comes to being one of the purest forms of protein available. With minimal lactose, there also is minimal fat, carbs, and calories, so the protein powder delivers a lean protein to the consumer. Plus, this type of protein powder can be used by those that have dairy allergies, as the trace of milk is practically non-existent! Because of how the protein is transformed, the majority of brands have up to 90% protein in their powder—it doesn’t get much better than this!

Whey Protein Concentrate

But for as much as we love protein isolate, protein concentrate also offers us many benefits through its protein powder. This type of protein is formed the same way, from milk! However, the main difference is that there is generally more lactose in whey protein concentrate because of the way it is made, although that does not go without saying carbs and fat content are still very low. Because there is more lactose, the whey protein concentrate tends to have around 70% of the protein in it and is still equally rich with amino acids. Many workout gurus love to recover with protein concentrate because of the mix of nutrients offered to help recover muscles.

So what one do you choose?

Now comes the tough question—what protein powder should you be taking? The answer is, that it really depends on you! Both options will provide you with an incredible amount of protein. And both will ensure you get all the amino acids your muscles need to grow and recover.

It really comes down to knowing what your fitness goals are, what dietary requirements you need to follow and how fussy you are with the taste of your protein powder. While whey isolate has more protein, whey concentrate certainly tastes a lot better as it is balanced out with more carbs and fat.

The other main difference between the two will be price. Both protein isolate and protein concentrate are made with different techniques and take a different amount of time and effort to make. This will make the price points vary quite a bit, with whey protein concentrate normally being a bit more dollar friendly.

But the great news of all of this is that no matter what you choose, you can’t really choose wong! Both forms of protein powder are proven to help your muscles grow, are experienced at maintaining your muscle repairs, and have been successful at helping your muscles recover.

So with both providing you with tons of protein perks, you should consult with a sports dietician or nutritionist to discuss your fitness goals and determine which protein powder will help you achieve those goals!

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