Article # 1. Health Benefits of Whey Protein

Protein is an important nutrient needed by everyone on a daily basis. Protein is made up of essential and non-essential amino acids, which are the "building blocks" for healthy bodies. Protein has a number of different roles in the body including the following:

·    Repair body cells

·    Build and repair muscles and bones

·    Provide a source of energy

·    Control many of the important processes in the body related to metabolism

The body is able to make non-essential amino acids from other amino acids in the body. However, the body is not able to make essential amino acids and the only way to get them is by eating high quality protein foods. Protein sources that contain all of the essential amino acids are called complete proteins.

All Protein foods are not created equal and can vary in a number of ways including the following:

·    Number and quantity of essential amino acids

·    Digestion and absorption rates

·    Fat content

·    Taste

·    Purity

WHEY PROTEIN

Whey protein is a very high quality complete protein with rich amounts of all the essential amino acids. Whey protein isolate is the purest form of whey protein, which is why it is absorbed so quickly and efficiently into the body. That's why we make it the cornerstone of the EnergyFirst Healthy Lifestyle program.

"What is Whey Protein? Is it just a new fad?"

Whey protein is not something new and has been available for hundreds of years. Doctors and nutrionists have singled out whey protein as a super-star ingredient for weight loss, infant nutrition, immune support, and especially in the area of sports nutrition.

Curds and Whey are the two products formed while making cheese from cow's milk. Although we're much more familiar with cheese, whey protein turns out to be a much better protein for you, your body and your health. It's more soluble which means you can absorb more if and it doesn't stick to your arteries and veins and is easy to disgest. That's one of the reasons it's the best type of protein for infants and children.

Healthy diets should regularly include high quality, low fat sources of protein, like whey protein. Calories do count and you want to make sure that you are getting the most benefit from the calories you consume. Compared to other proteins, on a gram-to-gram basis, whey protein isolate delivers the most essential amino acids to the body but without the fat or cholesterol. Nutrition experts recommend a diet with a variety of protein foods but for optimal results make sure that one of them is whey protein.

Protein needs vary by person depending upon age, weight, sex, activity level and overall health. Athletes and people on healthy lifestyle programs like EnergyFirst often need more protein than the recommended dietary allowance, or RDA. That's because Whey protein is the richest known source of naturally occurring branched chain amino acids (leucine, isoleucine and valine). The body requires higher amounts of branched chain amino acids during and following exercise as they are absorbed directly by the skeletal muscles versus first being metabolized through the liver, like other amino acids. Low BCAA levels contribute to fatigue and they should be replaced in one-hour or less following exercise or participation in a competitive event. Many athletes consume a whey protein shake or drink both before and immediately after exercise or an event to help repair and rebuild lean muscle tissue.

You’ll find that there are two main kinds of whey protein sold today - whey protein concentrate and isolate. The isolate is the most pure and concentrated form of protein available. It contains 90% or more protein and very little (if any) fat and lactose. The concentrate form has anywhere between 29% and 80% protein depending upon the product. As the protein level in whey protein concentrate decreases the amounts of fat and/or lactose usually increase.

Whey isolate is ideal everyone, not just professional athletes and body builders. It is a particularly good source of protein for people with special dietary needs like:

·    People on a low-carbohydrate diet 'cause whey protein contains very little cholesterol on it’s own

·    Pregnant Women

·    Vegetarians that include dairy in their diet.

·    The lactose-intolerant due to the small amount of lactose contained in whey protein isolate (the lactose-intolerant should avoid whey protein concentrate though).

·    The wheat-intolerant because whey contains no gluten.

·    People with digestion problems because whey protein is so easily digestible that it rarely causes adverse stomach or intestinal reactions.

Adding whey protein to your healthy lifestyle is a great way to jump-start the weight loss phase of your program. Whey protein is a key ingredient in numerous weight loss and meal replacement products and whey protein isolate (with no fat or carbohydrates) is often the preferred choice. Studies have found that individuals who combine diets with leucine rich protein foods, like whey protein, and exercise have more lean muscle tissue and they lose more body fat. As they lose fat their metabolic rate increases and they naturally burn more calories each day. Another way that whey protein helps manage weight is by making you feel "full" after drinking your whey protein shake.