Article on whey protein
Whey Protein
Whey protein is the milk product which is highly used by athletes.
Whey protein is a high-quality protein that, together with casein, are the major proteins in milk.
Whey protein is digested quickly, resulting in a more rapid increase in amino acids (compared to casein), and it rapidly stimulates muscle protein synthesis.
Casein protein is slow absorbing protein which is usually consumed between meals and before sleep for slow release of protein for long time.
Whey also augments adaptations to resistance training as shown by increases in muscle strength and enhanced lean body mass.
The timing of whey protein intake for maximizing its effects were taken before resistance exercise, it resulted in a more anabolic (muscle building) response compared to consumption after resistance exercise.
The researchers suggested a better time to ingest whey protein before exercise might be 30 to 45 minutes prior to exercise in order to allow for the digestion and absorption of the amino acids.
Whey Before or After Exercise?
The timing of whey protein intake has been shown to be an important variable for maximizing its effects. Prior studies indicated that when free-form amino acids plus carbohydrate were taken before resistance exercise, it resulted in a more anabolic (muscle building) response compared to consumption after resistance exercise. This was an exciting finding because it showed the value of ingesting amino acids before a workout for maximizing protein synthesis.
A recently published study in the American Journal of Physiology examined whether the timing of whey protein was important in terms of promoting anabolism.2 Healthy subjects were placed in a group that received 20 grams of whey protein immediately before a bout of resistance exercise, or a group that received the same whey protein immediately after. The anabolic response (muscle protein balance) was increased in both groups whether taken before or after exercise. Some subjects had a significantly greater anabolic response when whey protein was consumed before exercise, but the average responses were similar.
Whey Augments Muscle Size, Strength
Ingesting whey protein before and after workouts definitely drives up protein synthesis. But the real question is whether this leads to better muscle and strength gains.
In study of Use of whey isolate to casein protein by bodybuilders, two groups supplemented their diets with 1.5 grams per kilogram body weight per day of either a whey or casein supplement while performing their normal resistance training for 10 weeks.
As expected, the whey group had a greater increase in lean body mass (11 lbs.) compared to the casein group (1.8 lbs.). In addition, the whey group lost more fat (-3.3 lbs.) compared to the casein group (-0.4 lbs.). The greater increases in lean body mass translated into greater strength gains over the 10 weeks in the whey group.
In addition to the benefits whey protein has on strength and muscle building, whey also has positive effects on weight loss.
The benefits of whey for athletes and those seeking general health continue to be substantiated in current studies. Whey represents a very efficient way to increase muscle gains without adding unnecessary calories and can even be used to enhance weight loss.