Living Strong

Which Whey Do You Go?

As the owner of the Australian sports supplement company Professional Whey, a common question I get asked is “What is the difference between whey protein concentrate and whey protein isolate?”

A Little Whey Background

Because whey protein powder has the highest biological value compared to other protein powder, it has made it the most popular and most recommended protein powder in the supplement market today. This is generally because of two main reasons

• Whey protein has the highest natural source of branched chain amino acids which stimulates muscle protein synthesis

• Whey protein has the highest content of the amino acid cystine/cysteine, which is important for the biosynthesis of glutathione; a tripeptide which is one of the most important antioxidants, anti-carcinogenics and immune boosting properties in the body.[1] It is even being reported to fight against HIV.[2]

Today most whey protein powders are usually either whey protein concentrate (WPC) or whey protein isolate (WPI). Do you know how they differ?

Is it in the Cost?

Well yes and no! Comparing the two, whey protein isolate’s are more expensive than whey protein concentrate’s because most whey protein isolate’s have less than 1g of fat and 1g of lactose and a higher quantity of protein; approximately 90%. While most good whey protein concentrate’s contain around 80% protein. With whey protein isolate having a higher concentration of protein, the misconception is that it is the obvious choice over whey protein concentrate. And it’s more expensive, “therefore it must be better” is the common thought! Well just because whey protein isolate costs more, is marketed more than whey protein concentrate and has more protein, it does not guarantee that it is the best.

It is Actually in the Filtration Process

Whey protein isolate comes from a longer and more complicated and stringent filtering process. Whey protein concentrate goes through an ultra-filtration process, where the membranes of the filters are about one micrometer, which is amazingly small. To make the isolate, you take the ultra-filtrated concentrate and you filter it again through micro-filtration, where these filters are 4 times smaller than the ultra-filters.

A Side Note on Isolate Processing

There is also ion-exchange, which is another (however decreasing) method only ever used to make whey protein isolate. Now the difference between the filtration method and ion-exchange is that with the filtration methods there is:

· minimal denaturing of the proteins and their biologically-active sub-fractions

· separation of the protein without the use of heat or chemicals

· less damage occurs to the immune boosting protein components

However the ion-exchange process gives the highest levels of protein and lowest levels of fat, lactose and minerals (also called ash) as the process is extraordinarily good at removing nearly everything but the protein. However removing everything bar the protein comes at cost; many healthy components of the whey protein are lost due to heat and chemical process, making it less and less, a whole food. Therefore filtration seems to be producing a more wholesome higher quality protein powder.

…Moving On

 As whey protein concentrate does not go through such a stringent double filtering process it contains 5-7% milk fat.[3] This fat originates in the milk and is more commonly referred to as butter fat and can be seen rising to the top of the milk bottle in non-homogenised milk. This butter fat contains anabolic growth factors which are not normally found in whey protein isolate.[4] The butter fat also contains much higher levels of various phospho-lipids, of which some are bio-active and include Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA). So even though the butter fat looks like it’s just full of saturated fats, think again; it’s actually natures very own EFA mix!

Also as the WPC processing is less stringent; its lactose is much higher (containing around 5%). The lactose contains oligosaccharides that act as growth factors, toxin-binding factors,

anti-microbial peptides, prebiotics, and immune regulatory factors.[5] The Lactose also has a relatively low glycemic index and is a precursor for other bioactives such as lactulose and lactobionic acid.[6] These form minerals and antioxidants.[7]

However the main disadvantage of WPC is because of the higher level of lactose and fat, this means more calories. So if you are on extremely strict diet and are careful of every calorie that you consume i.e bodybuilder or athlete before competition; then WPC may not be your choice of whey protein powder. Also the same goes if you are lactose intolerant, WPI may be a better choice.[8] And if you feel you don’t actually need the larger amount of growth factors or the health benefits then WPI may be a better choice.

Finally

Whey protein powder actually consists of several different proteins; they are beta-lactoglobulin, glycomacropeptide, alpha-lactalbumin, immunoglobulins, proteose-peptone, bovine serum albumin and minor peptides such as lactoferrin, lysozyme, lactoperoxidase and beta casein.[9] Some of these will become more popular individually over the next 20 years as technology improves and pricing lowers. At present Japan imports 80% off the total global market of lactoferrin per year. 14% goes to Korea.[10] I think these countries are on to something!!

Generally, WPC contains more lactoferrin than WPI. Lactoferrin helps the intestines fight against bacteria that cause infections and food poisoning due to its anti bacterial activity.[11] The amount of health-promoting immunoglobulins in WPC is generally double that of WPI. Thus, from both growth stimulating and a health view point WPC looks to be a better choice.

Therefore don’t be influenced by companies who have an agenda (called profits) when promoting WPI, as a good WPC is not inferior to a good WPI. In fact in many cases it’s probably a superior choice of protein powder.

Things to Look Out For

When buying a good WPC make sure the labeling does not say “Whey Concentrate Blend”, as this usually indicates a blending of good 80% WPC with a lesser quality WPC below 80% i.e WPC 30, WPC 50 or WPC 75, as a way to reduce costs by the manufacturer. The same goes for WPI, avoid blended WPI’s. Unfortunately companies don’t write whether their WPC is 50, 75 or 80%, but the nutritional profile will speak the truth. To know if you have a whey protein powder make sure your WPC is around 80g per 100g and your WPI is 90g per 100g.

Conclusion

As a company who sells both WPI and WPC we make profits from selling both and have similar profit margins from both. We have no profit driven agenda by writing this article. It is written to educate and answer the question “what is the difference between WPI and WPC?”

I personally go with WPC once or twice per day to consume more of the growth and health stimulating properties. However I forgo these properties to consume WPI in my post workout shake as it is a slightly faster acting protein and has lower fat and lactose levels.

So whatever whey you go, you are now more informed to make a whey better decision…

Keep Living Strong

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