From the desk of Owner, Ray Cattaneo......

 

"Let thy food by thy medicine and thy medicine by thy food."-Hippocrates

 

I frequently get asked "what protein should I buy?" and have decided to dedicate an entire write up on it :)Here it goes....

 

What is a protein?

A class of nitrogenous organic compounds that consist of large molecules composed of one or more long chains of amino acids and are an essential part of all living organisms, esp. as structural components of body tissues such as muscle, hair, collagen, etc., and as enzymes and antibodies. The key here is amino acids. I want everyone to realize that ALMOST EVERY FOOD has amino acids, therefore, everything has some protein. The reason I bring up because we frequently only think of protein as meat or eggs, etc but the truth is even vegetables have protein.

 

What is the best protein?

Everyone probably knows by now that I am all about quality before anything else. If you didn't know it, now you do :)Regardless of what you choose, I urge you to seek out quality products before you just buy something based on price alone. Price is a factor but many times an extra $5 exponentially increases the efficacy of the product. It is in my opinion that the best protein available is non denatured grass-fed whey protein. Now there are some exceptions which we will address later but let's stick with whey for now.

 

Even Hippocrates, the Greek physician of the 5th century B.C., the "father of medicine", knew the benefits of whey protein. He stated that the body has an inner adaptive or healing power, and that to strengthen this healing power, he prescribed serum (liquid whey) to his patients. It was true non-denatured, native whey. It provided full biological activity and numerous health benefits.

 

All commercial whey proteins available now are derived from extensively processed milk and incomparable to the vitality in that 2500 year-old prescription.

 

Here are some definitions to consider:

 

Native Protein: The naturally occurring conformation of a protein. Unaltered by heat, chemicals, enzyme action or processing. (Native is the same structure and proportion as in the original substance.)

 

Denatured: To cause the tertiary structure of (a protein) to unfold, as with heat, alkali, or acid, so that some of its original properties, especially its biological activity, are diminished or eliminated. (It means damaged.)

 

Undenatured: To undamage. (A term that is used without discretion in the industry and is misleading. It is not possible for a protein to be undenatured.)

 

Non-denatured: The same structure and proportion as in the original substance with full biological activity. (Never damaged.)

 

The various commercial methods of processing whey do not improve or even maintain the fragile immune modulating and regenerative components or the biological activity that was originally in the milk. Most are overly processed and damaged during the manufacturing process. There are three commercial production methods, which comprise the majority of available whey proteins. They are isolates (the most popular), ion-exchange and hydrolyzed forms. They are all ultra-filtered, cross-flow filtered or micro-filtered via elaborate patented methods developed by large dairies. The milk used in these three methods undergoes major processing that involves high heat (often multiple times) and drastic acidification of the whey to produce curds for manufacturing cheese. These steps denature (damage) the proteins. What is then required is extensive filtration to remove the many denatured proteins in order to produce the highest percentage of protein. Unfortunately the fragile vital protein components (immunoglobulins, lactoferring, serum albumin, etc), which determine the biological activity of the protein, are not retained. The terms undenatured and cold-processed are prevalent with these commercial products, but once a protein is denatured it is not possible to undenature it.

 

Non-denatured whey protein has the highest biological value of any protein.It is a complete protein, unlike soy, pea, rice, etc., and provides all the essential amino acids in the correct balance. The five major active proteins of whey are lactoferrin, immunoglobulins, bovine serum albumin, alpha-lactalbumin and beta-lactoglobulin. There are many whey products available; therefore it is highly advisable to have in writing from the manufacturer, the treatment of the cows and the processing the milk undergoes. Additionally, lactoferrins and immunoglobins are destroyed in your conventional whey products. Why is this important? Read below:

 

Lactoferrin has a broad range of benefits, with new discoveries being made daily. It enhances and modulates immune system function and provides many iron-enhancing and modulating benefits. It has also been said to act as an immunostimulator in the digestive system, as well as an inhibitor of the growth of many unhealthy micro-organisms in the digestive tract. Lactoferrin regulates the immune response of the body in many differing ways. It inhibits many viruses from thriving in the body and is a very important component in immune-therapy.

 

Immunoglobulins (IgG) are proteins that are present in bovine whey protein. One of their functions is as a transporter of antibodies against harmful microorganisms like viruses, bacteria and other foreign invaders. IgG has been used to treat diseases such as multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, hepatitis A, anemia, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, and chickenpox, among others.

 

BIOLOGICAL VALUES OF PROTEINS The higher the BV, the greater the proportion of available protein that can be synthesized by the body's cells. Higher BVs also indicate a greater amount of essential amino acids - those amino acids that the body cannot synthesize or convert on its own and must instead obtain from the diet.

 

Whey Concentrate: 104

Casein (I do not recommend at all): 77

Egg White: 100

Pea Protein: 65

Rice Protein: 83

Hemp: ?? could not find

 

As you can see from above, Whey has the highest BV score, however, some people are highly allergic to whey and it might not be the best choice in that case. More on that in a sec. The other thing to consider is Whey has a much better amino acid profile in comparison to human breast milk vs the other proteins with the exception of eggs. This means it's ratios of amino acids are in a better balance/ratio for the human body.

 

Now, if you are allergic to whey, my second option would be a mix of vegetarian based proteins. Why? I was a vegan for 2-3 years and after doing a lot of research, I slowly began noticing symptoms of lysine deficiency. It turns out I was consuming a lot of rice protein without balancing with the others. Rice and other vegetarian based proteins are disproportionate in their ratio of arginine to lysine. However, there are many products that mix rice, pea, and hemp which is what I would recommend to get a better amino acid profile. Hemp is also very high in essential fatty acids which most people are also deficient in which makes it a great choice as well. Additionally, these proteins tend to have less acid and are much easier for a lot of people to digest.

 

**I would highly recommend everyone stay away from Soy. I'm not convinced it's safe and do not trust the GMO market.

 

Quick side note: I know some people think or there are some out there that preach vegetables are high in protein. That is simply not true. This argument comes from the fact that 100 calories of kale versus 100 calories meat probably comes close to the same protein amount in grams if not more. However, to consume 100 calories of kale, we would have to eat or juice massive amounts of it which is simply unrealistic. Therefore, vegetables are high in protein per gram/calorie but we simply cannot consume enough of them to meet the daily requirements. Your best bet, if you are vegan/vegetarian, are beans, brown rice, quinoa, peas, etc.

 

Okay....so what protein should you buy??

 

My answer is rotate your proteins!! The body adjusts to anything you keep giving it and sometimes develops an allergy to it. With that said I recommend rotating or having different ones on hand to take at different points of the day.

 

Here are my top recommendations:

 

#1 Vital Whey (this is the protein we carry in studio). At $70 for 60 servings, you cannot beat the quality of this product.

 

Below is a comparison of vital whey vs others and a writeup from their site. This product is non-denatured and from 100% grassfed cows. It also has zero preservatives/fillers and comes in multiple flavors.

 

Well Wisdom Whey Proteins Vs Other Whey Proteins Proserum® is the most potent native whey protein available:

-Contains the original full range of biological activity

-Minimally processed to best maintain the fragile immune-modulating and regenerative components naturally present in fresh raw milk

-The result of years of work to perfect a system that produces only the highest quality native whey protein

-The milk is derived from cows that are grass-fed and graze year-round on natural pastures. It is GMO-free, hormone-treatment-free, pesticide and chemical-free and undergoes minimal processing.

 

The vast majority of whey is from grain-fed cows, which has been shown to be of inferior quality to grass-fed cows. Grass-fed cows have 2 to 4 times the amount of omega 3 fatty acids, and is also a rich source of CLA (Conjugated Linoleic Acid). When cows are allowed to graze on fresh pastures alone their milk contains 3 to 5 times more CLA than products from cows fed grain.

 

Proserum whey protein is derived from cows that graze year-round on chemical and pesticide-free natural pastures.Proserum® utilizes a proprietary filtration and drying method that involves a minimal amount of processing. The result is a microbial safe product that exceeds all standards and makes it the optimum nutrition whey protein powder. We DO NOT use cross-flow filtration, microfiltration, isolate filtration, hydrolyzation or ion exchange because these methods denature (damage) the original protein components. After use of these commercial methods, the damaged proteins are then filtered out and what remains is a narrow range of "undenatured" proteins that have survived the whey manufacturing process. Additionally the vital protein-bound fats have been removed. Some of these whey protein products are then referred to as undenatured/cold processed. It is not possible to undenature or restore the full biological activity of a protein after it has been damaged.

 

When considering a whey product it is best to ask for a lab analysis of the whey showing actual percentages of components present from the distributor/manufacturer. You should not receive a range of percentages as that denotes it is not from an actual test. Test results on our products are from an independent lab that performs SDS PAGE Gel method testing.

 

Proserum® contains exceptional amounts of the Glutathione precursor, covalent bonded Cysteine, which makes it the optimum whey protein. Additionally, it contains the full range and highest levels of the most important protein components: Lactoferrin, Immunoglobulins, Serum Albumin, Active Peptides and Growth Factors making it the optimum nutrition protein powder to support proper immune function.

 

#2 or #1 for vegans/vegetarians VEGA smoothie or One

This is the best plant based combo I've seen and tasted. I absolutely love these products because it has a good amino acid profile since it mixes pea, hemp, and rice but it also contains essential fatty acids as well as powdered greens. These products are located in most health food stores now.

 

#3 Sunwarrior Rice Protein

This is a high quality sprouted rice protein product. It's the best rice protein I've tasted and tested. As their site suggests, "by using a third generation process to convert the sprouted rice into a protein source, we have created a great tasting vegan protein product with a silky smooth texture that blends well and tastes great compared to other chalky or grainy vegetarian proteins."

 

#4 Vitamin Shoppe True Athlete Whey Protein

This would be my choice if I was on a strict budget and needed a quality whey protein with no fillers or crap. This does not have the immune boosting effects like Vital Whey but it will get you the protein with no added junk.

 

What do I use??

 

My preference is to cycle between Vital Whey, Vega, and sometimes Hemp from eartshiftproducts.com. Amy is allergic to Whey and cycles between Vega and Sunwarrior. Hope this was helpful and helped clarify some info on protein powders. If you have questions about something you are already using or any other products, feel free to email me at cattaneo.ray@gmail.com

 

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Thanks....and remember.... BELIEVE IN YOURSELF!

 

Ray Cattaneo Owner - NASM CPT,CES P.S.

 

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