A Primer on Protein

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Most bodybuilders are aware that protein intake is one of the most important nutritional requirements. This is not only true for adding muscle mass but also for just maintaining current muscle status and tone.

That whey protein has become by far the most popular protein supplement for bodybuilding is no surprise. Whey protein has the highest biological value (bv) giving the highest retention of nitrogen Of great importance to bodybuilders is the unusually high concentrations of branched chained amino acids (BCCAs) contained in whey protein. Valine, Leucine and Isoleucine, which make up the BCCAs, constitute nearly one third of the amino acids in human muscle. They are critical for muscle repair, maintenance and growth.

Other benefits of whey protein include reported support of the immune function and possible increase in resistance to certain microorganisms. All in all, the inclusion of whey protein in a healthy diet should be considered for everyone, not just for those looking for its remarkable benefits in muscle size and strength.

Those companies which formulate whey protein products have two main categories of whey protein to choose from - Whey Protein Concentrate (WPC) and Whey Protein Isolates.

WHEY PROTEIN CONCENTRATE (WPC)

Whey Protein Concentrate (WPC) refers to any whey protein product where the protein level of cheese whey has been increased using Ultrafiltration. In Ultrafiltration, a special filter is used to remove lactose, salt and water from cheese whey causing the protein to become more concentrated and purified. WPCs can be manufactured with protein contents from 25% up to 85%. The higher the protein percentage in WPC, the lower the lactose and salt levels.

The Ultrafiltration process does not remove any fat or denatured protein from the cheese whey. For the WPC to be a suitable quality, special processing prior to the Ultrafiltration is necessary to remove the majority of the fat present in cheese whey as well as separating out denatured protein and casein particles left over from the cheese making process.

High quality supplement products will use WPC with a minimum of 80% protein content. Some products will use WPCs that are less then 80% pure protein to reduce cost but also, unfortunately, reduce the quality of the product. These products will have a higher level of lactose and salt. Often they will also have a higher fat content. You can often tell these lower quality "cheater" products by looking at the label and calculating the percentage of protein. High quality protein products will have over 75% protein in the final formula (after flavor and sweetener are added). To determine the level of protein in a product just divide the grams of protein on the label by the serving size.

Example - the label states a serving size of 26 grams and 20 grams of protein. Divide 20 by 26 to get 0.769 or 76.9%. This percentage should not fall below 75%.

There are instances of companies, which have included WPC with as little as 50% protein in their formulas to cut cost. These same companies advertise as though they are using only the best ingredients. It is unfortunate that some unscrupulous companies can get away with this deception at their customer's peril.

BioPlex Nutrition uses only the highest quality 80% WPC, processed at cold temperatures, in BioPlex 100% Whey Protein.

WHEY PROTEIN ISOLATES (WPI)

Whey Protein Isolates are basically Whey Protein Concentrate, which is further purified using one of two existing methods. This further purification removes additional lactose (to under 2%) and fat (to under 1%). Denatured protein is also completely removed leaving only highly soluble "native" protein, which is rapidly and completely absorbed.

The two processes for producing WPI - Microfiltration and Ion Exchange - are very different and produce WPIs with different nutritional profiles.

MICROFILTRATION

Filtering high quality WPC through special membranes under low temperature and low pressure produces Microfiltration WPI, allowing only soluble protein to pass through the membrane while fat and denatured proteins are held back. The WPC that is fed to the Microfiltration system is turbid, caused by the fat and non-soluble protein. The Whey Protein Isolate that has passed through the membrane is crystal clear, showing the removal of unwanted constituents. High quality WPI will then be dried into a powder on a low temperature spray dryer. Unfortunately some WPI is dried using high temperature dryers (which are cheaper to run) which causes damage to the whey protein. WPI dried on a high temperature dryer will be very cloudy. WPI dried on a low temperature dryer will be slightly opaque.

WPI produced using Microfiltration will contain all of the individual protein fractions that make up the whey protein matrix. The process uses low pressures to pass the protein through a special membrane. No chemicals are used in this natural process. Microfiltered WPI retains all of the beneficial nutritional properties of the original Whey Protein Concentrate including the immune support and appetite suppressant effects.

ION EXCHANGE

Ion Exchange WPI is produce by "binding" whey protein onto special resin beads which have been chemically treated to have a surface charge which bonds with whey proteins. In this process, Whey Protein Concentrate is pumped through columns that are packed with ion-exchange resin. The whey protein bonds with the resin while the water, salt, lactose and fat passes through the column. After the WPC has passed through the column, water with chemical buffers is introduced into the column to change the surface charge on the resin. This causes the attraction to the whey protein to be reversed releasing the protein into the buffer solution.

Because whey protein is really a matrix of several individual (and very beneficial) fractions with different properties, not all of the individual fractions will bond to the resin surface. Most notable is the loss of Glycomacropeptides from Ion Exchange WPI. Other fractions that enhance the immune functions are also lost. The protein released from the Ion Exchange column is then passed though another Ultrafiltration system to remove most of the buffer solution.

The benefit of this process is the ability to reach nearly complete levels of fat and lactose removal.

The problems associated with Ion Exchange include the high sodium content in the final WPI (left over from the buffer solution), a denatured protein level of up to 10% of the total protein (caused by the chemical reaction of the buffer with the resin surface where the protein is bound) and the loss of Glycomacropeptides and other immune boosters.

WHICH IS BEST?

Ion Exchange technology was the first developed to produce WPI from Whey Protein Concentrate. Because early WPI was produces only by Ion Exchange it was once considered to be the "premiere" WPI. When Microfiltration technology was developed, and WPI produced using Microfiltration was introduced, it rapidly became apparent that the nutrition profile of Microfiltration WPI was much higher than that of Ion Exchange WPI. The Microfiltration process did not lose the valuable GMP and immune boosting fractions lost in the Ion Exchange process. The sodium level in the Microfiltration WPI was not artificially increased. The protein in the Microfiltration WPI was not chemically denatured.

Most "high-end" protein supplements that include WPI in their formulas have now switched to Microfiltration process WPI.

You can rest assured that BioPlex uses only the highest quality cold processed Whey Protein Isolate in BioPlex Pure WPI.

Compliments of:

Bioplex Nutrition
150 W. Axton Rd., Suite 1, Bellingham, WA
98226 360-398-1933/FAX 360-398-9363
1-888-345-PLEX (7539)
www.bioplexnutrition.com.
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