What’s the Best Type of Protein Powder?
No matter what your goal is, having a good protein powder on hand can help. Whether your goals are muscle gain, fat loss, to get faster, stronger, or whatever else, you’re going to need a high protein intake. However, getting all the protein in that you need can be tough. Protein tends to be the most filling of the macronutrients, so eating a lot of it can be a challenge (although, this is a benefit if your goal is fat loss). The market is full of different types of protein powders and you might have wondered at some point which type is best to get; and that is exactly what I’d like to spend the rest of this article talking about.
Related: High Protein and Kidneys: Dangerous or Safe?
What makes a good protein?
This is an idea that can be applied to food sources of protein as well as protein powders. To understand this, we first need to understand what exactly protein is.
Protein is made up of smaller compounds called amino acids. There are 20 different types of amino acids and they combine to form chains that are proteins. Of these 20 different amino acids, 9 are essential which means that our bodies are unable to produce them on its own. For a protein to be considered a “complete” protein it must contain all 9 of these amino acids.
Of these 9 essential amino acids, there is one that is of particular importance: leucine. This amino acid is important because it acts as the signal to begin muscle protein synthesis (the process of building muscle) [1,2].
So, when we evaluate what type of protein powder is best for building muscle, we are looking for one that has the highest leucine content.
Related: Creatine: Everything You Need to Know
So, which one has the highest leucine content?
The protein powder that earns this award is whey protein- which is why it has become the most popular form of protein powder on the market. Whey is one of the proteins found in dairy along with another form called casein. Whey has a slightly higher leucine content than casein which is why we recommend whey over casein, although casein does have a high leucine content as well. Another difference is that casein takes a lot longer of time to digest than whey, which can be an advantage is your goal is to lose weight.
Something you might have also noticed when going to buy a protein powder is that there are two types of whey on the market: whey concentrate and whey isolate. The amino acid profile of these two are the exact same. The main difference is the amount of processing they undergo.
Whey isolate powders go through a more rigorous and longer processing, so they end up having a bit more protein and less fat and less carbohydrate. So, as a protein powder, whey isolate is slightly better than whey concentrate. Although, it is also slightly more expensive, so if you don’t want to spend the extra dollars on whey isolate then whey concentrate will do the job just fine.
Brands I recommend for whey:
With all supplements it is important to buy from third-party tested companies.
There are three brands I recommend. I would consider all of them equal.
What if I want a non-dairy protein?
If you have not been clinically diagnosed with lactose intolerance and don’t normally have any sensitivities to dairy, I recommend starting out with whey protein and seeing how it works for you. Although, we are all lactose intolerant to some degree (our bodies naturally produce less of the enzyme we need to digest lactose as we age) so some people may experience some uncomfortable symptoms with whey.
If this is you, or you are clinically lactose intolerant, or you just don’t want to consume the extra dairy, then what protein powder should you get?
The most important thing to look for in a plant based protein is that there are multiple sources of plant protein in the powder. This is important because plant proteins are known for being incomplete, as mentioned previously [5].
However, one plant protein might contain the amino acid that another is missing & vice versa. This makes them complementarily complete.
It is also helpful if the first ingredient in the powder is pea protein. In isolation pea protein has been shown to compete the best with whey protein [3].
Related: Everything You Need to Know About Fish Oil
Brands I recommend for plant protein:
Again, it is important to use brands that are third-party tested.
As such, I am going to recommend the same companies:
References
A high proportion of leucine is required for optimal stimulation of the rate of muscle protein synthesis by essential amino acids in the elderly
PubMed ID: 16507602
Role of Ingested Amino Acids and Protein in the Promotion of Resistance Exercise-Induced Muscle Protein Anabolism
PubMed ID: 26764320
Pea proteins oral supplementation promotes muscle thickness gains during resistance training: a double-blind, randomized, Placebo-controlled clinical trial vs. Whey protein
PubMed ID: 25628520
Whey protein but not collagen peptides stimulate acute and longer-term muscle protein synthesis with and without resistance exercise in healthy older women: a randomized controlled trial
PubMed ID: 31919527
A Comparison of Dietary Protein Digestibility, Based on DIAAS Scoring, in Vegetarian and Non-Vegetarian Athletes
PubMed ID: 31835510