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Hello and welcome to 3 Scoops of Broscience #3, the information based on 30 years of expertise, and a little (a lot) of scientific studies.
Today, we're talking about whey.
Tell me its story
8 million years ago, sorry, 8,000 years ago, the first whey was born (it was with the whey discovered in cheese making).
According to some, Hippocrates himself prescribed it to his patients for its positive health benefits.
Well, for once, this is a bit of broscience.
What we really know
Whey is not a new thing!
Your grandfather or great-grandfather might have taken it!
At the time, it was given to soldiers to nourish them during the First World War. It was complicated to carry tons of milk around.
And commercially?
The first recorded commercial protein powder was Ovaltine, in the early 1900s. A powdered blend of malt, egg, milk, and cocoa. It was sold as THE complete food drink!
After the two wars, in the 1950s, Bob Hoffman started selling soy protein. You see, vegan proteins are not new. Bob was aware!
Then, the famous friend of champions Joe Weider... copied him.
Revolution! Irvin Johnson, better known as Rheo Blair (don't ask me why), invented the famous Milk & Egg in the 1960s. Except, it was made with calcium caseinate (obviously not micellar casein, come on) and a tiny pinch of whole egg protein. So you can't really call it Milk & Egg.
Gundill says that Arnold took Blair's protein, even though he was sponsored by Weider. We see you influencers sponsored by another brand who take Nutrimuscle 🙄.
And as our CEO says, if Arnold had taken our real Milk and Egg, he would have outperformed at Olympia!
But the first protein sold mainly based on whey probably dates back to the 70s. It was Dan Lurie's. Thanks to Gundill for the info, (very) old magazines are a mine of information.
But what exactly is it?
Milk is composed of two things. Casein at 80% and whey at 20%. Whey, or whey protein, is the small liquid you find on top of your yogurts. 🫣 RIP all the protein you throw away...
Protein is one of the 3 essential macronutrients, along with carbohydrates and lipids. It nourishes muscles and renews their tissues thanks to the amino acids it contains.
In fact, almost all of them are essential, because even those naturally produced in the body are not sufficient for athletes.
Whey as a dietary supplement
Powdered whey is THE most popular dietary supplement among bodybuilders.
You see baby formula 👶? Well, it's pretty much the same thing, but without the carbohydrates or lipids. Basically, we've only kept the proteins.
For pity's sake, don't replace baby formula with whey (yes, some customers ask us if it's possible)!
You're probably wondering how we go from a cow to powder?
It's simple, we milk a cow, take its milk, extract its proteins via a ceramic microfiltration process, dehydrate it, and make a shake (I'm simplifying, okay 🤓).
Well, in most cases, it's not directly from milk but rather from cheese industry waste... with added 🧪 unpleasant stuff... and not-so-great filtration methods... but I'll talk about that later ⤵️.
What does it do?
Concretely, what does it do?
As a protein, whey helps to increase your muscle mass or, more commonly referred to in the field, muscle anabolism.
It also helps improve your muscle recovery.
Regularly providing protein to your body also creates an anti-catabolic effect. Catabolism is the opposite of anabolism. It's muscle wasting.
If you read 3 scoops of Broscience on collagen, it's actually the same thing but for muscles.
🤔 Which one to take?
A quality one, the native one
As I mentioned earlier, you need to be careful about the whey you buy. Most whey is derived from cheese industry waste and does not come directly from milk. And that's a problem.
Why?
Because it is denatured during its manufacture, so its amino acids are not stable. This denaturation can be measured with GMPs (Beware of My Prot***) (sorry, Glyco Macro-Peptides). In addition, they are poor in leucine, the most anabolic amino acid! But nothing to fear, no GMPs in native whey.
The most serious thing is that it can pose a health risk. Since it comes from cheese, and most often cheddar, the powder needs to be bleached!! Yes, you read that right: some people add peroxide, you know, the product to bleach your hair 👩🦳. At the same time, yellow whey is not very marketable.
For the record, it's partly thanks to native whey that I joined Nutrimuscle. I had to write an article on "why choose native proteins for health and performance".
But how do you recognize native whey? Firstly, if a brand doesn't loudly proclaim that its whey is native, you can be sure you're going to consume a raclette-flavored shake 🫕.
Be careful with those who say it "comes from milk." Of course, whey comes from milk at the very base, since cheese comes from milk.
Anyway, you can feel bad quality whey. In both senses of the word, if you know what I mean... stomach ache and all that follows.
A quality one, the foamy one
Foamy whey is a good sign. All foamy drinks are good, right? More seriously, foamy whey is synonymous with quality because no additives have been added. Some brands will tell you that certain additives are not bad, but you can never be too careful about finding GMOs in them.
A quality one, simply
I could write pages about the quality of whey, there are so many tricks in this industry. I'll be quick 🚀.
We can talk about whey filtration. Some processes denature and degrade the aminogram of whey (the amino acid composition of a protein).
We can talk about brands that promise 90% protein content when in reality, it contains less than 15% (thank you NutriControle for highlighting 💡 this).
We can talk about extended expiration dates. This is legally possible by re-testing the whey for bacteria. Your protein might have known the Wii U!
We could go on and on.
For your information, just for your information, in 2009, we were the first Native Whey! In 2009, we were the first Micellar Casein! In 2010, we were the first Native Whey Isolate! In 2023, we are the first Native Whey Hydrolysate.
Just saying 🙂.
One that meets your goals
There are several types of whey with different filtration methods: classic (or whey concentrate), isolate, or hydrolysate. These types meet very distinct objectives. I invite you to check out the protein comparator we made right here!
If you don't digest lactose, don't take chicken, beef, or whatever protein. They'll probably come back into fashion, but fashion isn't always good. Generally, they're leftover carcasses and waste (at least they're rich in collagen).
Instead, prioritize egg white protein (free-range) which provides a quality aminogram.
For vegans, unfortunately, there aren't really any other solutions than plant-based protein. Even if it's not ideal for muscle gain and digestion.
💧 How to take it?
In powder, it's better. In capsules, it's going to be complicated... Although in the 70s, protein in tablet form was sold to snack on throughout the day and reduce cravings. Not a bad marketing technique.
Generally, 3 scoops of whey are recommended for a shaker. Haha, you get the reference!
For water, it's up to you. The more you dilute, the less chocolate taste you'll have. What? You don't like chocolate flavor??
Oh yeah, and a little tip: don't forget to wash your shaker 👃.
⌛ When to take it?
Morning and after training are the best times to promote muscle gain. Why? The anabolic window. Even if some say it doesn't exist, it does. It's fashionable to constantly question established things.
To put it simply, after fasting (in the morning) and exertion (training), leucine receptors are more open. If you've been following, you'll understand why 😉.
It's also ideal as a snack. Before training, it depends on each person, you have to test it. For me, it gives me a boost, but for others like Gundill, it can cause hypoglycemia. During the filming of "I'm going to train at Gundill's #1", I helped him out with 6 kg of whey because he was out. He quickly remembered why he only took total protein.
🎯 Can I take it?
If you don't want to look weird in front of your colleagues by bringing your hard-boiled eggs at 4 PM, a whey shake is for you!
Knowing that for muscle gain, about 2 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight is recommended (80 kg = 160 g of protein), it can be difficult to reach your daily protein quota without supplements.
Studies that revolutionized whey
There's no need to prove the effectiveness of protein for muscle gain. However, not everyone knows that (native) whey is the most effective!
One study, for example, shows the superiority of whey over plant proteins (1).
Others show the superiority of native whey over cheese whey (2-3). I also mentioned the bleaching of cheese whey earlier (4).
And for those who are anti-anabolic window 🪟, here's a study that demonstrates the usefulness of supplementing with protein right after training (5).
Bibliography
- van Vliet S, Burd NA, van Loon LJ. The Skeletal Muscle Anabolic Response to Plant- versus Animal-Based Protein Consumption. J Nutr. 2015 Sep;145(9):1981-91. doi: 10.3945/jn.114.204305. Epub 2015 Jul 29. PMID: 26224750.
- Garcia-Vicencio S, Ratel S, Gryson C, Masgrau A, Piponnier E, Brasy J, Ruyet PL, Bucas M, Barachon N, Visseaux V, Connan Y, Montel F, Lahaye C, Boirie Y, Martin V. A Moderate Supplementation of Native Whey Protein Promotes Better Muscle Training and Recovery Adaptations Than Standard Whey Protein - A 12-Week Electrical Stimulation and Plyometrics Training Study. Front Physiol. 2018 Sep 19;9:1312. doi: 10.3389/fphys.2018.01312. PMID: 30319437; PMCID: PMC6168738.
- V. Martin, S. Garcia Vicencio, A. Masgrau, J. Brasy, M. Bucas, A. Lecoeur, P. Le Ruyet, S. Ratel, Protéines solubles de lait ou lactosérum combinés à un entraînement par électrostimulation : quels effets sur la puissance musculaire et les capacités de récupération ?, Nutrition Clinique et Métabolisme, Volume 30, Issue 1, 2016, Page 48, ISSN 0985-0562,
- Listiyani MA, Campbell RE, Miracle RE, Dean LO, Drake MA. Influence of bleaching on flavor of 34% whey protein concentrate and residual benzoic acid concentration in dried whey proteins. J Dairy Sci. 2011 Sep;94(9):4347-59. doi: 10.3168/jds.2011-4341. PMID: 21854907.
- Pennings B, Koopman R, Beelen M, Senden JM, Saris WH, van Loon LJ. Exercising before protein intake allows for greater use of dietary protein-derived amino acids for de novo muscle protein synthesis in both young and elderly men. Am J Clin Nutr. 2011 Feb;93(2):322-31. doi: 10.3945/ajcn.2010.29649. Epub 2010 Nov 17. PMID: 21084649.
