Post by Serene on Feb 21, 2013 12:07:30 GMT -5
Heaps of questions yesterday from Mamas wondering whether they had purchased the correct protein powder. I can tell that many of you do already have good CFM whey protein isolates. I could not list all the wonderful CFM isolates available. The three I mentioned are high quality yet much more affordable than most. You may want to give one of those a try to save money once you’ve used up what you have. If you found out that you have a concentrate, you don’t have to toss it. You’ll still get a good protein boost from your whey. Just use it up and then try one of the three I mentioned yesterday.
Some of you mentioned intolerances to whey. Most people who get bloating and other digestive issues from it used a concentrate, then swear off whey forever. While pea or hemp proteins can be used if carbs are 2 or below per serving, they don’t offer the incredible, immune enhancing and weight control benefits whey does. Try the very inexpensive CFM isolate from The Protein Factory and see if you can tolerate that. You may be surprised. If you still have issues, someone else in your family will greatly benefit from using the isolate and you won’t be out much money.
Now that I have mentioned all of Whey protein’s benefits and told you which type allows your body to receive these benefits, I need to repeat that a protein powder is not necessary for health, but it can improve it.
I do believe that consuming whey in the form of raw grass fed homemade kefir is the most biologically beneficial and active addition to your diet. In some seasons of my life it is not possible, but whenever I can, I seek out a raw source of pastured milk and make kefir.
But even if there is an abundant supply of kefir in your diet you could not possibly obtain the concentration of whey's beneficial microfractions needed to optimize significant blood level changes to fight serious illnesses. It takes over two and a half gallons of raw milk a day to significantly raise levels of glutathione in your blood. That is more than we could handle calorie wise and simply not doable.
Nature’s whole foods are foundational and common sense as the first layer of nutrition in our diet. But I like to think that supplementing with effective and creative supplements are the wonderful "next rung" on the ladder to higher health.
Yes I eat my pure raw kefir. And yes I supplement with whey protein powder. After a gut busting kettlebell workout I mix my highly potent whey supplement in my one cup of raw kefir to optimize my anabolic window post workout with all the protein I need to build, repair and rejuvenate my body. This way I don't need to guzzle gallons of milk to get the whey I need. But if you don’t have kefir, if you’re not remotely interested in making it, that’s fine. Whey alone will still be a fantastic health boost.
BUT WHAT ABOUT THE GOOD OLD DAYS?
Yes generations back they just drank plain ole milk or kefir and did not supplement. Many people think that is the more natural way. Well, toilet paper is not as natural as leaves either but I think it is a positive advancement. Ha ha.
The tradeoff we have in our modern times with less mineral rich soil etc. is the incredible availability of a much wider variety of food. This provides the option of a well-balanced diet. Also, the breakthroughs in science and knowledge of anti -aging, disease fighting supplements, superfoods and nutriceuticals are a definite pay off to our modern era. Of course it is probably more Paleo to only eat the tubors you could dig up outside your cave or the game you could hunt with your sticks and stones, but I did mention in a previous post, I have no relation to Grok thank goodness.
So even though we had to come to grips with there not being any true raw whey supplements in the past couple of posts, we are still able to see the merit in a quality Whey protein supplement. However, even though the more quality produced whey concentrates are better than CFM 80%, they still have the problem of being less potent in protein and still contain the fat, cholesterol and lactase.
THE TROUBLE WITH POWDERED FAT
In any powdered form cholesterol is extremely vulnerable to oxidization. You may wonder what the difference is between a fried egg, cooked steak or the cholesterol in whey powder concentrate when it comes to being oxidized. A powdered food has no surface area to protect itself from light and oxygen. The process of drying and the onslaught of air, light and a shelf life makes any powdered product that contains cholesterol to be oxidized on a completely different level than regular cooking.
Some high end protein companies are well aware of this problem and have packaged each protein serving of their high end concentrates in little sachets that have had oxygen replaced with nitrogen to prevent this issue. This makes the product extremely expensive and as it is still a protein in concentrate form only, it does not supply the needed 25 grams of anabolic protein post workout in a single serving. It also has lactose included. This sort of powder is too fragile to be used in smoothie recipes where the whey is blended with other ingredients. Any regular concentrate in a tub or can, no matter how hyped up the label sounds, is vulnerable to this oxidization.
THE "FAT MUST BE PAIRED WITH PROTEIN" MYTH
Hang on a minute. Aren't foods stripped of their fats on the "BANNED" list for health concerned individuals? Will a fat free protein supplement like whey isolate deplete our body somehow? Many people who try to stay as close to nature as possible with their diet, do not even think it is natural to skim the cream off the top of the milk or eat anything with its natural fat removed.
While I am a huge believer in wonderful super food fats and readily use butter, oils and raw grass fed heavy cream, I do recognize the need and natural balance for lighter and leaner fare.
Butter is a biggie Bible food and I wonder what the Israelites did with all that skimmed milk after churning their cream? Toss it? I don’t think so. History tells us people in Biblical times fermented most of their milk. Low-fat cultured kefir and yogurt were heavy staples I am sure.
I fry my sunny-sides up almost daily but I do enjoy experimenting with fluffy egg whites too for a metabolism change up. Have you ever wondered why eggs separate so easily with just a little crack and jiggle? I think it was God's design so we could have creative baking fun and dietary options.
Some diet camps insist all protein must be paired with fat as it is found in nature this way. Well yes it is and no it is not. There are many lower fat protein foods in their natural state. Some are even completely void of fat. Many ocean fish are fat free and wild game is extremely lean. In Leviticus God mentioned the meats he designed “to be received” by our bodies, some were very fatty and others extremely lean protein sources. Christ fed the five thousand with only fish and loaves. That means there was ample protein, but in that particular meal – very little fat.
We shouldn’t pitch our tent on the "everything must be slathered with healthy fat" just because many of us now realize the merit of fat and the danger of constant low fat dieting. Balance is again the key.
It has also been theorized that you need the fat in the whey for your body to properly digest the kinds of minerals it contains. As we have seen, even in nature not all proteins are paired with fats and curds and whey are so easily and perfectly designed to separate. If you still worry about it, just add one or two of the following fats to your whey smoothie - an egg yolk, coconut oil, raw grass fed cream, cod liver oil, full fat homemade kefir, flax or chia. In our book, many of our yummy whey smoothie recipes have plenty of fat while others are lean and low calorie. Change ups are so important.
Tomorrow we will talk about another concern that comes up regarding whey protein. Many worry about overdoing protein. We’ll tackle that and more.
Love Serene.