Nowadays people are becoming more conscious about their health, especially youth, everyone wants to pack on muscles at the same time eliminating the fat. When it comes to gaining muscle or getting healthy, almost sixty percent depends on your nutrition, thirty percent on exercises, and only ten percent on supplements.
So this particular article is focused on the supplement aspect of your overall nutrition. Before proceeding, One thing you should remember that no supplement will work if your diet or food isn’t healthier and correct.
Having said, Whey protein powders are the most common and popular supplements among the athletes, youth, and fitness enthusiastic community. They are the most preferred and safe supplements also because they are just another dairy product that comes from the milk. And what makes them best in class, are complete bio-available sources of protein as it contains all 9 essential amino acids.
Types of Whey Protein and Their Purposes
Whey Protein Concentrate: This particular type of Whey protein is produced through the technique of ultrafiltration and refers to Whey proteins which contain less than 90% bio-availability of protein, and remaining 10% comes from fats, lactose, and minerals.
Purpose: This class of whey protein is an ideal option for those who are looking to bulking and gain weight.
Whey Protein Isolate: This category of Whey protein powder is produced through a variety of filtration methods ensuring the expulsion of the majority of lactose and fact. And the bio-availability of protein is recorded at above 90%.
Purpose: So far the ideal category of protein for everyone includes, Men, Women, Teenager, Youth, and Adult. They are mainly used by the folks who are looking to gain muscle mass and reduce fat.
Whey Protein Hydrolysate: This type of protein powders are considered as the most expensive in the market as compared to concentrate and isolate version. They are produced via enzymatic hydrolysis of either concentrates or isolates. Through this procedure the peptide bonds are separated resulting is a fast digestion.
Purpose: This type of protein powder is mainly used by athletes and models before their assignment or shooting so that there is less retention of water in their body.
Why and When Should Take Whey Protein Supplements?
Why: Well, that’s the primary question every person asked to themselves that ‘Why to supplement with Whey protein?’. You see, when we talk about protein then one can easily get it through a variety of natural sources, check here Top 10 High Protein Foods. But the problem is that majority of food don’t have complete protein as they lack in some of those essential amino acids, that means your body can’t absorb the protein properly. Because amino acids play the build blocks for the protein and proteins are the ‘building blocks’ of muscle tissue. Now you need to understand that the food and supplements are two different things so they come up with different purposes as well. One can’t take food as a protein source just before or after a workout. But whey protein can be taken before and after the workout sessions as they can be easily digested and absorbed by our body. Addition to this, Whey protein is the complete protein source as it contains all the essential amino acids that our body requires to recover itself from a hard workout session.
When: The reason why the whey protein is the most preferred supplement across the globe is because of the fact that they can be easily digested within 30 minutes. Therefore, you can use the Whey protein as a pre and post workout meal so that your body can utilize the protein for muscle strength, repair, and recovery.
Recommendation: It is always advisable to use Whey protein Isolate as a supplement because they are the optimum and healthier form of Whey, available in the market. The Reason we’ve said whey isolate is healthier because concentrated protein can lead to unwanted weight gain and hydrolyzates are of no use for a layman.
Here, we are putting the top 5 whey protein powders in terms of quality, consumer experience, and popularity.
1. Dymatize Nutrition ISO 100
Dymatize has been one of the most trusted and well-reputed brand in the fitness and supplement industry. And considering this, we’ve selected ‘Dymatize Nutrition ISO 100’ as our top pick in this list because of very reasons that we’ll discuss further in this article. This product contains 100 percent whey isolate that has been hydrolyzed, we’ve already mentioned the benefits of hydrolyzed whey protein above. Hydrolyzed whey digests more quickly than ordinary whey concentrates and isolates. Addition to this, the product is suitable for everyone as it comes in different flavors that include gourmet chocolate, gourmet vanilla, cookies and cream, smooth banana and gourmet pina colada.
The product is best in class because of several reasons, it’s mixability is so easy and tastes great, offers 25 g of protein per serving, 5.5 grams of BCAAs, and contains fat and carbohydrate equal to almost none. ISO 100 is one of the best selling whey protein and comes in a variety of sizes that include one, three and five pounds.
2. BSN Syntha-6 Isolate
BSN Syntha-6 Isolate is also one of the quality whey protein available in the market. Everyone in the fitness and sports industry has a sweet spot for Synta-6 Isolate because it is the best isolate whey protein which has been for years in the supplement industry and still doing amazingly well. But one thing that makes it a perfect protein supplement in the market is its ratio of fast and slow release proteins for a moderate release of amino acids. That’s why one can also consider it as a meal replacement.
As far as the mixability is concerned, Synta-6 Isolate can easily be mixed with water and tastes immensely good. The product comes in a variety of flavors such as chocolate milkshake, strawberry milkshake, vanilla ice cream and peanut butter cookie. The product usually comes in 2 and 4 pounds pack.
3. Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard Whey
When you are talking about top five whey protein powders then you can’t afford to miss ‘ON Gold Standard Whey’. It is by far one of the best selling and appreciated whey protein isolates across the globe. Apart from that, the product has got a variety of good stuff in it as it offers 24 g of protein per serving, 5.5 g of BCAAs, 4 g of Glutamine & Glutamic acid.
ON Gold standard is considered to be the purest whey protein isolate brand in the market. The product mixes extremely well in water that contributes to faster absorption of protein and will not leave you bloated. It comes in numerous flavors like milk chocolate, strawberry, vanilla and Double rich chocolate. The product generally comes in 1, 2, 5, and 10 pounds pack.
4. Muscle Tech Phase 8
Muscle Tech is a renowned name in the sports nutrition supplements industry and has been serving for decades. We’ve discussed hydrolyzed and isolate whey protein in the above list, let’s talk a bit about concentrate as well. Though Muscle Tech Phase 8 is comparatively cheap but the quality they are offering is genuine. With this product, Muscle Tech come up with a formula of protein blend which absorbs at different rates and has added BCAAs as well. The product claims that the absorption of the protein can last up to 8 hours and that’s why they’ve also named it ‘Phase 8’. The company has mainly used the milk protein isolate for the medium and slow release of protein into the bloodstream
Addition to this, phase 8 contains six different types of protein that include Hydrolyzed Whey isolate, Whey Isolate, Whey Concentrate, Calcium caseinate, Milk Isolate, and Micellar casein. Each serving of Phase 8 offers around 26 g of protein and it comes in diversified flavors such as Milk chocolate, Peanut butter chocolate, White chocolate, Vanilla, and Strawberry. Though it is slightly higher in calories but you can manage those with a balanced and planned diet. In general, Phase 8 is available in different sizes such as 4.6 lbs, 2.5 lbs, and 2 lbs.
5. MusclePharm Combat Powder
Like Phase 8, this one has also got the tendency of slow releasing of protein for up to 8 hours. MuclePharm has come up with the best in class protein with ‘Combat Powder’ series and for this particular one, they have used different types of protein that include Whey Isolates, Whey Concentrates, Egg albumen, and Micellar casein. Addition to this, the company have also added Branch Chain Amino Acids (BCAA’s) for the better absorption of protein. The product is an ideal option for those who want to build lean mass and is available at a fair price. Apart from that, combat powder is amazing when it comes to taste but doesn’t mix well with water. It has a 25 g bioavailability of protein per serving. The product offers various flavors such as Chocolate milk, Strawberry cheesecake, vanilla, cinnamon powder, and cookies & cream.
The Combat powder is available in different sizes that include 2, 4, 5 and 10 pounds pack.