Bodybuilding is a science which is a blend of proper workout, rest and healthy diet. Some people are often into the considerations that only exercise and exercise will help them achieve what they desired of without understanding the simple rule of Train, Eat and Rest.  Training hard involves lot of changes to the body. When you lift heavy weights, micro tears occur to your muscles which need to be healed. Then only, you can think of getting big muscles. This healing effect can be achieved by using Protein supplements. Though there are lots of protein supplements available but out of those, Whey Protein is the best supplement which needs to be considered.

What is Whey Protein and how it is produced?

Whey Protein is a dietary supplement which is produced as a left over residue when milk is coagulated. The Coagulation results in 5% solution of lactose in water which is also loaded with minerals and lactalbumin. One of the leftover products is whey which is in liquid form and other is casein which is used to make cheese. The liquid whey is then processed and dried using various methods like Ion Exchange and Micro Filtration.

Types of Whey Protein

There are three major forms of Whey Protein. Here is the synopsis of all three forms of Whey Protein.

1. Whey Protein Concentrate (WPC): The WPC is produced by the ultra filtration of whey. It varies from 29% to 89% concentration of protein by weight. The rest part is lactose, fats and minerals. Generally the WPC 85 concentration is available in the market. It is least processed form of whey. This form of whey has higher level of lactose (Carbohydrate value).
2. Whey Protein Isolate (WPI): The WPI is produced by membrane filtration technique. It contains 90% of protein concentration by weight. It includes removal of most of the lactose and fat content.
3. Whey Protein Hydrolysate (WPH): The WPH is the pre-digested form of whey. It can simply be understand as the form of whey which can be absorb by body much easily as compared to WPC and WPI. Our body needs to hydrolyse proteins before digesting them. The advantage of WPH is that it is already hydrolysed and it produced 28% more insulin which infuses extra fuel to your muscles.

 

Whey Protein for Bodybuilding

The benefit of consuming Whey Protein can be understood by the biological value. There are lot proteins supplement available in the market but they all differ in biological values. The Biological Value shows how easily body can absorb and utilize protein

 

Type of protein	Biological Value(BV)
Soy Protein	74
Casein	77
Whey Protein Concentrate	104
Whey Protein Isolate	159

 

The above data shows that the WPC and WPI have more biological value among different types of proteins. From here we can easily conclude that Whey Protein is much easily absorbed by our body and help repair your micro tears in your muscles.

A Medical research has also concluded that Whey Protein Supplementation helps augment lean muscle mass. You can read the complete research at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24015719.

How much Whey Protein to consume

For someone who is starting a workout routine faces a lot of challenges. One of the major challenges, a lot of athletes face is how much protein to consume in order of build muscles.

The foremost thing in this is to understand why protein consumption is necessary for your body? If you aren`t consuming adequate amount of protein or on a low protein diet, your body turns to catabolic metabolism in which body breaks down muscles to generate protein. Moreover, this can lead to lethargy and lack of energy.

Though consumption of protein is important but excess of anything is bad. The intake of excess protein can also lead to kidney stones, damage to liver. In females, excess consumption of protein can lead to a risk of osteoporosis.

To make this rocket science of consumption of protein easier there is a simple formula, you can infer to:

1. If you are sedentary person, you should consume 0.8 grams per Kg body weight or 0.37 grams per pound body weight of your body.
2. If you are an athlete, you need more protein than an average person. You should consume 1.4-1.7 grams per Kg body weight.

Optimum Time to consume Protein

Many of people occur to the question that at what time they consume protein. Well, if you know how much protein your body needs (refer to above), you can easily make a time table when you will consume protein. Though many people prefer to take protein shake before and after workouts as it provides you good recovery and gains. Taking protein in night before bed time is also very beneficial as it keeps your muscle feed to maintain protein levels. Casein is the best suited protein for this time as it digests slowly.

Benefits of Whey Protein

1. Whey Protein has highest biological value so it can digest much easily.
2. It helps you recover faster after workouts.
3. It helps gain lean muscle mass
4. It increases Glutahione level which is an antioxidant and further it helps in fighting against different types of cancer.
5. It regulates blood pressure.
6. It increases abundance of nutrients which help you achieve better health and fitness.

Side effects for whey protein

1. It can lead to kidney malfunction
2. Liver is also prone to damage
3. Change in pH of blood may occur
4. Descend in bone mineral density
5. It can lead to osteoporosis in females

Note: These Side effects are only seen when Whey protein dosage is exceeded beyond recommended. 

There are some myths related to the use of Whey Protein. You may find a lot of results if you search side effects of whey but you have to keep in mind that these myths are created by people who have little knowledge. However, I do have mentioned some side effects but they occur only you exceed the recommended dosage. The one thing I recommend is to buy a trusted whey protein rather than a fancy looking brand. If still you find any problem in buying any dietary supplement feel free to comment below.

Also read: What to look for in a whey protein before buying one?