Whey Protein v. Casein Protein

The world of protein supplements can be a very confusing one. The most common types of protein supplements out there are whey and casein. These proteins are very popular due to the fact that it offers tremendous benefits for people who work out and it hasn’t shown any proven side effects. In this post I want to help explain the key differences between whey and casein.
First things first, the reason why protein is such an important supplement when you work out is because it assists in building strength, lean muscle, muscle mass, and decreasing recovery time. That makes it an essential supplement for athletes, bodybuilders, and anyone who works out.
Whey and casein proteins are both products of milk. Whey protein is a byproduct when milk turns into cheese and casein is filtered from milk. In conjunction with one another both proteins, you can develop a great supplementation program for optimum muscle building.
Whey Protein
Whey protein is the premiere protein for building lean muscle and shorter recovery times due to the promotion of protein synthesis. This means whey protein supplementation can speed up your progress to become bigger, leaner, or stronger depending on your goals.
Whey protein is the fastest digesting protein that absorbs quickly to the muscles that need it. This makes whey protein the perfect post workout meal to promote muscle recovery and muscle building. I’ve also heard of benefits of having a pre-workout meal of whey protein so that your muscles can recover during your workout.
Whey protein comes in two types; whey concentrate and whey isolate. The main difference between the two is the amount of pure protein in it. Whey protein concentrate is low in fat and lactose, containing an estimated 75% pure protein. Whey protein isolate is the purest whey protein containing more than 90% pure protein with less fat and lactose than whey concentrate. Comparably between the whey protein options, it is understandably that whey protein isolate is more expensive for its higher concentration of pure protein.
Casein Protein
Even though whey protein is the higher quality protein for building lean muscle and muscle recovery, casein has its role. Casein is a slow digesting protein that is digested at a slower pace serving a steady flow of protein for several hours. This makes casein the perfect evening supplement, helping prevent muscle catabolism in time periods longer than 3 hours without nourishment.
Casein’s anti-catabolic characteristics help prevent the break down of protein to prevent muscle loss. Casein doesn’t promote protein synthesis to the extent that whey does but its ability to counteract protein breakdown or muscle loss makes it important part of protein supplementation.
Simply Whey Protein and Casein Protein is as follows:

In conclusion, whey is a fast absorbing protein that excels in protein synthesis and casein is a slow absorbing protein that prevents muscle breakdown or catabolism. Personally I think you shouldn’t be using one over the other, but use both at the appropriate times to take advantage of their benefits to get the best results. I hope this information helps you better understand the two popular types of protein supplements and it helps reach your goals.



