The difference in types of protein, whether it be a powder, meat or eggs, etc. is the biologocal value of it. (amino acid make-up)
The higher quality protein, such as whey, is going to be digested and utilized more efficiently then others. Why? Because whey protein contains the perfect combination of overall amino acid make-up. Theses proteins are rapidly absorbed into the blood stream and can increase protein synthesis and accelerate muscle growth.
This article explains a bit more in detail:
Whey Protein - Muscle Mass and Performance
What is Whey Protein?
Whey is a protein by-product from cheese manufacturing. Whey protein is considered to be the best protein for use in facilitating creatine's stimulation of new muscle mass and supporting muscle performance. Taken beyond a mere cheese by-product, Whey Protein is micro-filtered to create a high quality low fat and low lactose protein. Whey Protein is also hydrolyzed, a partial pre-digestion process that breaks down whole protein into dipeptides (2 amino acid units) and tripeptides (3 amino acid units), profoundly enhancing full gut digestion and maximal absorption.
What are Amino acids?
Amino acids are the building blocks of protein, in the same way that letters are the building blocks of words. Nature's 21 different amino acids connect to each other in different unique series, giving uniquely functional proteins in the same way that letters in series can give unique words and meanings. Digestion breaks down whole or intact dietary proteins to reduce them to their basic complement of amino acids. Once absorbed, amino acids can again be "spelled-out" into unique proteins by the wisdom contained in the body's DNA. The constant daily supply of protein and its subsequent digestion, allows the DNA to form the proteins needed for health and structuring.
Why Not Just Eat More Table Protein?
Whole protein, especially meat sources, is normally difficult to digest compared to pre-digested hydrolyzed whey protein. Hydrolyzed whey protein is quickly digested to completion and maximally absorbed for muscle metabolism and growth enhancement. Dr. Michael Colgan, in his book Optimum Sports Nutrition, relates his observations on hydrolyzed whey when he writes, "_numerous recent studies of burn and surgery patients have shown that nitrogen retention and recovery from injury is faster with hydrolysates than with intact proteins_ Nitrogen retention, a measure of increase in lean tissue, was highest with a whey hydrolysate." Dr. Colgan goes on to relate an animal study where hydrolysates were compared to intact protein. The animals fed hydrolysates grew 7.5% compared with 3% on intact protein. Thus hydrolyzed whey offers a protein source, significantly more effective in growing new muscle tissue than just more intact table protein. This is a 250% difference between intact protein and hydrolyzed whey, that clearly impacts on sports performance.
Furthermore, hydrolyzed whey protein is also preferable to just eating more table protein because it contains the highest concentration of the three branched chain amino acids (BCAA), leucine, valine, and isoleucine compared to other proteins. The BCAA's are systematically pulled from muscle tissue during exercise to metabolically recreate other amino acids that are typically loss to exercise and excreted in the urine, in particular, alanine and glutamine. Using hydrolyzed whey protein helps to prevent muscle wasting due to this cannibalization of tissue BCAA's. Thus again, hydrolyzed whey protein is distinguished by best fulfilling a need for new external BCAA's for supporting muscle growth and repair.
A major concern with meat source protein is the fat content. Dr. Colgan points out that even a lean beef steak contains approximately 28 grams of fat to each 100 grams of lean meat and that a lean loin of pork has about 23 grams of protein per 100 grams, but 29 grams of fat. The best low fat meat sources of protein are fish, shellfish, and egg whites. But what if you are not big on fish and how many ways can you serve up egg whites? And concerning protein from the vegetable kingdom, except for soybeans, most plant proteins present an inadequate ratio of amino acids for supporting maintenance and growth of lean muscle tissue under the stress of athletic readiness. For those who want to build their muscle mass for peak athletic performance, it seems that supplementing the normal table fare of proteins with hydrolyzed and micro-filtered whey protein is the most judicious game plan.
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