I was asked an excellent question today regarding protein powder and whether it is a good supplement or not.
I will answer this question by posing my own question: Why not just eat the original source?
The short answer is AVOID WHENEVER POSSIBLE!
Most protein powder on the market is a highly processed, isolate form of either soy, whey, casein, or egg white protein. The source food is removed of it’s other components usually through a high-temperature process that leaves only the remaining protein molecule. This isolate protein however has now been denatured to such an extent that it is virtually useless to the body, not to mention they also contain nitrates and other carcinogens.
Our body has evolved to process meat. We are omnivores by design, and we should not be fighting biology when choosing our food sources. Meat, eggs, and some plants are excellent protein sources because they also contain OTHER components, many of which our body needs to process the protein (more on this in future posts). This was all the Paleolithic man had to survive on, and the ever resourceful human digestion system has evolved to handle the consumption of the entire protein source, fats and fiber (to name a few) included.
That being said, modern life can leave you stretched for time, and the convenience of these protein powders does make them much less time consuming on a time invested vs time to ingest scale. So if your lifestyle demands that you use protein powder, please use care when choosing your brands.
Hemp protein should be your first choice if eating whole meats or eggs is too inconvenient. Hemp is one of the least processed protein options on the market, and unlike many other plant based proteins, it is fully balanced and contains all 9 essential amino acids (it also contains some other good nutrients).
Some people have trouble processing hemp however. If you all into this category, try and choose a protein powder that has been Cold-Filtered. The Cold-Filtration process separates the proteins by micro-filtering the mass in a chilled environment. The mass is then spray dried in a non-heat environment to preserve the protein structure.
Kelly Frankson, CrossFit trainer and Olympic Weightlifter recommends True Protein’s Cold-Filtration Protein Powder.
