100% Whey Protein - Protein Powders

100% Whey Protein
(Optimum Nutrition)

by Gary F. Zeolla

A discussion of whey protein in general is found at American Whey Protein. That product is by Jarrow Formulas and is a very good whey protein powder. I used it in my post-workout drink for some time. But I changed to using Optimum Nutrition's 100% Whey for a couple of reasons.

First, Jarrow's American Whey is solely whey protein concentrate, while Optimum's 100% whey is composed of four different kinds of whey: microfiltered whey protein isolates, ion-exchange whey protein isolates, ultrafiltered whey protein concentrate, and hydrolyzed whey peptides.

The importance of these four different kinds of whey is that each is digested at a different rate. The hydrolyzed whey is digested the fastest, within 10-30 minutes. The isolates are then digested within about 30-50 minutes, and the concentrate in about 50-80 minutes. So when using this product in my post-workout drink, the hydrolyzed peptides get into my system very quickly to begin recovery. The slower isolates then kick in a little later, and then the whey concentrate hold me over until I'm able to eat a regular meal, usually about 1-1/2 hours post-workout.

The second thing I like about Optimum's whey is that it contains digestive enzymes to help digest the protein and small amount of lactose in the whey. And I have found that it does seem to digest much easier than plain whey. So I have no bloated or full feeling while I'm working out.

Third, 100% whey mixes very easily. So it works well for my post-workout drink. And finally, it taste great. I'm not too concerned about taste while I'm working out, but still, good taste is a plus.

So there are several reasons why this is a good product. But there are a couple of minor, possible drawbacks. Optimum makes two different versions of 100% Whey. The original version and a "natural" version. The original version uses acesulfame potassium as its sweetener. This is a somewhat new sweetener, that appears safe at the current time. But with it being so new, problems might surface as more people use it long term. So it makes me a little bit uncomfortable.

A little more problematic is the artificial flavorings and colorings used in the original version. Personally, I try to avoid such artificial ingredients as much as possible.

The natural version, however, avoids both of these problems. It uses stevia as the sweetener. This is a safe, natural, non-caloric sweetener. And the natural version only uses natural flavorings and no artificial colorings.

However, the natural version also uses fructose as a sweetener. Fructose is not really a good type of carb to use during or after a workout as it cannot be used by the body to restore muscle glycogen. However, it can be used to restore liver glycogen and burned as energy. And the amount of fructose used in 100% Whey is rather low, only a couple of grams. So this is not too problematic. But it does mean that the carb level of the natural versions is slightly higher than the original version.

Specifically, per one scoop (28.4 gram) serving, the original version has 110 calories, 1.5g fat, 2g carb (1 g sugar), and 23g protein. The natural version has 120 calories,1.5g fat, 4g carb (3g sugar), and also 23g protein.

But despite these minor drawbacks, I plan on sticking with Optimum's 100% Whey for my post-workout drink. The pluses greatly overweigh the minuses. The first container I got was the original version, but hereafter I will be using the natural version to avoid the artificial ingredients.

The above protein powder is available at MuscleSurf.

The above article was posted on this site June 10, 2004.

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