Pro Blend - Protein Powders

Pro Blend
(Human Development Technologies)

by Gary F. Zeolla

Many advocate using "blended" proteins (i.e. mixtures of several kinds of proteins). The reason for this concerns the different rates at which proteins are digested. Whey a milk protein) is digested rather quickly; egg is digested at a moderate pace, casein (another milk protein) is digested very slowly. So the idea behind using a blended protein is the body will receive a continual supply of amino acids over a period of time.

But, as with individual proteins, the quality and ingredients vary among different blended proteins. They also differ greatly in price. However, HDT's Pro Blend is one of the better such proteins available. It contains four different types of whey proteins (concentrate, micro ultra filtered isolate, ion exchanged isolate, and hydrolyzed), along with egg white protein and micellar casein. The hydrolyzed whey is absorbed the quickest, then the whey isolates, then the whey concentrate, then the egg white, and slowest of all is the micellar casein. So there is a good mixture, which would provide a steady supply of amino acids over a period of several hours. And Pro Blend is relatively inexpensive as compared to other blended proteins.

Apparently, HDT is in the process of changing the formula somewhat. The new version now uses the above mentioned micellar casein rather than the calcium caseinate that was used in older versions. The micellar casein is more readily digested than the calcium caseinate. So this is a good change.

HDT is also in the process of changing the sweeteners used for the Pro Blend. Older versions are sweetened with stevia and acesulfame potassium. Stevia is a natural and safe non-caloric sweetener. But acesulfame (pronounced "ace-SUL-fame") is an artificial sweetener. It appears to be safe based on a limited number of studies and given that no adverse effects have yet to be reported from it, but further studies and long term-usage needs to be done to say for sure. However, newer versions of Pro Blend are now sweetened with sucrolose instead of the stevia and acesulfame. Sucrolose is an artificial sweetener, but it is the safest such sweetener available. Extensive testing have found no problems with it, and no adverse health effects have ever been reported from it. So it is good that HDT is replacing the acesulfame with sucrolose.

The new versions of Pro blend are also enhanced with additional L-glutamine and the branch chain amino acids (L-isoleucine, L-leucine, L-valine). These amino acids are especially important in muscle repair and growth. So this is an additional plus.

However, Pro Blend does contain artificial flavorings. These I could do without, but most any blended protein on the market contains them as well. So they are hard to avoid in this case. And it does give the Pro Blend an excellent taste. And Pro Blend mixes easily without a blender.

Personal Blended Protein

Along with the artificial flavorings, another problem with ProBlend is that it is rather expensive. But since the idea of blending proteins makes sense, I have begun mixing my own "blended" protein. For this purpose, to make two quarts of protein drink, I use the following:

Optimum: 100% Whey Protein - 4 scoops
Healthy 'n Fit: Egg White Protein - 2 scoops
Protein Factory: Aussie Caseinate - 2 scoops

The first two are high-quality proteins as the respective descriptions indicate. But the third is not that great. So this is the only protein I get from Protein Factory. It has many others, but I would rather stick with high-quality proteins as much as possible. But I use the Protein Factory for the caseinate since it is the only place I could find this particular protein by itself at a reasonable price.

The above protein powder is available at WebVitamins and MuscleSurf.

The above article was posted on this site May 9, 2004.
It was last updated June 17, 2005

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