WHEY PROTEIN - BEST BRANDS

DietNet has been revamped (we're even adding a Search facility!)
and moved to a larger server.

Make sure you change your Bookmarks and Favourites
before these old pages disappear.

If you're not redirected within a few seconds, click here

If you've decided to try out some whey protein, you're probably a bit confused by the many types on the market. How do you choose a good one?

Before we look at that, just in case you've come straight to this page, a quick recap on whey protein in general.

Protein powders of any kind are NOT whole foods. We don't recommend you rely on them as a main protein source. Better to get your protein from a range of fresh animal products, such as meat, poultry, fish, eggs and dairy, if you can tolerate it.

But sometimes it's the only convenient way of having some protein after a workout. And if it's a case of have a protein shake for breakfast, or go without, have the shake. Throw in couple of raw egg yolks (yes, I do mean the yolks, not the whites) for all those excellent fat soluble nutrients, and some blueberries for flavour and antioxidants.

If you ARE going to have a shake, unless you are severely dairy intolerant, good quality whey protein is the only kind we recommend. Soy protein powder in particular should always be strictly avoided.

Now, let's look at how gppd quality whey proteins are produced. The first stage of processing, which uses ultrafiltration, produces whey protein concentrate. This will still have some lactose and fat, and can range from 25-85% protein. A good one will be around 70-80%.

The second stage isolates the protein, and eliminates the lactose and fat. There are two ways of doing this - microfiltration and ion exchange.

Ion exchange gives you a higher proportion of protein in your finished product, so many people will recommend ion exchange. But we need to look more closely at the different types of protein fractions that make up the whey. Most of them are believed to be good for the immune system, including alpha-lactalbumin, glycomacropeptide and Bovine serum albumin. But the fraction that makes up most of the protein is beta-lactoglobulin. This fraction is the one that is most likely to be allergenic. So you want a process that reduces that as much as possible, preferably keeping the % to around 50% or lower. With Ion Exchange, the % can be up to 75%. This also means there are less of the beneficial elements. So this would not be my first choice.

But crossflow microfiltration keep the fractions in more or less the same ratio as they started. So this is a safer option. The drawback here is that you have a much higher priced product.

If you are sensitive to lactose, you will need to go for a Ultrafiltered, then Microfiltered Whey Protein Isolate. But otherwise, it seems to me that an Ultrafiltered Whey Protein Concentrate (or a blend of the two) will be suitable for most people, and kinder on the pocket. It's also a less processed product, which is often better. Of course, if you have digestive trouble, move up to the Microfiltered. Remember that they must be non-denatured and produced without heat, which will be somewhere on the label of a good product.

There are a couple of other things you might see printed on the label that you need to know about.

Most powders now seem to be instantised. At this stage, I don't know how this is achieved, and whether it has any detrimental effect. If I find out, I'll let you know.

The other process is hydrolyzation. The purpose of this is to break down the peptides into smaller pieces, to make them easier to digest and assimilate. The drawback seems to be that this is done using acid, alkali or enzyme treatments and it CAN affect the function of the protein. I'd go for minimal processing and avoid this if possible.

You also need to check what other ingredients are in there. Watch out for fillers like calcium caseinate, and especially for sweeteners. Some of the usual sweeteners used (roughly from best to worst): 

  • Stevia - about the only sweetener that is universally agreed to be totally safe. It can have a bitter aftertaste if used incorrectly though, so is often teamed with other sweeteners to get round that.
  • Maltodextrin, honey, glucose polymers, etc - No good for people following a completely whole food diet (ie no sugars or refined carbs) and people on a low carb diet would probably want to avoid as well. But for people not worrying about sugars, probably OK in these quantities. 
  • Sucralose - this has taken over from aspartame as a popular sweetener. Most experts seem to agree that if you must go artificial this is the least harmful one to use. But it is still too recent to be totally sure, and at least one doctor is publicising examples of people who have had intense reactions to it. 
  • Acesulfame k - same chemical family as saccharin. No research has conclusively linked it to diseases, but it pays to very wary of all artificial sweeteners. 
  • Fructose - Many adverse effects on health. (The fructose part of the sucrose molecule is much more damaging than the glucose part) 
  • Aspartame - too many health disadvantages to list - it is literally toxic.

 "Natural flavour" can also be a problem for some people, so if you're sensitive to MSG, look for a product that's unflavoured. These are hard to find though, so if you don't have a specific MSG problem, you'll probably be OK with a naturally flavoured product.

Some products have xantham gum in them. This is not a problem for most people, but some people do have difficulty digesting gums.

Any other ingredient that you don't know what it is, ask before buying.

Products that I would use :

My pick in New Zealand is two of the Red 8 products. These two seem to be the less popular of the Red 8 products, so you may need to ask for them to be ordered for you.

Red 8 Protein Plus is an instantised, low temperature, ultrafiltered whey protein concentrate. The sweetener is stevia, and it has a nature identical vanilla or chocolate flavour. As long as you're not senstive to lactose or MSG, this looks like a good all round product. Reasonably priced at around $28 for 500g. Also available in unflavoured for around $25.

Red 8 Microfiltered Whey Protein Isolate is unflavoured and unsweetened. This would be the choice for anyone with sensitivities. Contains lecithin. Around $42 for 500g.

Biochem Ultimate Lo Carb Whey - 100% microfiltered whey protein isolate. Other ingredients beta carotene, xantham gum, natural vanilla flavour - but no sweeteners. Priced around $NZ98, so a bit pricier than the Red 8. 

Metagenics Bio Pure - "BioPure Protein is prepared by utilizing a patented ultrafiltration/diafiltration process that concentrates the whey protein and bioactive immunoglobulins. It is processed at controlled temperatures and pH to prevent the protein from denaturing (becoming inactive). The whey in BioPure Protein is obtained from the milk of a dairy herd in New Zealand, one of only two "pristine herds" worldwide." It does have a small amount of maltodextrin in it, so no good for whole food diets, but carbs are fairly low at 1g to each 16g protein, so pretty OK for most people. Price and availability unknown.

In other countries, there will probably be a lot more choice, and I can't go through them all!! But if you send me a link about your favourite powder, I'll check it out and tell you what I think. To start you off:

Australia - These products all look OK.

Aussie Bodies Perfect Protein. Made from Ultrafiltered Whey Protein Concentrate. Chocolate and Vanilla only have flavour added, so they're good. But the Strawberry is sweetened with sucralose, and has a colour added that some people have reacted badly to, so avoid that flavour.

Designer Physique - Whey protein concentrate. Ultra filtered. No additives. So looks good for those who can tolerate a little lactose.

Designer Physique - Whey protein isolate. Ultra filtered and micro filtered. No additives. So looks good for those who need lactose free.

Designer Physique - Slim Whey. Appears to be exactly the same as the isolate, so not sure why they need a separate product.

Products I would use as a compromise:

These are compromises as they use Ion Exchange isolate, where microfiltered is probably better.

NFS Nutraceuticals Super Whey protein - mainly lonic Exchange Whey Protein Isolate and a small amount of Bio-Engineered Ultra Filtered Whey Protein. 5g of l-glutamine with each serving & 2g taurine to complete the amino acids. Sweetened with stevia and malt. Malt is no good for whole food diets, or the gluten sensitive. Choc & strawberry flavours. $NZ80 for 750g. It can be ordered online at www.creativeenergy.co.nz

Solgar Whey to Go (vanilla) - Ion-exchanged, Micro-filtered and Hydrolyzed protein blend. Leslie Kenton recommends this brand, though I have my doubts about the hydrolyzed portion. I'd only use the natural vanilla flavour. The other flavours all have fructose in them. Around $NZ60 for about 340g protein, so pretty expensive.

Products I wouldn't use  :

Solgar Whey to Go (Non vanilla flavours) - Ion-exchanged, Micro-filtered and Hydrolyzed protein blend - only the natural vanilla flavour is recommended. The other flavours all have fructose in them.

Biochem Ultimate Protein System - 100% microfiltered whey protein isolate, which is good. But the sweeteners are fructose, which is bad, and acesulfame k.

Biochem Ultimate Lo Carb Smoothie - Instantised whey protein concentrate. Sweeteners are maltodextrin & sucralose, which are suspect.

Twin Lab Triple Whey Fuel - Combo of micro-filtered and ion exchange; hydrolysed and whey protein concentrate. The dodgy bit, though, is that the sweetener is aspartame, which I wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole.

Horleys Whey Factors - Instantised Ion Exchange Whey Protein Isolate, Ultrafiltered Whey Protein Concentrate, Whey Protein Hydrolysate. It does have L-Glutamine, which is good. But the sweeteners are acesulfame k and aspartame, so that rules it out.

Horleys Awesome Whey - Instantised Whey Protein Concentrate, Hydrolysed Whey Protein Concentrate. Also the sweeteners are Maltodextrin, acesulfame k and aspartame.

I haven't looked at products that are whey combined with other protein powders. And this isn't all of the pure whey products. There may be other good ones out there, but as you can see there are more bad ones than good ones. This range gives you an idea of how to judge other products.