Are all Protein powders good? Bio-availability ratings

Whether your a body builder, a serious athlete, a fitness junky, just a beginner starting your journey to new fitness and health or an average joe couch potatoe, your body requires protein. If your an athlete or really active you will need a protein powder that is specifically designed for your body. Even if your an everyday Joe that really doesn't like to workout often or at all, protein is still an absolute necessity for your overall health and wellness. Proteins are the building blocks of the human body. There are many variable factors, such as your age, size, physical activity and weight in determining just how much protein your body requires daily in order for your muscles to rebuild themselves and begin the growing process. One of the first things you must do is learn/know your body and have an understanding of exactly what is in the content of your protein for it to be the most effective. Everyone's body is different and will respond accordingly to different types of protein, just like everyone responds different to various forms of training/exercise routines. Different types of proteins will have different rates at which they are absorbed by the body and the amino acid and fat content will also vary. Of course the only way your going to know which type of protein powder works best for you and your body is trial and error.

Nowadays when you walk into a GNC, health food store or any other sports nutrition/supplement store, there are so many different brands/kinds of protein powders to choose from. Which is exactly why you need to understand the type of protein your going to consume and how your body is going to process it. Even stores like Wal-mart, Wal-greens and K-mart have jumped on the fitness supplement train and carry several brands of proteins and other sports nutrition products. However, many store bought proteins may contain Soy lecithin. In layman's terms, Soy lecithin is basically a mixture of phospholipids, derived from processed soy beans. Although there are numerous health benefits for some in taking soy lecithin, such as increasing the metabolism of fats, providing cell protection, and facilitating the movement of nutrients and waste in and out of cells, it's not an essential nutrient itself. A complete protein will contain all 9 essential amino acids. Some research has even shown that taken in higher quantities soy can cause gastrointestinal issues, diarrhea, nausea and excess estrogen in men, which can augment body fat & breast tissue (gynecomastia, when a man appears to have breast). Studies have also reported a high number of allergic reaction cases that were directly associated with soy lecithin.

If you are one of those people that chose to live the vegetarian/vegan lifestyle, you're increasing the amount of workouts you have, you're recovering from some type of an injury, an always growing teenager or if you're just barely beginning your fitness journey/program, you're body is going to require a lot more protein than you normally would consume on a regular daily basis. Ordinary proteins are in actuality blends of different types of proteins, like for instance whey concentrate or casein. Many of today's brands of whey protein concentrates come with whey isolate mixed in along with it. A complete protein will include all nine of the amino acids imperative for your daily dietary needs (Histidine, Isoleucine, Leucine, Lysine, Methionine+Cystine, Phenylalanine+Tyrosine, Tryptophan, Theronine, and Valine being those amino acids). Proteins derived from animal are complete. Casein is a protein that's found in milk and takes a lot longer to digest than other proteins. However,because of it's slower digestion time, casein is actually more beneficial to take before you go to sleep when you are not going to eat for several hours. Some of these types of protein products can cause a multitude of allergic reactions in some people. Especially proteins that contain gluten or nut products. Lactose and other added chemicals are also present in some blends which would be very bad idea for those lactose intolerant people. If you are trying to cut calories down or lean your body out, you do not need the excess sugars and carbohydrates found in most of these powders as they influence your body to store more fat.

Okay, so now your asking how do you know which protein powder will work best for you? Besides the obvious factors of knowing how your body works and processes the different types of protein powders and reading/understanding the ingredients that are contained in it, it's imperative you check the BA rating or bio-availability rating, which is the rate the human body absorbs. If you inject something into your body, it doesn't really matter what it is, the bio-availability is 100%. It's immediately absorbed by your body into the blood stream. Taken by any other means such as orally will drop the BA rating significantly. It will take time for things that are taken orally to be broken down and digested by the body. Some of the pills today are even made to be time released, meaning they will take longer to be broken down. Soy actually has a very low bio-availability score of approximately 59%, while WPC or whey protein concentrates have a much higher BA rating, usually between the 75 and 85% range, depending on the brand . WPI or whey protein isolates has by far the highest concentration of protein per gram, meaning it's more pure with less fat and lactose per serving than all the other kinds of proteins powders. Whey Protein Isolates is a lot more expensive because of it's purity, however it's the best kind of protein powder when it comes to body absorbtion. Since the body is not capable of storing protein, all excess consumed is excreted as either waste or stored as fat. You will want your body to absorb the most protein possible when you consume it. Whey protein isolates do not have the best taste, also because of it's purity and I personally do not enjoy the taste but it's definitely the way to go for the best protein type.