I think I heard someone talking in the gym before a whirlwind of sweat, chalk and 70 burpees thrown in for good measure. Whey protein. It’s probably the cheapest source of protein on the market. I used to eat it, since it was cheap and tasted reminiscently of chocolate. The last bag I bought contains 2,625 grams of protein. That’s 375 blocks in Zone terms and about 19 days’ worth of protein for me for only $25.00. I can get about 1/3 that amount of protein in the form of eggs and lean meat for that price. What is the cost to your long term well-being and performance?

The reason it is so cheap is that it is essentially a waste product of cheese making. There are some brands of whey protein that are not waste products, but why eat the stuff if it isn’t as healthful as what our ancestors ate: meat and eggs? Many of the proteins in whey protein, such as casein can have adverse affects on us. Generally speaking, whey protein isn’t as good as meat and eggs, due to the extremely high temperatures necessary to make cheese. As a result, the protein becomes denatured and can become worthless to the body. If you don’t believe me, check out Wikipedia or what the Weston A. Price Foundation has to say:

Whey protein is inherently fragile and must be processed at low temperatures or its qualities as a protein are destroyed. That is why casein rather than whey protein is used in animal chow. When cheese, butter and cream were made on the farm, the whey and skim milk were given to the pigs and chickens. But today these products are made in factories far from the farms where they originated, so the industry has a “whey problem,” solved by drying the skim milk and whey at high temperatures and putting the powders into energy drinks, body building powders and high-protein bars.

Wow. All that processing to get what is so easily attainable through beef, pork, fish, or eggs.

Plus, Pigs aren’t the pickiest eaters in the world, as you might recall from Pulp Fiction. Let’s take a cue from them.

In a pinch, whey is probably better than no protein, but looking at the 10 month old bag in my pantry, there’s a lot of soy in it. The topic of soy deserves a book, but I’ll just say that it isn’t optimal for health or performance and probably causes sickness. My old bag is also packed with Sucralose, aka Splenda, which raises your insulin levels, as would sugar. That’s not something we should be striving for. Insulin resistance related diseases are the biggest killers in the US and the rest of the industrialized world.

I understand that money can be an issue –even with nutrition, nowadays with agflation rearing its head–and whey protein can be a low-cost alternative or an easy post workout meal. Just think about what is fueling your 70 burpees or 150 wall balls and how much you want to improve. If you can afford meat, eat meat. It tastes better, anyway. Plus, there are no oily men in underwear on the cellophane. Post your thoughts here.

-Nick

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Also don’t forget to set your Tivo. The 2008 Olympic Team Trials for weightlifting will be broadcast on MSNBC Sunday, May 25th at 6:00am our time.

-Bryant