Shine Fm Blog
Week Eight: Why Is Whey So Wonderful?
Plenty of Protein
From a health perspective, whey protein has all the essential amino acids (the building blocks of protein) in higher concentrations compared to other vegetable protein sources like soy, corn, wheat and gluten. These amino acids are efficiently absorbed and used. Whey protein also has a higher concentration of the branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) leucine, isoleucine and valine. These amino acids are important factors in tissue growth and repair and leucine is a key amino acid in protein metabolism. Another benefit of the amino acid profile in whey is that it is rich in the sulfur-containing amino acids cysteine and methionine. This means that whey protein has the ability to protect the body against free-radical damage and enhance immune function by replenishing the body’s most powerful antioxidant, glutathione. Free radicals are always being produced in the body through metabolic processes including exercise and detoxification. Antioxidants can help to speed up recovery from exercise, decrease inflammation, protect against illness and help reduce the total amount of free radicals produced.
Whey protein has potent antioxidant activity and increases the cell’s concentration of glutathione. Glutathione is found in all cells of the body and is therefore the body’s most important antioxidant. It is made up of the amino acids cysteine, glutamate and glycine, all found in whey protein. Conditions that are associated with low levels include diabetes, low sperm counts, liver disease, cataracts, HIV infection and cancer just to name a few. Cigarette smoking is also associated with low glutathione levels because it increases the rate at which the body uses glutathione. Whey protein also assists with detoxification, enhancing the efficiency of the body’s liver detoxification enzymes. One of the components of whey, alpha-lactalbumin,binds heavy metals, helping to eliminate them from the body. Another important fraction called beta-lactalbumin helps to reduce blood pressure and cholesterol.
Specific Health Conditions
Because of the many health benefits of whey protein this product can be used therapeutically in a wide range of conditions. While enhancing muscle growth is the most well known use of whey protein others involve obesity, weight loss and diabetes. Research has shown that as little as a five-percent loss in body fat can reduce the risk of obesity-related health conditions. Because high-protein, lower-carbohydrate diets are shown to be the most effective for promoting weight loss, whey is an excellent source of dietary protein. The amino acids in whey contribute to the improvement of the body mass index in those individuals who are exercising and following a weight loss program. In addition, in diabetic clients protein assists with lowering blood sugar levels, helping with weight loss. Additional condition-specific uses of whey include cancer due to its immune enhancing properties, and cardiovascular disease attributed to whey’s ability to lower blood pressure and cholesterol.
What was once viewed as a waste product and a substance used only by athletes is being elevated to an essential component of a healthy diet. While whey protein’s popularity has been gained in the fitness industry it is important to understand that it is so much more than a muscle-building product. It is a product that addresses many of your health concerns. When you take U-Protein, you’re doing so much more than fulfilling their requirement for extra protein on a daily basis. You’re enhancing health, wellness and longevity; factors that can’t be assessed by a scale or measuring tape, but ones that you will from over the course of a lifetime.