Spices offer much more than a decorative addition to meals. Aside from making food taste better, they can help to protect against obesity, as well as chronic conditions like diabetes, heart disease, and cancer.

What makes them so powerful? Polyphenol, which is a type of plant compound, provide the primary benefits that spices bring to the dinner table. It can also be found in tea, red wine, and fruits and veggies.¹

Spices are linked to several health advantages: ^{2 3}

Health Benefit #1 – Spices May Help You Control Your Weight

We tend to eat bland foods faster with less satisfaction than tasty foods. And when we’re not satisfied, we’re bound to overeat, and inevitably gain weight.

Using spices over salty sauces keeps the flavor but nixes the extra salt, as well as calories, fat and sugar.

In fact, a study shows that a compound found in chili peppers called dihydrocapsiate can rev people’s fat-burning capacity when they eat it three times a day.

Health Benefit #2 – Spices May Help Prevent High Blood Pressure & Diabetes

Every one in three Americans has high blood pressure.

But evidence shows that adding certain spices to foods can help bring blood pressure rates down.
For example, the spice cardamom is found to reduce blood pressure and improve antioxidant status. And cinnamon can potentially fight diabetes. The antioxidants in cinnamon are linked to lower inflammation, as well as reductions in blood glucose concentrations in people with diabetes.

Health Benefit #3 – Spices May Have Cancer-Fighting Components

Some spices, like turmeric and cumin, have certain cancer-fighting components. For instance, turmeric contains polyphenol curcumin, which has been proven to slow or halt the growth of cancer cells causing melanoma, leukemia, and breast, brain, pancreatic, and prostate cancers.

Health Benefit #4 – Eating Spices Instead of Salt Helps Reduce Sodium Intake

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Dietary Guidelines of 2010 recommend people under 51 reduce daily sodium intake to less than 2,300 milligrams. They recommend anyone over 51 to reduce intake to 1,500 milligrams, as well as anyone who is African American, has hypertension, diabetes or chronic kidney disease. Thus, the dietary guidelines require most Americans to find substitutes to salt and other sodium-based additives.⁴

Health Benefit #5 – Spices Can Keep the Heart and Lungs Healthy

Several spices, especially ones sourced from India, have great potential to maintain a strong heart. Spices like ginger and turmeric, can serve as preventative and treatment agents for managing heart diseases. Ginger’s anti-inflammatory makeup is useful in fighting heart disease, and studies show turmeric can help counteract conditions like cystic fibrosis and other lung diseases, and even muscle injuries.⁵

Plus, some spices can actually stop glycation (when a sugar molecule bonds with a protein or fat molecule) and formation of AGE compounds, which cause premature aging and heart disease.

Take advantage of these amazing benefits and use some spice in your food today. Let us know you’ve what added them to to create new possibilities.

The post Top 5 Health Benefits of Spices appeared first on BuiltLean.com.

Because the health benefits of fiber are so widespread, it’s one of the most talked about nutrients. Dietary fiber is comprised of carbohydrates that cannot be digested by humans, as well as lignin, which is a compound that forms the cell wall of plant cells.

Up until very recently, fiber was divided into two broad categories- soluble and insoluble, the classification being based on whether or not it dissolves in water.¹ However, researchers are now using other classification systems as well, distinguishing between fibers that exist in whole foods (dietary fiber) and fibers that are extracted or manufactured (functional fiber).

Dietary fiber includes materials derived from plants and well as animals (i.e. chitin, which forms the shells of insects and crustaceans, though people don’t generally eat lobster shells). Functional fiber can be both man-made (i.e. fructooligosaccharides and polydextrose, which are used as food additives) and extracted from natural sources, like the chitin from crustaceans, which is found in nutritional supplements.

Although the different ways fiber is classified is interesting, from a health standpoint, it doesn’t really matter, as the health benefits of a high fiber diet are independent of the way a scientist groups them.

What Are Some Of The Health Benefits Of Fiber?

• Cholesterol Lowering Effects: Viscous fiber is a fiber that combines with water to form a gel in the stomach. Multiple clinical trials have demonstrated that intake of viscous fiber lowers both total and LDL (traditionally thought of as the “bad” cholesterol).² The foods used in these studies include beans, peas and lentils.
• Heart Disease Reduction: High intakes of fiber-rich foods are strongly correlated with lower incidence of both number of heart attacks and deaths from heart disease.
• Blood Sugar Effects: Since viscous fibers form a gel in the stomach, when they are added to meals, the result is a slowing of nutrient absorption into the blood stream, which effectively lowers the amount of insulin needed to clear the sugar from the bloodstream and has favorable effects on blood sugar and insulin resistance. This is especially important for diabetics but can also eliminate the post-meal hunger that can result from a dip in blood sugar after consumption of a large amount of carbohydrates.
• Treating and Preventing Constipation: As fiber is not absorbed through the GI tract, fiber-rich foods add to stool bulk and decrease the amount of time needed for waste to pass through the digestive system. Most of the research supporting this benefit has been done using fruit, vegetables and wheat bran.³
• Weight Control: Viscous fiber’s ability to increase feelings of fullness likely result from the gel it forms in the stomach, making it easier to eat fewer calories. Additionally, fiber has fewer calories than other carbohydrates.⁴ Studies show that people who consume fiber-rich foods are more likely to maintain a healthy weight than those who don’t. However, the role of fiber alone as a weight management tool has not been clearly established.

What Are The Best Sources Of Fiber?

Fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans, lentils, nuts and seeds are all good sources of fiber. Supplemental fiber is a great, convenient way to up daily fiber intake, especially for those who are restricting calories or eat high amounts of processed food, which is essentially always stripped of fiber.
The Food and Nutrition Board of the Institute of Medicine published recommended daily fiber intakes in 2001, and those recommendations can be found here: IOM Recommended Fiber Intake.

For the vast majority of people, however, more fiber is probably better (though always check with your doctor before making dietary changes). Since abrupt increases in fiber can cause gas, bloating and abdominal pain, it is wise to increase fiber intake slowly.

If you decide to take fiber supplements, I recommend Vitafusion Fiber Gummies (2 gummies provide 5 grams of soluble fiber and 10 calories) or psyllium husk, which is a mix of soluble and insoluble fiber.
Hope this clears up any fiber confusion you may have had – feel free to leave a question or comment.

The post Soluble vs. Insoluble Fiber: What’s the Difference? appeared first on BuiltLean.com.

You may know strength machines may not be the best choice to get fit and reach your goals if you have limited time in the gym. You may have read that these machines neglect your core musculature and don’t allow you to train key stabilizer muscles.

So, you spend your time doing a combination of free weight and cable exercises that you have picked up reading magazines, seen on YouTube, watching others in the gym, or possibly even made up on your own. Although you may be on the right track, one thing you must realize is that not all exercises are created equal and it’s even possible you could be doing more harm than good.

My best piece of advice is to master the basics such as squats, deadlifts, pushups and pull-ups and then find the next appropriate progression before heading to the Bat Cave to make up your own, potentially dangerous, exercises. There is a reason that training certifications and studies exist, as it takes a great deal of background to fully understand the full scale of what you are doing and how it could be affecting in your body.

Until then, here are 7 exercises you should never do under any circumstance:

1) Deadlift With Rounded Lower Back

This is number one on my personal list of things I never want to see anyone doing in the gym and sadly there is someone in a gym right now showing their friends how to deadlift this way. I would rather watch someone do bicep curls in the squat rack.

This highly dangerous move creates significant flexion with compression on the disks of your lower spine. On its own, flexion of the spine isn’t the end of the world, but add a load such as a barbell and repetitive motion and it is a recipe for disaster. It’s not a matter of if you’ll injure your back but when.

The Fix: Learn how to deadlift with proper form or at the very least maintain a neutral (flat) spine.

2) Exercise Ball Squats

In some instances an exercise ball will be a great tool to challenge your stability but not in this instance. Popular belief is that training on unstable surfaces will target your core muscles better but doesn’t always carry over so well in practice. The risk-to-reward ratio of this exercise is extremely high as there is really little to no additional benefit to squatting on a ball, but there is an extremely high risk of serious injury.

Even without a barbell, this is a dangerous exercise that has little to no benefit. The only time this may potentially be applicable is if you are training to stand on a ball in the circus and even then there are probably better exercises.

The Fix: Build a stronger core by learning how to squat heavier weight and sticking to the basic core exercises. If you want to train on unstable surfaces, choose exercises that won’t allow you to fall on your face.

3) Feet Up Bench Press

I’m really not sure what the rationale behind benching with your feet up in the air is, but this is a trend that needs to stop. If you’re trying to build a bigger chest or stronger bench press then it is in your best interest to keep your feet planted to the ground.

This ensures that you are pressing from a stable surface and will be able to effectively transfer force from the ground. I see a lot of bench pressing faux-pas in the gym but this one just doesn’t make any sense.

The Fix: Bench press with your feet flat on the ground. If you are short you may have to place a 1″-2″ step on the ground to keep your feet on. When you initiate the pressing movement, drive your feet through the ground making sure to keep your butt on the bench and finish strong.

4) Lat Pulldown With Swing

I see this type of exercise performed a lot in most gyms along with its distant cousin, the kipping pull-up. Sadly, there are no real benefits to either besides making it look like you are having a seizure.

When doing pull-ups or lat pulldowns, it is a good idea to start by working the direct line of pull and maintain a rigid core to target your lat muscles. When you use body english to ‘kip’ yourself up to the bar or lean back to yank the bar to your body you are robbing yourself of a good training effect by not working one of the strongest muscles in your body.

The Fix: When doing pull-ups or lat pulldowns, maintain a rigid core and use your armpits (lats) to bring the bar to your body or your body to the bar. No cheating!

5) Leg Extension Machine With Hip Thrust

Never mind the extra humping motion, I would completely skip the leg extension machine all together. There is much debate on the efficacy of using the leg extension machine, which is mostly due to the belief that you must isolate muscles to train them to grow and get stronger.

In the case of the leg extension machine, yes you will get a pump in your quads because you are isolating the muscle, but it comes with high risk to proper function and joint stress, mainly at the patella(in the knee). The muscles in your legs are supposed to function synergistically and by neglecting the hamstring group and small stabilizer muscles you are ensuring future injury. Just saying.

The Fix: Focus on movements such as squats, lunges and deadlifts rather than individual muscle groups such as your quads, hamstrings and calves. By working the muscles of your leg together you are going to prevent injury and get your legs stronger, faster and more functional.

6) “Chicken” Cable Cross Overs

Just because you can move all the plates on a machine doesn’t mean you are strong, it just means you can move all the plates on a machine. In this case, it comes at the risk of a torn rotator cuff or a serious dislocation. So unless you want to use your injury as a handy party trick, it’s probably best to stay away from this one.

The Fix: If your shoulders are mobile enough to perform this move then chances are you lack stability in the joint. Stick to good old-fashioned pushups done properly of course.

7) Wave Squats

Another exercise that makes me cringe when done poorly is a back loaded barbell squat due to the potential damage that can be caused to the knees, hips and back. The problem is that many people who are new to squatting (and even some veterans) feel the need to load up the barbell with massive amounts of weight before they learn proper technique or even find out if they should be squatting. This is a case of putting the cart before the horse.

The common belief is that to squat you must bend your knees. This is true but what most people don’t realize is that there are other moving parts involved, such as your hips. When you don’t properly use your hips your body tends to fold up like an accordion, which is no good. Squats don’t hurt people, what people are calling squats is what causes injury.

The Fix: When you squat, start with a slightly wider than hip width stance with your feet toed out. Initiate the movement with your hips rather than your knees by sticking your butt back. As you descend, press outwards on your knees lowering your butt until it is well below knee level. To go back up keep pressing out on your knees and drive your heels into the floor until you stand tall and lock out. Master that and then start adding weight! For more detail, check out How to Squat With Proper Form.

Hope these tips on exercises to avoid, as well as how to fix them, helps you train safely and avoid any gym-related injuries. Please share if you’ve got some more gym-fails you’ve seen around the workout room.

The post 7 Exercises You Should Never Do appeared first on BuiltLean.com.

Articles this week also discuss a potential new food source proposed by the UN – bugs. We’ve also got some news on fish oils’ effects on the brain, high-energy snacks, and some awesome cookbooks from 2013 you can use to kick up your diet.

Please Note: The articles and videos listed below are informative, popular, newsworthy, or a combination of all three. Just because we have included an article within FitLinks does not necessarily mean that BuiltLean supports, or agrees with its contents or views. If you have a question about our position on any article, please leave a comment and we will be happy to respond!

TRENDING NEWS

1. Fitness Protects Men From Cancer, 20 Years Later (NBC)

2. Waist-To-Height Ratio Better At Predicting Life Expectancy? (Medical News Today)

3. Body Fat Hardens Arteries After Middle Age (Science Daily)

4. Detrimental Effects In The Brain Stalled By Fish Oil? (Medical News Today)

5. Pushing Kids To Eat Now Can Cause Obesity Later(CNN)

TRENDING ARTICLES

1. We’ll All Eat Bugs By 2050? (Greatist)

2. Best High-Energy Snacks (The Adrenalist)

3. Is All Processed Food Unhealthy? (US News)

4. True or False: Never Shop On An Empty Stomach (NY Times)

5. 22 Best Cookbooks of 2013 (Greatist)

TRENDING VIDEOS

In the theme of keeping fit for now and later, we’ve got a cool video from Mike Robertson Training (who is also featured in an interview) for you to try out:

The post FitLinks: Can Fitness Protect You From Cancer? appeared first on BuiltLean.com.

1. Are all the BuiltLean workouts strength circuits?
2. What do 10 servings of fruits and vegetables look like?
3. Can I have whey if I’m lactose intolerant?
4. What are some good fitness and nutrition books?
5. Is it bad to workout everyday?

Question #1 – Are all the BuiltLean workouts strength circuits?

Question #2 – What do 10 servings of fruits and vegetables look like?

Question #3 – Can I have whey if I’m lactose intolerant?

Question #4 – What are some good fitness and nutrition books?

Question #5 – Is it bad to workout everyday?

The post Are All BuiltLean Workouts Strength Circuits? appeared first on BuiltLean.com.

Most of us know adding salt or creamy sauces to our food isn’t the healthiest habit, but let’s get real – it sure does make it taste better.

Fortunately, there are tons of other nutritious choices to make meat, veggies, or whatever is on tonight’s menu taste just as delicious.

Those choices are spices; from peas and carrots to chicken and beef, spices add a kick to basically any food without adding all the extra calories. Spices most often come from seeds, berries, bark or roots of plants.¹

Here are 7 healthy spices to enjoy:^{2 3}

Healthy Spice #1 – Cumin

Cumin comes from India. The seeds, yellow in color, have a strong pleasant odor and taste. A recommended amount is 6 teaspoons or ½ teaspoon of cumin powder a day. One great way to use cumin is to mix a bowl of root veggies, like sweet potatoes, cauliflower and turnips with olive oil and 1 teaspoon cumin powder, bake at 300 degree for a half hour. Add some pepper and chopped cilantro to make it extra tasty.

Healthy Spice #2 – Ginger

Ginger, or ginger root, comes from the plant Zingiberofficinale, and is in the same family as cardamom and turmeric. Its cultivation started in South Asia. Ginger comes fresh or powdered. While the latter is a bit easier to work with, there are many ways to use fresh ginger.

To use fresh ginger, you must first peel off the dark outer layer with a vegetable peeler or a paring knife. Then you’ll usually need to grate it before adding to recipes. You’ll likely find it works best when mixed with wet ingredients. It should be stored in the refrigerator in a plastic or paper bag. Try ginger in a soup by simmering butternut squash, carrots, and garlic in chicken broth. Add fresh ginger and pepper, then puree, and enjoy. Or, mix ginger, low-sodium soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil and garlic for a beef marinade.

Healthy Spice #3 – Cinnamon

Cinnamon comes from the dried bark of Cinnamomumloureirii and is abundant in flavor. Use it to replace sugar in sauces, meat, and vegetable dishes. It can specifically work in homemade barbecue sauces, pulled pork marinade and marinara sauces. Sneaking cinnamon into breakfast, lunch, and dinner is easy. Stir cinnamon into oatmeal with berries and nuts, put it in vinaigrette salad dressing and mix it into coffee or smoothies. Be sure to use it sparingly, though, up to one teaspoon in a serving.

Healthy Spice #4- Cardamom

Cardamom is from the dried fruit or seed of Elettariacardamomum L. Maton. Guatemala and India produce the mostcardamom. It contains potassium, calcium, iron, and magnesium. You can find both cardamom pods & powders in markets and grocery stores year-round. While cardamom is most commonly used in sweets and coffee, black cardamom can be used in lentil curries and rice pilafs.For brown rice, add ½ teaspoon cardamom (and ½ teaspoon cinnamon) to the boiling water for a nutty flavor to get a huge kick of flavor and very few calories.

Healthy Spice #5 – Chili Peppers

Chili peppers come from the chili plant, which originated in Central America, and chili peppers have plant-derived compounds known to contain disease preventing and health promoting characteristics. They are available all year in grocery stores, either dried or in powdered form. Use hot chili peppers as a condiment while preparing soups and chili sauces. Poblano peppers are the mildest of the chili pepper family, and can be sautéed, roasted, and stuffed. You can mix Serrano peppers in with homemade salsas and guacamoles.

Healthy Spice #6 – Turmeric

Turmeric is from the dried root of the perennial herb Curcumma longa L, and comes from India. Ayellow spice, it’s popularly used in Middle Eastern cuisine.Turmeric is a natural anti-inflammatory, and can help possibly both speed up the metabolism and boost the immune system. Add a pinch or two of turmeric to grilled foods and veggies, or a couple of teaspoons to soups and stews.

Healthy Spice #7 – Caraway

Caraway seeds are grown all over Europe, Asia Minor and North Africa. While it has several medicinal uses, caraway consists of healthy nutrients, vitamins and antioxidants. It is a superb mineral source of iron, calcium and potassium. Caraway is dense in dietary fiber, with 30 g of fiber per 100 g seeds. Plus, it contains compounds helping to prevent aging, infections and even cancers. Add Caraway to omelets, soups, salads or Mediterranean-inspired dishes. Caraway also aids in digestion when eaten with cabbage.

Take your pick. There are hundreds of different types of spices for you to choose from,and they are smart additions to everyday meals without harming health or sacrificing taste.

The post 7 Healthy Spices to Make Food Taste Great appeared first on BuiltLean.com.

You might have a solid strength and cardio program, you might pay attention to your diet and eat clean, but do you take time to work on your mobility or balance?

Mobility (flexibility) training and balance are important aspects of fitness that are often under-appreciated and neglected. As we age, we lose both flexibility and balance.¹ Improving your mobility can have significant benefits for your posture, lifting form, and strength, all while reducing injuries.

One of the best ways to improve your mobility, core strength, and balance is Yoga.² Because there are a number of different types of yoga, it helps to know a little bit about each before deciding what type of yoga ³ works best for you and your training program.

Top 8 Different Types of Yoga: What To Expect in Class

Types of Yoga #1 – Hatha Yoga

In Sanskrit, “Hatha” means force. It describes the physical practice of yoga, so all other types of yoga fall under the category of Hatha.⁴

If you see Hatha Yoga on a class schedule, it means you’ll find a slower-paced class with little-to-no “flow” between poses. It’s a gentle class that’s perfect for beginners or the after-work yogi looking to wind-down. Here, you’ll learn basic postures, breath work, relaxation techniques, and meditation.

Types of Yoga #2 – Vinyasa

This style of yoga links movement with the breath, creating flowing postures that smoothly transition from one to the next. In Sanskrit, the word “vinyasa” means “connection.” Each movement connects with either an inhale or an exhale. You can expect to move through a few sun salutations, warrior poses, balancing poses, back bends, and seated stretches. Each class ends in savasana, which is the final relaxation pose.

There is no strict format or sequence of poses in a vinyasa class, allowing for more creativity on the part of the teacher. Some classes are more spiritual, incorporating breath work, chanting and meditation, while others are more athletically-oriented. It depends on the instructor, so if one class doesn’t suit you, try a different instructor.

Depending on the level, Vinyasa yoga can be gentle or rigorous. If you’re a beginner, look for a gentle flow or a level 1 class. Learn the basics before moving on to more advanced classes (level 2 or higher).

Types of Yoga #3 – Iyengar

Iyengar is an alignment-based style of yoga. These classes don’t flow like vinyasa classes. Poses are held longer, as you breath into a pose to find more expansion. Instructors use of a variety of props, such as blocks, straps, and blankets, to make sure you find the correct posture in each pose. Iyengar is a great style of yoga for individuals who appreciate detailed instruction, or for those with injuries and who need a class that can accommodate their limitations. Practicing Iyengar will help build strength, mobility, and stability.⁵

Types of Yoga #4 – Bikram

Bikram yoga is best known for hot rooms and sweat dripping postures. This style of vinyasa yoga was developed by Bikram Choudhury and is comprised of 26 postures performed in strict sequential order. Bikram chose these specific postures because he believes they systematically challenge the entire body—the organs, veins, ligaments, and muscles.^{6 7}

Types of Yoga #5 – Ashtanga (aka Power Yoga)

Developed by K. Pattabhi Jois, Ashtanga yoga is considered a modern-day form of classical Indian yoga. It’s also known as “Power” yoga. Like vinyasa, movement and breath are linked. However, in Ashtanga, the movements are predefined. You move through four phases—an opening phase, one of six “series”, backbending, and inversions. There is an element of progression in Ashtanga: if you’re a beginner to the practice, you’ll start with the Primary series. When you’ve mastered that series, you will graduate to a more difficult series and so on. Advancing through the poses can take years or decades; however, the focus of the practice is not on advancement to more difficult levels, rather, it is to maintain internal focus.⁸

If you enjoy a more structured, powerful practice that focuses on mastery of poses and progression to more advanced levels, this could be a great style of yoga for you.

Types of Yoga #6 – Jivamukti

More than just a movement practice, Sharon Gannon and David Life developed the practice as a lifestyle. It is a physical, spiritual, and ethical practice that emphasizes animal rights, environmentalism, and veganism. There are five central tenets to the Jivamukti: shastra (scripture), bhakti (devotion), ahimsa (non-harming), nada (music), and dhyana (meditation).⁹

A typical class starts with a life lesson or intention, chanting, and breath awareness. It moves on to flowing vinyasa sequences and ends with relaxation & meditation. If you’re looking for a style of yoga that offers spiritual and meditative elements as well as physical benefits, Jivamukti could be perfect.

Types of Yoga #7 – Kundalini

Grounded in the Chakra system, Kundalini focuses on the breath (pranayama) and core work. Kundalini strives to develop the mind, awareness, and consciousness. Each pose is associated with a different breathing technique that is believed to intensify the effects of the posture.¹⁰

Kundalini is much more spiritual and meditative than other styles of yoga. It emphasizes breathing, chanting, meditation, and hand gestures (mudras). Although this class often involves more sitting than other styles, it is still physically demanding. This class offer both physical and mental challenges, as well as spiritual and meditative elements.

Types of Yoga #8 – Yin (aka Restorative)

This is a slow-paced style of yoga developed by Paulie Zink, a martial arts expert and Taoist yoga teacher. Here, the poses are held for longer periods of time, about 5 minutes per pose. Holding a pose for this length of time is believed to put stress on the connective tissue, enhancing circulation and increasing flexibility. This style is believed to improve the flow of qi (life energy) and was created to complement more rigorous forms of activity.¹¹

As this practice is slower-paced, it makes use of a lot of props and is usually performed in a room heated to 80-90F. The heat enables the muscles to expand, becoming more elastic, which is important when holding poses for 3-5 minutes. Holding poses for longer periods of time challenges patience and the mind, bringing attention to the breath in a meditative way.

You won’t find much flowing movement here, so Yin is great for individuals interested in a deeper stretch and a more relaxing class.

I hope this overview of the principles & basic practice of these different types of yoga help you decide which is the best for you to practice, or for those who practice certain types already, it inspires you to give a few more a try.

The post Top 8 Different Types Of Yoga appeared first on BuiltLean.com.

One of the two major components of milk, whey is the liquid portion of the milk that separates from the curds (the other major component), during the process of making cheese. Whey contains proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals.

Due to its strong amino acid profile and ease of absorption, it is arguably the most popular sports nutrition supplement. Whey protein has been shown to augment muscle protein synthesis, support fat burning, boost the immune system, improve insulin sensitivity, and decrease appetite. Additionally, whey concentrate is shown to boost production of glutathione, the body’s master antioxidant.¹

Whey protein exists in three main forms: isolate, concentrate, and hydrolysate (where whey isolate undergoes additional processing.). This article will focus on the differences between whey protein concentrate and isolate. Both forms contain whey protein, but whey isolate, which is made from whey concentrate, undergoes further processing which yields an end product with more protein per unit than whey concentrate. This processing results in a product that differs from whey concentrate in several important ways.

How is Whey Protein Made?

Pushing the liquid portion of milk through a filter creates whey protein. The material left behind is dried and forms whey protein concentrate. Concentrate contains varying amounts of fat and carbohydrates in the form of lactose. The percentage of protein varies from about 30% to about 80%, and includes a variety of protein subfractions,² many of which have significant biologic activity and health benefits. Evidence suggests that these peptides must remain in their native, undenatured form (the 3-d form that exists in nature) in order to exert these properties.

Why is this Important in Whey Concentrate vs Isolate?

As whey concentrate is further processed and purified into whey protein isolate,³ these 3-d structures can degraded and lose their biologic activity. You should note, however, that the amino acid sequences do not change when protein is denatured, and whether a protein is denatured during processing does not affect its muscle-building qualities. All large proteins are broken down during digestion into smaller protein chains and individual amino acids (denatured), and whether this process occurs in the gut or in the manufacturing plant is irrelevant to the muscle fibers getting these proteins.

However, since denaturing can affect the biologic activity of certain peptides, whey concentrate has a theoretical health advantage over isolate. That being said, depending on the process used, whey isolate may still have significant amounts of bioactive peptides. Ion-exchange is a purification process that, while producing the highest concentration of protein, essentially eliminates all bioactive compounds. Micro-filtration techniques, such as Cross Flow Micro filtration, are a more expensive procedure but yield a whey isolate with more intact bioactive peptides. Hydrolyzed whey isolate is whey isolate that has been further broken down, yielding small peptides that are rapidly absorbed into the blood stream. Again, though, this extra processing comes at the cost of destruction of health promoting substances.

So, Which Type of Whey Should You Chose?

When choosing a whey protein product, it is important to consider your goals, budget, and any allergies. For example, since whey concentrates contain significant amounts of lactose, anyone with lactose intolerance should avoid them. Since isolates undergo more processing, they are more expensive and can lose many health-promoting compounds found in concentrates; on the flip side, they contain a higher amount of protein per serving. This is important for people who are calorie restricting and want to consume as much real food as possible, and while 5 grams of carbs (per serving of whey concentrate) may not seem like a lot, 2 shakes a day can mean a half of an apple. Whey isolates, and particularly hydrolysates, are more rapidly absorbed than concentrates and create a more profound insulin response.⁴ This makes whey isolates popular post-workout choices. Whether this increased rate of absorption translates into any real-world anabolic advantage is arguable, but anyone wishing to limit rises in insulin may want to avoid isolates because of their effects on insulin release.

My recommendation: If you want a general protein supplement that will help improve your health and not break the bank (and are not lactose intolerant), pick a whey protein concentrate that is at least 80% protein. True Nutrition makes a solid whey concentrate. If you want a pure, rapidly absorbed whey for post workout that’s easy on the stomach and you are not as concerned about other health benefits and price, try an isolate, or hydrolyzed whey isolate. My pick here is Dymatize Iso-100.

Hope this helps you find the right type of whey for you and your goals.

The post Whey Concentrate vs. Isolate: What’s The Difference? appeared first on BuiltLean.com.