Written by Breanne Curran of Burn Brighter Coaching
If you’re like me, you’re used to saying no cow dairy.
For me, I must because my body hates dairy. It basically does everything it can to kick it out in a violent manner.
Now, many are in this lactose intolerant boat as well. But many people are cutting out cow dairy so they can lean out and stay healthy. Now, cow dairy isn’t evil, it’s just that there’s this pesky protein in cow dairy that slows us down and bloats us out. That’s the casein.
What’s important to know is that there’s another protein in milk that can be great for us. I say “can be” because benefits hinge on the quality and type.
Don’t worry, I’ll break it down for you, without boring science or annoying opinions 🙂
Why ONLY one kind of whey is the best for you
So for years I avoided whey (Whey is the other protein found in cow’s milk). This may not be a big deal, but you know what…
For active people who wanna get stronger and leaner, cutting out whey is a nuisance!
- First, it’s got tons more bioavailable protein than egg, pea, hemp, pumpkin, goat milk or any other you can think of
- Second, it’s in many of our protein shakes and bars, stuff that active and busy people need.
I mean it’s pretty hard to go home after soul cycle or kettle bell and make up a veg scramble with 3 eggs.
It just doesn’t work in our busy days.
What does work is guzzling down an awesome green protein smoothie on your way to your next awesome thing in your day. Yes, real whole food is always ideal. But for most of us, that’s just not gonna happen.
Thank goodness there’s more and more great juice bars and packaged protein drinks we can grab!
But we gotta be smart. Buy the wrong protein and you will be wasting you money and wreaking havoc on your gut.
You should get really excited right now, because I’m about to tell you how you can easily pick the best protein powder (and nutrition bars) and why it’ll make life easier for you!
Ever notice what’s in most protein powders and shakes – WHEY!
Now, whey is not casein. Both are from cow’s milk – but your body quickly absorbs whey. It also doesn’t get tired and bloated like it can from casein.
Wait, WAIT!
Before you go thinking that whey is great, read on...If you buy the wrong kind, you’ll be fighting an uphill battle. (Not that I’ve ever done that, but it looks really hard in the movies)
So listen here – What you want is GRASS-FED WHEY ISOLATE.
You wanna see those 3 words whenever you opt for whey protein.
Let me tell you why without boring you. I’ll also give you some names of awesome products to buy.
First, let's talk about what the heck whey really is?
How do we get this from cow milk and why can it work fine for the lactose and dairy free folk?
So you most likely know that whey is found in powder form.
Let’s look at how that happens:
- Start with a glass of cow milk. To get the proteins out ya gotta start with coagulated milk.
- Milk is purposefully left out and coagulates. It turns into a solution of 5% lactose and super mineral rich water.
- One by product of the coagulation- is whey.
- It’s in there with the casein, so we gotta separate them. This is done by taking that coagulated milk and pushing it through filters. This divides up the whey and the casein.
- The more filters the whey is pushed through and the more it is purified, the more isolated it is.
- Whey turns into Whey Isolate when it’s pushed through micro filters and turns into lactose and ash.
- That ash is sent to the dry tower to dry and turn to powder.
This is huge: you want extra filtered, purified whey – otherwise known as Whey Isolate.
You also want this from Grass-Fed Cows ONLY
If you don’t already know why grass-fed is a must with your meats- I gotcha covered.
CLICK here for my post on Grassfed meats
So, let’s do a quick review on why we must see “Grass-fed Whey Isolate”
FIRST – it has almost no lactose
Hooray! for us lactose intolerant folk.
SECOND – it has way more protein than plain whey. Non Isolate whey has about 11- 15% protein & up to 75% lactose. Whey isolate is more than 90% protein and has about .5 percent lactose.
Pretty huge difference! Now – if you’re like me that measly less than 1% lactose still has you concerned.
SO GET THIS: If you get whey isolate from a higher quality cow, that .5% will feel like nothing to your body.
So what’s a classy cow? One that eats grass!
Grass-eating animals roam around, live better and have a better diet - they digest better! Not only do we get more nutrients from the happy cows (Vit D, B vitamins, omega 3’s …) but we absorb the nutrients with less work on our own bodies.
My body could never stand whey until I used Grass-fed Whey Protein Isolate. Now I can get more high quality protein in my body, every day.
Makes ordering a smoothie at my fav juice bar way easier. Also – this makes it way easier to pick a great protein bar, or grab a pre-packaged drink at the airport.
Just remember, you need to see all of these words: Grass-fed Whey Protein Isolate.
mēle is a super cool new product that makes life waaaay easier for you!
It’s basically awesome protein drinks that are for people on the go.
Chockfull days and travel can be almost impossible to get in healthy meals. That’s exactly why mēle shake was created. IT’s your all-natural meal replacement.
This awesome NY couple that love to work out and eat healthy were sick of crap choices on busy days. They wanted to make it easier to eat healthy AND keep up with a busy life. Voilà - mēle!
It’s a dried powder you can take anywhere. It’s got exactly what you need to stay lean, strong and boost your energy.
Oh and look! It’s got Grass-fed Whey Protein Isolate.
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Breanne Curran is a Nutrition Specialist, Health Coach, NSCA Trainer and Kettlebell Coach. She loves finding awesome tools that make it easy for busy people to stay lean, strong and happy with everyday. Find more game changing skills at burnbrightercoaching.com