Isolate, Concentrate, or Combination?

[Chad Hamilton]

I have a great supply of Muscle Milk, however, sometimes I require a whey.

I thought I knew about the difference between isolate and concentrate,
concentrate being inferior to isolate.
But I've seen here where individuals believe concentrates are the best way to go.
Isolates are more pure...correct?

So what do you experts think one should go with?

Please do not mention ON, for it does not exist in my world.

 

[Cyclic17]

Isolate is a purer protein--virutally lactose and fat free. It is 90-97% protein by volume, whereas concentrate is usually 70-75% protein.

My $.02

 

[Chad Hamilton]

I know the facts, but thanks for the change.

Im looking for the opinions of my peers.

 

[Cyclic17]

Okay, then in my opinion, go for a protein isolate. It may be a little more expensive than a giant tub of concentrate, but why not spend a little more and get a higher quality?
I work for a nutritional supplement company that caters mainly to endurance athletes (triathletes, marathoners, ultra cyclists). Our whey is an isolate, with no added sugars/colors/flavors--just a basic protein.

 

[Chad Hamilton]

Okay, then in my opinion, go for a protein isolate. It may be a little more expensive than a giant tub of concentrate, but why not spend a little more and get a higher quality?
I work for a nutritional supplement company that caters mainly to endurance athletes (triathletes, marathoners, ultra cyclists). Our whey is an isolate, with no added sugars/colors/flavors--just a basic protein.

May I ask who it is you work for?

And I agree, I've always chosen the iso for those reasons, but I recall a few people explaining the benifits of a concentrate over the isolate here so I was hoping they'd enlighten us again.

 

[Cyclic17]

I work for Hammer Nutrition. I'll try to avoid any shameless plugs or advertising

 

[HP_Nut]

Whey isolates are absorbed more rapidly. This is good for post-workout.

Whey isolate makes a poor choice for during the day. If the body doesn't need the amino acids, then it'll use them for energy as opposed to muscle. The process to produce whey isolate destroys health/immune system enhancing sub-fractions.

 

[my big toe]

I've been ordering custom mixes from True Protein for a couple of years, and have tried isolate-based, concentrate, hydrolyzed, here's a couple of my orders. My opinion is that in terms of effect, there all basically the same. There's big differnces in terms of digestion and taste. I've started using 1/2 Muscle Milk and half custom mix and it's by far the best so far. I like to use a variety of proteins, just to cover all the bases. I also think the hydrolized protein is a good value.


60% Whey Protein Isolate Cold-Filtration 6.49/lb. Subtotal $19.47
15% Calcium Caseinate 5.95/lb. Subtotal $4.46
10% Micellar Casein 10.50/lb. Subtotal $5.25
10% Egg White Protein 9.50/lb. Subtotal $4.75
5% Soy Protein Isolate 4.25/lb. Subtotal $1.06

70% Whey Protein Isolate Cold-Filtration 6.89/lb. Subtotal $19.29
15% Hydolyzed Whey Protein High Grade 9.50/lb. Subtotal $5.7
15% Egg White Protein 7.49/lb. Subtotal $4.49


CUMix (
20% Whey Protein Concentrate 3.99/lb. Subtotal $2.39
60% Whey Protein Isolate cross-flow microfiltration 7.20/lb. Subtotal $12.96
20% Egg White Protein 9.50/lb. Subtotal $5.7

 

[Terumo]

Okay, then in my opinion, go for a protein isolate. It may be a little more expensive than a giant tub of concentrate, but why not spend a little more and get a higher quality?

While I certainly respect the advent of WPI, I prefer WPC. I would rather not spend more because, when you break things down in terms of grams protein / dollar spent, WPI is considerably more expensive. Not to mention, the extraction process used for WPI eliminates most of the immune factors that are occur naturally in whey (although this is somewhat trivial concern to me--I take protein for protein). As far as utilization and bioavailability, WPC and WPI are almost identical. The only factor contributing to WPI's "higher quality" is the fact that it has more protein per unit mass of powder. Nonetheless, getting it in that purified form is considerably expensive, as far as protein extraction processes go.

With WPC, you almost always get more protein for your money, even when you consider that WPI does not have the protein content as does WPI. However, this discrepency could be as little as 0.1 percent! WPC is defined as having between 80.0% and 89.9% total protein content, by mass. WPI is simply anything greater than 90.0%.

Many people are paying too much for supplements, and that holds true for many more things than just proteins. Buying the most expensive, next-generation protein possible will likely just hurt the wallet, making it a product that one does not take consistently.

If you have some extra money to spend, just get a WPC (ideally, one that also contains casein or egg albumen) for your all-purpose protein powder. Then, use that extra money to pick up a whey hydrolysate to use for post-workout application.

 

[Tkdmmafighter**]

I know the facts, but thanks for the change.

Im looking for the opinions of my peers.

served. id go with isolate bro.

 

[Madmick]

It depends on how strict your diet is. If you're sloppy, it's not worth it to get the isolate.

But if you're running a tight ship, the difference between isolate and concentrate is the same as 2% and skim milk.

 

[Chad Hamilton]

Thanks gentlemen.

 

[eljamaiquino]

While I certainly respect the advent of WPI, I prefer WPC. I would rather not spend more because, when you break things down in terms of grams protein / dollar spent, WPI is considerably more expensive. Not to mention, the extraction process used for WPI eliminates most of the immune factors that are occur naturally in whey (although this is somewhat trivial concern to me--I take protein for protein). As far as utilization and bioavailability, WPC and WPI are almost identical. The only factor contributing to WPI's "higher quality" is the fact that it has more protein per unit mass of powder. Nonetheless, getting it in that purified form is considerably expensive, as far as protein extraction processes go.

With WPC, you almost always get more protein for your money, even when you consider that WPI does not have the protein content as does WPI. However, this discrepency could be as little as 0.1 percent! WPC is defined as having between 80.0% and 89.9% total protein content, by mass. WPI is simply anything greater than 90.0%.

Many people are paying too much for supplements, and that holds true for many more things than just proteins. Buying the most expensive, next-generation protein possible will likely just hurt the wallet, making it a product that one does not take consistently.

If you have some extra money to spend, just get a WPC (ideally, one that also contains casein or egg albumen) for your all-purpose protein powder. Then, use that extra money to pick up a whey hydrolysate to use for post-workout application.

True that. Isolate is more pure but that also means that it passes through your system too quickly. Between that and the cost, I use WPC. WPI is not financially efficient. Training, gym fees, equipment already cost a lot. A man has to keep some money in his pocket, save a buck wherever you can...

 

[Terumo]

True that. Isolate is more pure but that also means that it passes through your system too quickly. Between that and the cost, I use WPC. WPI is not financially efficient. Training, gym fees, equipment already cost a lot. A man has to keep some money in his pocket, save a buck wherever you can...

Exceptionally well said. I never was good with brevity.

 

[EddNg]

The effects of both are virtually the same, you would get the same gains and benefits from both. However if your lactose intolerant you will probably have trouble with the concentrate and thats where the isolate would be better off.