What is the 'best' type of protein? Which is the cheapest type of protein? I am going to break down whole food protein in comparison to Whey protein to see if it stands up to the task.
Amino acid profile:
Whey protein per 25g serving:
L-Leucine 2470 mg
L-Isoleucine 1520 mg
L-Valine 1440 mg
L-Glutamine 3870 mg
L-Proline 1540 mg
L-Histidine 400 mg
L-Lysine 2120 mg
L-Methionine 440 mg
L-Phenylalanine 670 mg
L-Threonine 1720 mg
L-Tryptophan 240 mg
L-Alanine 1380 mg
L-Arginine 480 mg
L-Aspartic Acid 2490 mg
L-Cystine 440 mg
L-Glycine 530 mg
L-Tyrosine 590 mg
Chicken breast per 28g serving:
L-Threonine 367mg
L-Isoleucine 459mg
L-Leucine 652mg
L-Lysine 738mg
L-Methionine 241mg
L-Cystine 111mg
L-Phenylalanine 345mg
L-Tyrosine 293mg
L-Valine 431mg
L-Arginine 524mg
L-Alanine 474mg
L-Glycine 427mg
L-Aspartic acid 774mg
L-Glutamic acid 1301mg
L-Proline 357mg
Sirloin steak per 28g serving (trimmed):
L-Threonine 238mg
L-Isoleucine 271mg
L-Leucine 473mg
L-Lysine 503mg
L-Methionine 155mg
L-Cystine 77mg
L-Phenylalanine 235mg
L-Tyrosine 190mg
L-Valine 295mg
L-Arginine 385mg
L-Alanine 362mg
L-Glycine 362mg
L-Aspartic acid 543mg
L-Glutamic acid 894mg
L-Proline 284mg
The main amino's the body needs to repair muscle tissue are the BCAA's (branched chain amino acids) which are
Leucine, Isoleucine and Valine. As you can see, Whey protein has 4x as much Leucine, 3x as much Isoleucine and over 3x as much Valine as the chicken or the steak. The other amino unessential amino acid that some bodybuilders consider a necessity (although I have doubts as to it's importance) is glutamine which Whey protein has a huge dose of 3870mg per 25g. Whey seems to have the beating in terms of greater amino acid profile here.
Micronutrients
Chicken breast has very little micronutrients in it. It contains some vitamin A (approx 6iu) and but tiny amounts of any other vitamins. As for minerals, it has small amounts of phosphorus and magnesium but nothing of much significance. The sirloin steak is very much the same- trace amounts of any vitamins and some minerals in phosphorus again and quite high in potassium. On the other hand we have whey protein which many people forget is a dairy derivative therefore high in many micronutrients including vitamins A, B6, B12, C, D, K, E and being a dairy product- obviously very high in calcium. In terms of micronutrient quality, whey protein has the better numbers.
Price
For £40 I can buy 5kg unflavoured whey, which at 80% protein gives me
about 4kg (4000g) protein. So that works out to 100g protein for £1. To get 100g of protein from chicken breast, you would need to eat approximately 2.5-3 chicken breasts (based on 100g breast size which is about average). In supermarkets this will cost you anywhere between £2-£5. Sirloin steak will cost considerably more. Whey protein is one of the cheapest if not THE cheapest source of quality protein. *please note-eggs are a cheap source of protein too costing about £2 per 100g protein*
Satiety
Satiety means how much a food fills you up and/or keeps you satisfied for. Studies show that eating whole foods is more satiating than drinking whey protein see study http://www.ajcn.org/content/41/3/533 'Wadden TA, Stunkard AJ, Brownell KD, Day SC. A comparison of two
very-low-calorie diets: protein-sparing-modified fast versus
protein-formula-liquid diet. 1985.'
Many people do say that whey fills them up more than whole foods so I think this is more of a personal thing that differentiates between people but as the study shows, on average people are more satiated through whole foods.
Taste
This is again obviously a personal thing. Whey protein flavours have improved drastically over the last decade giving us more choice...but you can't beat a bit of steak!
Other benifits of Whey Protein
- Suitable for vegetariens
- Does not have to be kept refrigerated
- Long expiry date
Summary
Unlike what some so called 'health' magazines say- Whey protein is an excellent source, if not the best source of protein. If you are eating a high protein diet and are not consuming whey protein, I would recommend that you start supplementing with it.
Thanks for reading, Tom.
