Whey Concentrate vs Whey Isolate, How to choose?

For those of you who like to lift weights or regularly go to the gym, you must be familiar with a milk supplement called Whey Protein, a type of milk that contains high protein that is suitable for helping the muscle-building process and speeding up recovery after exercise. Currently, whey milk is widely available on the market, both online and offline pharmacies, providing various brands at various prices, the ones I commonly see are whey protein concentrate and whey isolate. In this post, I will discuss Whey Protein Concentrate and Isolate, the differences, benefits, and side effects of both whey.

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When I first bought whey protein products, I was confused about why there were such things as Concentrate and isolate, then I asked the experts when I was going to buy whey and they explained that Whey concentrate is cheaper and tastes good while whey isolate is expensive with a taste that is generally plain or tasteless because the isolate type does not contain too many artificial sweeteners to maintain the purity of the whey in it.

Whey Protein is a liquid produced from cow's milk and then processed using ultrafiltration to purify it from fat, cholesterol, lactose, and minerals. It can be said that this whey is a product derived from cows that focuses more on maintaining and purifying the protein content in it. This process produces a type of whey concentrate that has a protein content of around 40 to 80% depending on the filtration process. Whey protein isolate is made using the same process but the levels of fat, cholesterol, lactose, and minerals are further reduced so that the protein ratio reaches above 90%, that's why whey isolate usually has almost no taste because no other ingredients are added so that the protein is high and the absorption process by the body faster. This Whey Isolate product is suitable for users who are lactose intolerant because most whey isolate brands are lactose-free.

However, if you want to buy whey isolate, make sure you use it according to your needs, and if you feel it is not important, it is recommended not to buy it, because the price of whey isolate is expensive. If you want to buy protein intake at a more economical price, you can buy whey concentrate because the price is cheaper than isolate with a protein ratio of around 80%. Apart from that, whey concentrate has a delicious taste and texture like UHT cow's milk or what we usually find in the market. The downside of whey concentrate is that it is not suitable for lactose intolerant people, drinking it will be problematic because it can cause stomach ache, nausea, and even vomiting.

This post is for information only, there is no recommendation or suggestion to buy a drug or substance that could be harmful to health, before using a supplement or medicine it is recommended to consult a doctor and pharmacist to be safer and by the recommendations of experts.

References

• https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/whey-protein-isolate-vs-concentrate#:~:text=Summary%20The%20main%20difference%20between,more%20expensive%20than%20whey%20concentrate.

• https://www.mindbodygreen.com/articles/whey-protein-isolate-vs-concentrate

• https://www.bulknutrients.com.au/blog/product-information/detailed-comparison-of-whey-protein-concentrate-and-whey-protein-isolate

• https://nutrabay.com/magazine/whey-protein-isolate-vs-concentrate