Whey protein isolate is not a new kid on the block, it has been around for decades, however in the last few years it seems to have gained more popularity with a few notable health influencers jumping on the bandwagon and bringing their own whey protein isolate product to the market.

Is their new found interest in whey protein isolate justified? Or is it a way they can line their pockets by bringing something cheap and inferior to the market?

Well, let’s see …

When diving into the research, you’ll find lots of cited benefits of whey isolate … from gut health to bone health to boosting the immune system, as well as improving blood pressure, glucose levels and cholesterol.

But, are they true, and if they are, do the benefits outweigh the costs?

Let’s get to it …

When it comes to whey protein, you will find three different types in the shops today: Whey Concentrate, whey hydrolysate, and whey isolate.

While they all come from the same source of liquid whey, each type is processed differently, and this has an impact on its protein content and nutritional profile.

*Kaizen World Finest whey goes through a process that’s anything but basic, however, for the scope of this article I am going to talk about normal whey protein concentrate products. 

Whey Concentrate starts out as liquid whey and then undergoes basic filtration and drying where it becomes “whey concentrate.” Whey concentrate is the least processed, and therefore the purest, form of whey protein.

To make whey isolate they take whey concentrate and put it through a further purification process, and that is how whey isolate is produced.

(Whey hydrolysate is processed even further than whey isolate, which means it is prone to degradation and tends to also be much more expensive as well as worse tasting than other forms of whey protein. It’s not something I would recommend.)

The further processing that whey protein isolate is subjected to is why all whey protein isolates are devoid of nutritional cofactors including alkalising minerals, lipids and naturally occurring vitamins. This renders whey protein isolates deficient and overly acidifying, unlike whey protein concentrates which do not acidify your body due to their alkalinising minerals.

Add to this, if consumed in large amounts without alkalising foods (such as with bodybuilders or athletes) whey protein isolate can have seriously negative health effects. Over time it can acidify your body and may lead to metabolic acidosis with consequences that include waste of muscle and bone tissues, total metabolic shut down and increased vulnerability to degenerative disease.

Many cheap whey protein isolates are produced from acid cheese; they are byproducts of acid processing, which is a cheap way to separate whey from the curd. The majority of these whey protein isolate products are rated beneath pet foods because of the inferior quality of the protein. In fact, it is actually more of a nitrogen waste product than one that will produce any health benefits.

Additionally once the fat has been removed from whey protein isolate, you lose some of the most critical components of its immunological properties, such as phospholipids, phosphatidylserine and CLA. All of the IgG immunoglobulins, which are a superb t source of glutamine and glutamylcysteine, are also bound to the fat globule, and therefore lost in the processing of whey isolates.

Therefore, in my opinion, if you want to use a whey protein, I highly recommend you do not use an inferior and health degrading whey isolate as it may cause you more damage than good. Instead, I would opt for a super clean whey protein concentrate that will give you exactly what your body needs such as Kaizen’s World’s Finest Whey.

Health & Happiness

Ryan