Whey Protein Isolate

About Whey Protein Isolate

Whey protein powder comes in three main varieties: Concentrates, isolates, and hydrolyzed proteins.  The most popular of these three varieties is arguably whey protein isolate, for a few reasons.

Removal of Lactose

For the lactose intolerant, whey protein isolate is one of the two forms of whey protein powder that is unlikely to cause an adverse reaction in their body (the other being hydrolyzed proteins).  This is because it is processed to remove the lactose originally found in the standard concentrates.

Lower in Fat

In addition to the removal of the lactose, whey protein isolate involves the removal of the fat content that would be found in the whey protein concentrate.  This helps to increase the pure protein content and makes it healthier to consumer the isolate than it does to consume the concentrate.

Price

As mentioned above, whey protein isolate and hydrolyzed whey protein are both processed to remove their lactose.  However, of the two, the isolate involves less processing.  This makes it much cheaper as an alternative for the lactose intolerant consumer than the hydrolyzed proteins.

Taste

Out of the isolate and the hydrolyzed proteins, the isolate is also less bitter for those who require a lactose-reduced whey protein.  Instead, it has a slightly milky taste to it, which most people find palatable.

Protein Content

In comparison to other versions of whey protein powder, the isolate focuses more on protein than other aspects of whey protein.  The downside of this is that it loses a lot of the bioactive compounds designed to fight cancer which may come in the concentrated form of whey protein, but the upside is that it is more beneficial to strength regimens.  It contains approximately 90% protein content, making it the ideal form of whey protein for anybody who is mostly interested in the muscle-building and endurance properties of whey protein powder.

Conclusion on Whey Protein Isolate

Whey protein isolate is the middle of the road form of whey protein.  It is more refined than the concentrate, but less refined than hydrolyzed protein.  Its price is the most reasonable for what it accomplishes, and it is the ideal form of whey protein powder for anybody who wants the benefits of this milk-derived product but cannot tolerate the lactose which comes with the less refined forms of it.