Which Protein Powders?

Diet and Nutrition
1

Just finished up the divorce and starting to get back into shape. I used to take Six Star Muscle Fuel from Wal-Mart (about $15). I was going to buy some Grow! on Biotest.net for about $30.

My buddy trains a lot in mma and weight trains a lot. He said there is no reason to waste the extra money. I know there are things in the Grow! Whey that mine is lacking, and to buy some BCAA pills and the Six Star would be close to the $30 bucks anyways.

How long does it take to ship? Is there anything you can let me know that isn’t on Biotest’s website that might convince me that Grow! Whey is actually what I need? Most of what is on Biotest sounds like marketing jiberish, imo.

I’m 23 years old. About 210…high body fat. I was 235 a few months, but have been working on cleaning my diet. I haven’t drank soda in over 7 months, no junk food in over 7 months, no alcohol in over 2 months, and pretty much eat eggs, tuna, ham, steak, salad, yams, wheat bread, oranges, apples, bananas, skim milk, and water.

2

Protein powder is protein powder. What makes the difference is the quality and taste. To borrow an analogy you can buy a Pinto or a Lamborghini and many models in between.

My opinion the one you are buying would be the Pinto. I use Metabolic Drive because I believe in the quality and love the taste. Many people rationalize that a product is “hype” if they don’t want to justify buying quality. In some cases it’s true in Biotest’s case it’s not.

Take care,

D

3

EAS’s new bagged protein has a crapload of BCAA’s and 45 servigs 45grams per.

26 bucks at SAMS and tastes good, mixes easy. Hell if I need some Lglute/creatine I add it.

4

Grow! Whey doesn’t taste good, but Strawberry Metabolic Drive tastes like a party in my mouth. There is a reason why they sell Grow! Whey for cheap. Besides the taste the quality of the protein and ingredients are said to be different. As the previous poster stated: Lambourghini or Volkswagon.

5

[quote]Weakling 8 wrote:
Just finished up the divorce and starting to get back into shape. I used to take Six Star Muscle Fuel from Wal-Mart (about $15). I was going to buy some Grow! on Biotest.net for about $30.

My buddy trains a lot in mma and weight trains a lot. He said there is no reason to waste the extra money. I know there are things in the Grow! Whey that mine is lacking, and to buy some BCAA pills and the Six Star would be close to the $30 bucks anyways.

How long does it take to ship? Is there anything you can let me know that isn’t on Biotest’s website that might convince me that Grow! Whey is actually what I need? Most of what is on Biotest sounds like marketing jiberish, imo.

I’m 23 years old. About 210…high body fat. I was 235 a few months, but have been working on cleaning my diet. I haven’t drank soda in over 7 months, no junk food in over 7 months, no alcohol in over 2 months, and pretty much eat eggs, tuna, ham, steak, salad, yams, wheat bread, oranges, apples, bananas, skim milk, and water. [/quote]

I like proteinfactory’s CFM why isolate.
The easiest way to assess the quality of a protein powder is to look at the ratio of protein to other substances. The higher the protein the better.

6

[quote]Dedicated wrote:
Protein powder is protein powder. What makes the difference is the quality and taste. To borrow an analogy you can buy a Pinto or a Lamborghini and many models in between.

My opinion the one you are buying would be the Pinto. I use Metabolic Drive because I believe in the quality and love the taste. Many people rationalize that a product is “hype” if they don’t want to justify buying quality. In some cases it’s true in Biotest’s case it’s not.

Take care,

D[/quote]

I’m gonna go ahead and disagree with that one. Unless you are on the factory floor watching the filtration process of whey, I wouldn’t go too far with the assumptions on product quality. Well-informed is one thing, blind following is another.

To the OP, look for a higher ratio of WPI (whey protein isolate) to all other ingredients listed. Added BCAAs are a plus, as are vitamins and minerals.

7

We go out of our way not to add random vitamins and minerals as found in many products. Many companies add what’s known as a standard vitamin pack to their protein powders and MRPs.

The addition of such vitamins is no indication of the quality of the protein. In fact, they are usually added for “window dressing” and are not of the highest quality.

We add only those vitamins and/or minerals deemed necessary to the function of a product. We’d rather let people choose a high quality vitamin supplement if they want one and not have our protein products conflict with it.

A good example of this is the high Iron content found in many protein powders. There’s no reason why a protein supplement should contain anywhere near 100% of the RDA for Iron. Meat-eating males can easily get too much iron.

If you find a protin supplement with 100% of the RDA for Iron in a single serving, it’s obvious that there wasn’t much thought put into its formulation.

8

[quote]Make1tRa1n wrote:
Dedicated wrote:
Protein powder is protein powder. What makes the difference is the quality and taste. To borrow an analogy you can buy a Pinto or a Lamborghini and many models in between.

My opinion the one you are buying would be the Pinto. I use Metabolic Drive because I believe in the quality and love the taste. Many people rationalize that a product is “hype” if they don’t want to justify buying quality. In some cases it’s true in Biotest’s case it’s not.

Take care,

D

I’m gonna go ahead and disagree with that one. Unless you are on the factory floor watching the filtration process of whey, I wouldn’t go too far with the assumptions on product quality. Well-informed is one thing, blind following is another.

To the OP, look for a higher ratio of WPI (whey protein isolate) to all other ingredients listed. Added BCAAs are a plus, as are vitamins and minerals. [/quote]

Well, you have a point about being on the factory floor. That said my assumption comes more from protein powder consumption over the past ten years. I have tried everything from EAS way back when and many more I can’t remember. Grow! and now Metabolic Drive have always mixed and tasted great.

My assumption also comes from getting results from using Biotest products and believing in their commitment to provide us with quality products instead of gimmicks with high price tags attached.

Why do you feel whey isolates are the preferred choice? They have their place specifically post workout, but I would rather have a slower digesting protein any other time of the day or night.

D

9

[quote]Mod Brian wrote:
Make1tRa1n wrote:Added BCAAs are a plus, as are vitamins and minerals.

We go out of our way not to add random vitamins and minerals as found in many products. Many companies add what’s known as a standard vitamin pack to their protein powders and MRPs.

The addition of such vitamins is no indication of the quality of the protein. In fact, they are usually added for “window dressing” and are not of the highest quality.

We add only those vitamins and/or minerals deemed necessary to the function of a product. We’d rather let people choose a high quality vitamin supplement if they want one and not have our protein products conflict with it.

A good example of this is the high Iron content found in many protein powders. There’s no reason why a protein supplement should contain anywhere near 100% of the RDA for Iron. Meat-eating males can easily get too much iron.

If you find a protin supplement with 100% of the RDA for Iron in a single serving, it’s obvious that there wasn’t much thought put into its formulation. [/quote]

You’re absolutely right. Too much iron is a bad thing.

10

[quote]Weakling 8 wrote:
Just finished up the divorce and starting to get back into shape. I used to take Six Star Muscle Fuel from Wal-Mart (about $15). I was going to buy some Grow! on Biotest.net for about $30.

My buddy trains a lot in mma and weight trains a lot. He said there is no reason to waste the extra money. I know there are things in the Grow! Whey that mine is lacking, and to buy some BCAA pills and the Six Star would be close to the $30 bucks anyways.

How long does it take to ship? Is there anything you can let me know that isn’t on Biotest’s website that might convince me that Grow! Whey is actually what I need? Most of what is on Biotest sounds like marketing jiberish, imo.

I’m 23 years old. About 210…high body fat. I was 235 a few months, but have been working on cleaning my diet. I haven’t drank soda in over 7 months, no junk food in over 7 months, no alcohol in over 2 months, and pretty much eat eggs, tuna, ham, steak, salad, yams, wheat bread, oranges, apples, bananas, skim milk, and water. [/quote]

Dont’cha think that it’s a little disrepectful to Biotest (asking for suggestions about other company’s products)? This site IS supported by the sale of their stuff after all.

I buy some non-Biotest stuff, but I don’t think that it’d be right to start thread about it on their site.

Just my $0.02?

11

[quote]Dedicated wrote:
Make1tRa1n wrote:
Dedicated wrote:
Protein powder is protein powder. What makes the difference is the quality and taste. To borrow an analogy you can buy a Pinto or a Lamborghini and many models in between.

My opinion the one you are buying would be the Pinto. I use Metabolic Drive because I believe in the quality and love the taste. Many people rationalize that a product is “hype” if they don’t want to justify buying quality. In some cases it’s true in Biotest’s case it’s not.

Take care,

D

I’m gonna go ahead and disagree with that one. Unless you are on the factory floor watching the filtration process of whey, I wouldn’t go too far with the assumptions on product quality. Well-informed is one thing, blind following is another.

To the OP, look for a higher ratio of WPI (whey protein isolate) to all other ingredients listed. Added BCAAs are a plus, as are vitamins and minerals.

Well, you have a point about being on the factory floor. That said my assumption comes more from protein powder consumption over the past ten years. I have tried everything from EAS way back when and many more I can’t remember. Grow! and now Metabolic Drive have always mixed and tasted great.

My assumption also comes from getting results from using Biotest products and believing in their commitment to provide us with quality products instead of gimmicks with high price tags attached.

Why do you feel whey isolates are the preferred choice? They have their place specifically post workout, but I would rather have a slower digesting protein any other time of the day or night.

D[/quote]

The isolates are void (almost) of the fat and sugars found in concentrate. I prefer to have higher levels of WPI’s mainly for that reason.

12

[quote]jjoseph_x wrote:
Weakling 8 wrote:
Just finished up the divorce and starting to get back into shape. I used to take Six Star Muscle Fuel from Wal-Mart (about $15). I was going to buy some Grow! on Biotest.net for about $30.

My buddy trains a lot in mma and weight trains a lot. He said there is no reason to waste the extra money. I know there are things in the Grow! Whey that mine is lacking, and to buy some BCAA pills and the Six Star would be close to the $30 bucks anyways.

How long does it take to ship? Is there anything you can let me know that isn’t on Biotest’s website that might convince me that Grow! Whey is actually what I need? Most of what is on Biotest sounds like marketing jiberish, imo.

I’m 23 years old. About 210…high body fat. I was 235 a few months, but have been working on cleaning my diet. I haven’t drank soda in over 7 months, no junk food in over 7 months, no alcohol in over 2 months, and pretty much eat eggs, tuna, ham, steak, salad, yams, wheat bread, oranges, apples, bananas, skim milk, and water.

Dont’cha think that it’s a little disrepectful to Biotest (asking for suggestions about other company’s products)? This site IS supported by the sale of their stuff after all.

I buy some non-Biotest stuff, but I don’t think that it’d be right to start thread about it on their site.

Just my $0.02?
[/quote]

Yeah, let’s prevent the open debate about anything non-Biotest.

We better, lest the Supplement NKVD show up.

13

As I said before whey isolates are great post workout and indeed offer a higher concentration of protein that will be utilized and depleted much faster which again post workout is ideal.

However, in the ion exchange process the components that offer the greatest health components are greatly depleted. Protein content is indeed increased but most of the important sub-fractions are either greatly reduced or lost.

IMO a blend of both heavier on the concentrate and micellar casein is what’s desired 90% of the time.

D

14

Dedicated is absolutely right, and it is what is recommended by all of the nutrition authors on T-Nation.

I think a better Pinto/Lamborghini analogy would be a calcium caseinate/whey concentrate combo vs. a micellar casein/whey isolate combo, as the research clearly shows the benefit of including casein at all times except peri-workout. Only being able to afford $15 dollar Wal-Mart whey protein would be “I don’t have a car, I walk”, and yes walking is better than sitting, but it’s doesn’t compare to driving.

Point taken also about not having any way of truly knowing about the quality, but trust me, when you have a shake made with Metabolic Drive and a shake made with Wal-Mart protein sitting side by side, you will tell a difference in a) the taste, b) how it mixes, c) how long you are satiated by it, and d) what it does to your GI tract.

And for all of those who “got swole off of Wal-Mart protein”, research still clearly shows that casein is better.

15

[quote]Make1tRa1n wrote:
jjoseph_x wrote:
Weakling 8 wrote:
Just finished up the divorce and starting to get back into shape. I used to take Six Star Muscle Fuel from Wal-Mart (about $15). I was going to buy some Grow! on Biotest.net for about $30.

My buddy trains a lot in mma and weight trains a lot. He said there is no reason to waste the extra money. I know there are things in the Grow! Whey that mine is lacking, and to buy some BCAA pills and the Six Star would be close to the $30 bucks anyways.

How long does it take to ship? Is there anything you can let me know that isn’t on Biotest’s website that might convince me that Grow! Whey is actually what I need? Most of what is on Biotest sounds like marketing jiberish, imo.

I’m 23 years old. About 210…high body fat. I was 235 a few months, but have been working on cleaning my diet. I haven’t drank soda in over 7 months, no junk food in over 7 months, no alcohol in over 2 months, and pretty much eat eggs, tuna, ham, steak, salad, yams, wheat bread, oranges, apples, bananas, skim milk, and water.

Dont’cha think that it’s a little disrepectful to Biotest (asking for suggestions about other company’s products)? This site IS supported by the sale of their stuff after all.

I buy some non-Biotest stuff, but I don’t think that it’d be right to start thread about it on their site.

Just my $0.02?

Yeah, let’s prevent the open debate about anything non-Biotest.

We better, lest the Supplement NKVD show up. [/quote]

I’ve nothing wrong with open debate, but this IS a Biotest site. I would go to an EAS message board and suggest buying Biotest stuff either… but that’s just me.

16

Although I agree it may be a little rude…little by little I have switched all of my supplements to Biotest products. One of the reasons I did that was by reading open debates on multiple products and ideas. Without the open debate I may not have switched. I went from nothing Biotest, to all Biotest. I did this partly because of the open debates and part to give back to a site that gives me so much for free. I don’t know how Biotest feels about it but it’s what makes me trust the site even more.

17

[quote]BusterBob wrote:
Dedicated is absolutely right, and it is what is recommended by all of the nutrition authors on T-Nation.

I think a better Pinto/Lamborghini analogy would be a calcium caseinate/whey concentrate combo vs. a micellar casein/whey isolate combo, as the research clearly shows the benefit of including casein at all times except peri-workout. Only being able to afford $15 dollar Wal-Mart whey protein would be “I don’t have a car, I walk”, and yes walking is better than sitting, but it’s doesn’t compare to driving.

Point taken also about not having any way of truly knowing about the quality, but trust me, when you have a shake made with Metabolic Drive and a shake made with Wal-Mart protein sitting side by side, you will tell a difference in a) the taste, b) how it mixes, c) how long you are satiated by it, and d) what it does to your GI tract.

And for all of those who “got swole off of Wal-Mart protein”, research still clearly shows that casein is better.[/quote]

I prefer WPIs because I like my protein to be majority PROTEIN by weight. I agree that concentrate is necessary in some instances. I believe I said something along the lines of “WPI as the first ingredient”, not to mention that the majority of WPI powders contain some form of peptides or partially digested proteins…regardless, it’s a question of goals. I didn’t bash concentrate, I simply prefer more isolate in the mix.

18

[quote]jjoseph_x wrote:
Make1tRa1n wrote:
jjoseph_x wrote:
Weakling 8 wrote:
Just finished up the divorce and starting to get back into shape. I used to take Six Star Muscle Fuel from Wal-Mart (about $15). I was going to buy some Grow! on Biotest.net for about $30.

My buddy trains a lot in mma and weight trains a lot. He said there is no reason to waste the extra money. I know there are things in the Grow! Whey that mine is lacking, and to buy some BCAA pills and the Six Star would be close to the $30 bucks anyways.

How long does it take to ship? Is there anything you can let me know that isn’t on Biotest’s website that might convince me that Grow! Whey is actually what I need? Most of what is on Biotest sounds like marketing jiberish, imo.

I’m 23 years old. About 210…high body fat. I was 235 a few months, but have been working on cleaning my diet. I haven’t drank soda in over 7 months, no junk food in over 7 months, no alcohol in over 2 months, and pretty much eat eggs, tuna, ham, steak, salad, yams, wheat bread, oranges, apples, bananas, skim milk, and water.

Dont’cha think that it’s a little disrepectful to Biotest (asking for suggestions about other company’s products)? This site IS supported by the sale of their stuff after all.

I buy some non-Biotest stuff, but I don’t think that it’d be right to start thread about it on their site.

Just my $0.02?

Yeah, let’s prevent the open debate about anything non-Biotest.

We better, lest the Supplement NKVD show up.

I’ve nothing wrong with open debate, but this IS a Biotest site. I would go to an EAS message board and suggest buying Biotest stuff either… but that’s just me.

[/quote]

My bad, I thought it was Bodybuilding’s Think-Tank. I guess when Biotest starts selling powerlifting equipment any talk of Inzer is out of the question.

19

Some people make me laugh. You COULD actually not even use a protein powder…somehow people used to do this way back when.

If one has the money for better quality, then go for it. But the OP seems to be short on cash…sooooo he can have no protein or lower-quality one.

As a side note, the 5* protein from walmart tasted terrible…but, at the time, it was better than nothing.

20

[quote]IL Cazzo wrote:

If one has the money for better quality, then go for it. But the OP seems to be short on cash…sooooo he can have no protein or lower-quality one.

As a side note, the 5* protein from walmart tasted terrible…but, at the time, it was better than nothing.[/quote]

The Six Star doesnt taste bad, imo. The taste really doesnt matter to me. I have the money for the more expensive stuff. My question is how do I know the quality is even worth the extra price I will pay? All I have seen is Biotest.net saying their product rocks. If I come out with a protein drink, I would say it rocked too. I’m just not sure if the difference in price is worth the quality.