Protein — Which is best?
Category: Diet, Featured, Protein
Getting enough protein in your diet is critical for all of us, but especially for people who have had any type of weight-loss surgery. Protein occurs naturally in most foods, but is especially high in foods from animals: poultry, beef, pork, fish, eggs, cottage cheese, cheese, milk and yogurt. Protein is also found in nuts and seeds, vegetables, beans and other vegetarian-type foods, but in smaller quantity than in foods of animal origin.
People who have undergone any type of weight-loss surgery have a harder time getting enough protein in their diets, because they are not able to eat a significant amount of food. Many surgeries, including gastric bypass and gastric banding can create a stomach that is about the size of a golf ball (about 1-2 ounces), which leaves very limited room for food.
Eating high protein foods like: one egg or one ounce of chicken provides 7 grams of protein. This amount of food would almost fill-up a golf ball size stomach and not provide a significant amount of protein. Most people require an average of 60- 80 grams of protein per day to stay healthy (80-120 grams protein per day for people who have had gastric bypass or duodenal switch). Because a person can not eat a significant volume of food following surgery, protein supplements become a necessary part of their daily diet. They allow someone to meet an adequate daily level of protein required to remain healthy.
There are many types of protein supplements available: whey, casein, soy, rice and collagen. Does it matter which protein supplement you choose? The answer is yes. The most important factor in choosing a protein supplement is whether it is a “complete protein” or it isn’t. You only want to choose a “complete protein” supplement. Complete protein supplements come from sources that contain all of the essential amino acids. Amino acids are the building blocks that form protein. If even one of the 9 essential amino acids is missing from a protein supplement, it is “incomplete”and you can become protein deficient. Typically, animal sources provide a “complete” source of protein, while vegetable sources generally lack one or more of the essential amino acids.
Here is the breakdown on the most common protein supplements:
- Whey – A complete protein source, which comes from cow’s milk. Generally, you will find whey available in two forms: whey protein concentrate and whey protein isolate. Both forms of whey protein are good choices as supplements. Whey concentrate is less processed than whey isolate, so it contains more biologically active protein and other components than the isolate, which is more heavily processed to remove fat and lactose. Whey isolate has the highest concentration of protein.
- Casein – A complete protein source, which also comes from cow’s milk. Casein is responsible for the white color of milk and 70-80% of the total protein in milk. Casein is considered to be a great form of slow-releasing protein.
- Soy – A great source of complete vegetarian protein. Comes in both concentrate and isolate forms, similar whey protein. Both the concentrate and the isolate are excellent choices. Soy concentrate is usually found in soy protein bars. Soy protein isolate is the most refined soy product, containing the highest concentration of protein. Soy isolate is most commonly used in soy protein powder-based drinks.
- Rice – An incomplete source of protein. Not recommended for people who have had weight-loss surgery. Rice protein is primarily used by people who have food allergies to whey, casein or soy protein.
- Collagen – An incomplete source of protein. Not recommended for people who have had weight-loss surgery.
Metagenics products contain whey isolate, non-genetically modified soy isolate or a blend of the two. Each scoop contains 10 grams of high quality, highly digestible and absorbable protein.
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