Whey vs. Casein

Until now, proteins have been viewed from a quantitative aspect because they were considered inert and inactive. It’s time to reconsider the view: Proteins contain amino acids that are indeed powerful growth factors. You can only obtain the muscle building effect of proteins with qualitative approach, something that bodybuilders have neglected. What really matters is the number of feedings, the proper times and the dynamic manipulation of both the amount and the source of proteins. I’m going to show you how to take advantage of the pharmaceutical muscle-building effects of proteins.

Fast, Anabolic Proteins vs. Slow Anti-catabolic Ones

Whey and Casein are very closely related forms of proteins that are both derived from milk. Bodybuilders used to consider them interchangeable. Some argued that whey was superior to casein, while others claimed the opposite. As a result bodybuilders used either whey or casein but not both, with each camp thinking that it had found the very best protein. Whey and casein have two radically different but complementary muscle-building properties. Indeed, a recently published French study compared those properties and the results showed that oral intake of 30 grams of whey protein very rapidly increased the level of amino acids in the blood in healthy young subjects. Consequently, anabolism was boosted by 68 percent.

Unfortunately whey’s muscle-building potential is transient-the paired and important rise in blood amino acid level is followed by a quick fall-and the results also showed no significance anti-catabolic effects.

On the other hand, 30 grams of casein resulted in a delayed but long-lasting elevation of amino acid levels in the blood, while the anabolic boosting effect were 31 percent milder than those of whey. In fact, casein’s long-lasting, anti-catabolic effect was its main advantage.

Since whey and casein are very different, you should use whey whenever you want a strong and rapid boost of anabolism. It’s a superior protein to eat first thing in the morning and immediately after training. Casein is the best choice whenever you need long lasting anti-catabolic protection: for example at night.

Note that the qualities of being anabolic or anti-catabolic apply to more than skeletal muscles. The researchers measured both whole body protein synthesis and degradation, so we don’t know exactly how much the muscles have benefited from those favorable effects. Nevertheless, its obvious that muscle growth is faster in an anabolic or anti-catabolic environment than in a strongly catabolic situation. As the study involved untrained subjects, its likely that bodybuilders would have gotten even stronger effects because of their protein-hungry muscles.

This study demonstrates the importance of timing protein intake and choosing the right source of protein. The results bring us to another fundamental question" Why is whey so anabolic when casein is so anti-catabolic?

Blood levels of amino acids do not fluctuate that much during the day in healthy bodybuilders. Eating a meal rich in proteins elevates the amino acids level slightly but not much. Fasting during the night slightly reduces it. In that case catabolic hormones such as cortisol will rise and induce muscle proteolysis; that is the breakdown of protein. Some of the muscle’s amino acids will therefore pass into the blood, which helps sustain a constant blood amino acid level while you sleep. Consequently, blood amino acid levels are never very high or very low for very long-unless you fast for a prolonged period.

The term hyperglycemia means there’s too much glucose in the blood. You may be more familiar with the rem hypoglycemia, which describes a low blood glucose level. As with the blood amino acid level, glucose is closely controlled. Glycemia may rise after a high carb meal, but unless you suffer from diabetes, it will be brief and moderate. When you fast, your blood glucose level falls slightly. That triggers the manufacture of glucose from amino acids in both the liver and the kidneys, which boosts blood glucose levels. As a result your blood glucose levels are also never very high and never very low.

Similar to the terminology used for glucose, Hyperaminoacidemia occurs when blood amino levels are greatly increased, and Hypoaminoacidemia occurs when they are low. The key point for bodybuilders is that a Hyperaminoacidemia induced by an amino acid intake automatically triggers anabolism. Scientists have discovered that there are thresholds of amino acids in the blood: When you get past a certain level of elevation anabolism is triggered. As you can imagine, its no that easy to reach the threshold. Scientists use amino acid infusion.

As stated above, ven a meal that’s is rich in protein s is unlikely to induce a significant Hyperaminoacidemia. Proteins from foods are slow to digest, so their arrival in the blood is sustained but very slow, and consequently, the amino acid level in the blood rises slowly. Once is slightly elevated organs such as the liver remove those aminos from the blood. As they enter the blood slowly, the liver has no trouble keeping up. So the rise in blood amino acids is never as high as bodybuilders might wish. In contrast, the amino acids infusions given by scientists bypass the digestive track, and the level. Of blood amino acids increases quickly, which overwhelms the liver’s ability to extract amino acids from the blood, creating a condition of Hyperaminoacidemia. Growth is triggered by pharmacological means.

Until recently, it was almost impossible to induce a pharmacological Hyperaminoacidemia with food or supplements, so bodybuilders had to make do with more moderate physiological Hyperaminoacidemia. That’s a shame, as the stronger the Hyperaminoacidemia, the more powerful the anabolic drive. The arrival of predigested whey protein was a big breakthrough for the bodybuilding community, as it has the amazing property of inducing a quick sharp elevation of the amino acid level in the blood. In other words, it can trigger the strongest Hyperaminoacidemia possible.

By almost bypassing digestion, whey protein overwhelms the liver capacity for extracting amino acids from the blood. It affects your body in a pharmacological way that only amino acid infusion can duplicate.

That is not possible with casein. Its is slow digestion only products a physiological Hyperaminoacidemia, which means the amino acid level is high but within normal limits.

Meals rich in protein wont induce a pharmacological Hyperaminoacidemia, either as the digestion of protein is even slower than what occurs with casein because of the fibers, fats and other elements that delay digestion.

Long-Term Muscle Protection Against Catabolism

As the amount of whey you eat at a given time is limited, the fast and powerful arrival of amino acids is short-lived. When new amino acids stop arriving in the blood, the organs that extract them stop being overwhelmed and the blood levels of amino acids are brought back to normal. When that happens, the powerful effects of whey vanish. Anabolism falls and catabolism dominates again.

Casein does not produce such a rise and fall in blood amino acid levels due to its timed-release action. The blood level of amino acid s elevates slightly but for a long period. Scientists have shown that a small elevation of blood amino acids greatly reduces catabolism. You could get a long-lasting anti-catabolic effect like that with whey if, instead of absorbing 30 grams at once, you took 10 grams every hour. You would not get any pharmacological Hyperaminoacidemia, but the constant arrival of small amounts of amino acids would reduce catabolism.

By the same token, if the researchers in the French study had used 60 grams of casein instead of 30, its more likely that the subjects blood amino levels would have reached the critical threshold at some point. In that case casein, after a delay, would have first reduced catabolism, and then, when the peak of blood amino acids had been reached, it would have triggered anabolism. After that peak the casein would have recovered its mainly anti-catabolic function and stopped being significantly anabolic.

There are three points to remember from this study.

Whatever the dose is, amino acid derived from whey will always reach the blood before the amino acids derived from casein. The long-lasting anti-catabolic effect of casein can be duplicated by frequent ingestion of small amounts of whey. Of course its unlikely that you’re going to wake up every hours during the night to have your whey drink, so whey proteins are not’t practical if you’re looking for a prolong anti-catabolic effect. In order to get a strong anabolic action from casein, you need a far higher dose of it than whey to get the same effect-and casein’s effect take a lot longer to kick in than whey’s effects.

Comments from the Proteinfactory.com

Point 1. ANABOLIC

The most important fact in the article HYPERAMINOACIDEMIA. With the use of a hydrolyzed whey protein you can achieve this effect. Getting a flush of amino acids into the blood stream will cause an anabolic effect. Using regular whey protein concentrate or whey isolate will not do this. But what the article failed to do was to go into detail about hydrolyzed whey protein. If you want details about hydrolyzed whey protein, read article #2 Hydrolyzed whey protein and their friend the peptide. Only the proteinfactory.com offers the lowest MW hydrolyzed whey protein the 520. But I won’t take credit for the first company to do this. back in 1998. Metaform put out a supplement called Proton. It contains hydrolyzed whey and hydrolyzed casein. Great supplement but contained fructose and of course tasted like horses’ ass. Thus it did not sell. They also had a tit for tat with AST research a while back. AST tried to claim their protein was hydrolyzed whey but no –no total scam. If you have not learned yet- HYDROLYZED PROTEIN TASTES TERRIBLE EVEN IF YOU ADD FLAVORING. That is why Metaform had to try to add as much fructose (sugar) as possible. Because with out it, normal peoples, not you psychos, wouldn't be able to drink it. Unfortunately even with the fructose the protein tasted bad thus was discontinued.

ANTI-CATABOLIC

Only casein can provide this effect. But you have to make sure you taking enough do to this. If you’re going to try to get the anti-catabolic effect from casein.

Conclusion

Timing is everything. Select your proteins carefully and use them at the proper times. Use whey proteins in the mornings and after workouts. Use casein with MRP's and protein powders during the day. Each protein, just like soy, egg, milk, and bovine all have their special properties. If you use them at the right times you will maximize their use.

What Formula to make using Proteinfactory.com

By Alex Rogers

Here are my recommendations:

50% CFM 50% Micellar. This is your number one choice. The protein is evenly divided and contains the two highest quality whole food proteins in the world.

25% WPC, 25% CFM, 25% Milk, 25% Aussie Caseinate. Use this formula to keep the price down but still get an anabolic anti-catabolic effect.

Be forewarned, alot of supplement claim to use Micellar casein, when they are really using milk protein isolate. Unfortunately there is no way to tell. Just ask the company for the Certificate of Analysis.