Is Protein Isolate worth the extra money?

[chris_mason]

chris_mason,
Congratulations and good luck with your business!  I'm sure that you know what you are talking about, but it has nothing to do with being in the business.  I know plenty of people in the business who don't know anything about protein, nutrition or training.  They are just out to make a quick buck off of ignorant and desperate consumers.

If you offered a whey-only "blend", I would not buy it.  Whey Isolate + Whey Concentrate blends are a waste of money to me, because the Whey Concentrate ruins it.  It's like mixing good wine with grape juice just to fill up the bottle.  Now, if you offered a quality "Whey Isolate only" product, one that rivals AST VP2 in quality and price, I would definitely buy it from you.  Merry Christmas!!!

Fair enough, but I think you are missing the boat.  A blend of various whey fractions, caseinates, and egg protein is superior to any whey isolate product.  If you doubt me you can refer to the work of Boirie et. al to get a better idea on why the absorption rate of a protein effects net retention as well as why casein has both a protein synthesis stimulating effect and an anti-catabolic effect thus increasing the net retention of protein when compared to whey.  Whey and even specific fractions of whey have their own specific beneficial effects as well and thus their inclusion in a blend is a good idea. 

[Phosphate bond]

A whey-only product is NEVER the best choice for protein supplementation. 

Here is the real deal, protien synthesis is increased for up to 48 hours after an intense training session.  A whey only product will get amino acids into your system very quickly (assuming you consumed it on an empty stomach and then less quickly otherwise) but the spike of amino acids it delivers will just as quickly go away.  Your body then is left in a state as if you had not supplemented protein at all. 

A protein blend which contains whey but also casein and egg will provide a quick, but more even and LONG LASTING supply of amino acids to your bloodstream so that your muscles have available what they need.  It will also provide for a greater net retention of said ingested protein (you'll use more of it)!

Whey-only products have been promoted by the industry for so long because they are CHEAP TO PRODUCE. 

I tend to agree with this. Whey has it's place, but whole foods and combo proteins like milk protein isolate and egg white are over looked are incredibly under-rated.

I try to always get milk protein isolate if at all possible if I plan on using a lot of powders.

Since we are on the topic of isolate vs Concentrate I assume milk protein concentrate would work too.

[MCWAY]

I've seen weight gainers with blends of whey, egg, and caseinate protein. My question is, since milk protein is about 80% casein and 20% whey, what's the fundamental different between those type of gainers and those old-school gainers that have milk and egg protein listed?

[Bast000]

I use Isopure because it's an isolate and supposedly better (who knows) and because it never bothers my stomach like ON did when I took that.

[MCWAY]

I use Isopure because it's an isolate and supposedly better (who knows) and because it never bothers my stomach like ON did when I took that.

I use it quite a bit myself, primarily with the RTDs are marked down to $1 (or less).

[kicker]

You're wrong.

Optimum Whey is 2% whey isolate

Optimum Whey Gold Standard (new) is 22% whey isolate

How do you know this?  That's a drastic difference between the original and the new "gold standard" brand.

[leannmean]

Isolate typically refer to whey powder with a 90% or higher protein content by weight. There are many products listed as isolate by has a less than 90% protein content by weight. It is unlikely that a good concentrate will caused more stomach upset than an isolate because our body can definitely deal with that 2-3g of lactose. It is laso a pretty bad idea to take lots of stuff that is highly refined like an isolate. So basically a good concentrate (i.e. 80% of higher in protein content) will be more superior than a isolate, nutrition-wise and cost effective wise.

Why is it ON's Whey can list isolate infront of concentrate if it is only 22% isolate? By food law it has to be 51% or more to be able to do that.