When you look in the mirror, what do you see? Do you see soft, supple, radiant, glowing, blemish-free skin? Or do you see age spots and new wrinkles? The skin is the first “aging” sign we tend to see in ourselves. We all want to find ways to keep our skin beautiful, soft, and, we hope, wrinkle free. We will each get some wrinkles, but nobody wants them prematurely!
All cells in our bodies need protein to maintain them. Protein is the main substance used to replace our dead cells. Skin cells are replaced every twenty-four days. Protein is the most plentiful component in our bodies next to water. A tenth of all the protein in the body is in the skin.
These are the four sources for protein powder that I recommend.
Whey Protein Concentrates and Isolates. Whey concentrates and isolates have gone through a manufacturing process to remove most of the carbohydrates, fat and lactose from regular whey or sweet whey. The process is called “ion exchanged” or “filtered”, both of which result in almost a pure protein.
Casein (Milk Protein) is the predominant protein in milk. For example, the protein in cheese and cottage cheese is casein. Sometimes called calcium-caseinate, or sodium- or potassium-caseinate. It contains all the essential amino acids and is a good source of protein. It is very low in lactose. This slow digesting protein keeps you full longer since it must form a gel during digestion before it is absorbed. This slower transit time may extend the exposure to the protein in the intestines and may help increase absorption.
Egg Protein (Egg White or Egg Albumen). This protein used to be the ‘gold standard’ against which all other proteins were measured, until whey protein became available. Egg white protein provides all twenty-two of the amino acids with a proper balance of essential amino acids. It is an excellent protein source, but not very tasty compared to the milky taste of whey or casein. Some manufacturers add egg white powder to their protein powder to boost the quality of the protein. Egg white protein powder contains no cholesterol.
Soy Protein Soy protein is processed from the soybean plant and most of the fat, fiber and carbohydrate has been removed. Since it is a vegetable product, it has no cholesterol. The amino acid profile is not quite as good as the other protein sources. Do not attempt to substitute soy flour for soy protein powder. The two are very different products. Soy flour must be heated for it to be assimilated by the body.
