Casein Protein

Pure Casein Protein & Micellar Casein - Nighttime Protein!

MORE ON CASEIN PROTEIN

Remember when we talked about whey we mentioned that casein was the "other" component produced from milk in the cheese making process. In fact, casein is really just cottage cheese with a higher amount of the milk sugar lactose and the mineral calcium. If you are wondering why you shouldn't just be reaching for defatted cottage cheese rather than mixing up those shakes, well, really, it is not a bad idea except cottage cheese has a terrible tendency to spoil quickly carrying it around in your gym bag.

Honestly, although casein gets virtually no attention these days it really isnít a bad source of protein. If I had the choice between a whey concentrate and a casein isolate; I would definitely choose the casein isolate. Why? Well, first casein has a whopping 20.5% glutamine content. Glutamine is a very important amino acid that can help spare muscle mass during intense training or severe dieting. Second, casein is a more body stimulating amino. Huh? What the heck does that mean? Simple. The amino acid tyrosine is responsible for increasing the levels of excitatory neurotransmitter chemicals in the brain. Conversely, tryptophan is a sleep promoting amino responsible for increasing serotinin levels in the brain and lowering stimulatory processes. The ratio of tyrosin to tryptophin in casein is the highest of any protein, almost 5 to 1.

The real knock against casein is that natural casein sources tend to contain moderate to high levels of the milk sugar lactose. Although this isnít necessarily a terrible thing, many people are lactose intolerant or suffer from digestive irregularities if they eat products containing too much lactose. Again, casein is not a bad choice for protein but is not nearly as good for women as is soy.