{"id":364,"date":"2014-03-05T07:00:51","date_gmt":"2014-03-05T15:00:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/skepticink.com\/health\/?p=364"},"modified":"2015-01-01T20:14:59","modified_gmt":"2015-01-02T04:14:59","slug":"right-whey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/skepticink.com\/health\/2014\/03\/05\/right-whey\/","title":{"rendered":"The Right Whey"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Jay Diamond<\/strong><\/p>\n

As I mentioned in the blog entry \u201cA Skeptical Introduction to Bodybuilding Supplements<\/a>\u201d, I\u2019m a fan of protein and believe that while a well-rounded diet provides sufficient protein for most people (about 0.4g\/lb. of body weight per day), intense workouts with the goal of building muscle requires supplementing with this refined food (to about 0.8 g\/lb. of body weight). Oddly, this isn\u2019t very controversial among people trying to put on muscle \u2013 I haven\u2019t actually met a bodybuilder who questions the use of protein (there is a lot of debate and questionable claims around most other supplements).<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019m often asked questions like:<\/p>\n

\n

\u00a0I’ve been going to the gym for 10 years
\n<\/strong>and I haven’t built muscle\u00a0like you\u2013
\n<\/strong>what am I doing wrong?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

My first question is always about protein supplementation, because without the fuel you simply won\u2019t build the muscle. There can be all kinds of other potential issues, but intake is a good start.<\/p>\n

What do I take and where do I buy it?<\/b><\/p>\n

Remember Little Miss Muffet\u2019s curds & whey<\/a>? I suspect Little Miss Muffet was ripped<\/i>, because whey protein<\/i> is used by most bodybuilders as a key element of building muscle. Whey is a derivative of cow\u2019s milk and comes in several forms, with the most convenient and economical being powder. Unless you are vegan or severely lactose intolerant (it’s low lactose, but still lactose), whey is the way. For the purpose of this blog I\u2019m going to limit the scope to the most popular types of protein powder (I\u2019ll tackle other protein types in another blog).<\/p>\n

Protein powder varies widely in price, is often mixed with other additives including creatine, caffeine, flavoring, various carbohydrates, extracts, essences, or magic potions in super-secret-proprietary proportions. They are almost always accompanied by extraordinary claims like \u201cImproved flavor!<\/strong>\u201d (which means it tastes terrible but formerly tasted worse<\/em>), \u201cBuild Muscle FAST!<\/strong>\u201d (Disclaimer: intense exercise not included<\/em>), \u201cGet Ripped QUICK!<\/strong>\u201d (Disclaimer:\u00a0 intense exercise not included AND don\u2019t expect to eat anything else<\/em>).<\/b><\/p>\n

Three primary types of whey include:<\/span><\/p>\n