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What is Whey Protein Powder and Do I Need It? | Diet and Nutrition

Find Out How Whey Protein Powder Went from Dairy Underdog to Nutritional Superstar

Whey protein seems to be everywhere. 

One of the top selling (and most heavily-marketed) nutritional and sports supplements on the market today, whey protein turns up as an ingredient in everything from smoothies to nutrition bars to high-protein cereals.  Personal trainers often include whey as part of their clients’ diet plan, smoothie bars offer it mixed with ice and fruit, and aspiring bodybuilders and soccer moms alike seem to have found a permanent place for a tub of whey protein powder in their pantries.

But what exactly is whey protein powder? Where does this stuff come from? And do you really need it?

A Brief History of Whey Protein

Whey is a natural by-product of the cheese-making process. Milk contains two primary proteins: casein and whey.  Whey composes about 20% of milk proteins, and casein comprises the remaining 80%. So when you drink a glass of milk, you are consuming both casein proteins and whey proteins.

During the cheese-making process, an enzyme called rennet is added to milk to curdle it. The curds are used to make cheese, and the remaining liquid is whey.

Historically, this liquid was considered more-or-less useless. Indeed, the dairy industry had so much excess whey that they struggled with disposing of the surplus. Some of it found its way into swine or cattle feed, where it appeared to produce larger, meatier cows or pigs, but a great deal of it also ended up in the landfill.

Which was really a shame, because the cattle farmers were on to something. It turns out that whey is extremely rich is three milk proteins – specifically beta-lactoglobulin (~65%), alpha-lactalbumin (~25%), and serum albumin (~8%) — which are more easily digested by the body than any other protein, including the holy grail of protein, eggs.

There was just one problem: Whey in its naturally occurring form is a sloppy, liquid mess.  It also has very little flavor. Trying to sell the world on a great protein source that has to be refrigerated and doesn’t have much taste would challenge even the best marketer.

Enter modern technology.  Scientists figured out a way (no pun intended) to “dry” and powder-ize whey, while still maintaining it’s basic nutritional profile.  The result was whey powder, which could be reconstituted in liquids while still preserving its protein values.

The rest, as they say, is history.

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The Special K Diet - Does It Work? | Diet Reviews

Can Eating Special K® Cereal Really Help You Lose Weight?

I’ve noticed lately on Yahoo Answers a lot of questions around the Special K diet.  Does it work? Can it help me lose body fat or weight? And more importantly, is it sustainable?

So I decided to dig a little deeper on this particular diet, since it seems to be gaining in popularity.

First, it’s important to understand that to be successful at hitting your fat loss and overall fitness goals, you have to stop thinking about “a diet” as something you do before your vacation to the Caribbean.  Your “diet” is a combination of your choices in food and your lifestyle, not something you do for a few weeks. In other words, it’s a long term commitment to eating more healthy.

That said, can eating Special K cereal help you lose body fat or weight?

What Is The Special K Diet?

According to Kellogg’s website, the Special K Diet has you eating a serving of Special K cereal for breakfast with 2/3 cup skim milk and some form of fresh fruit, or a Special K waffle with light syrup. 

You then replace another meal with a serving of Special K Cereal, or one of their “meal replacement” products, which is typically a Special K Protein Bar.  You then eat your third meal (dinner?) as you normally would.

The Special K diet then allows you two snacks during the day, but they need to be Special K products — either Special K cereal or their pre-packaged snacks like Special K Protein Snack Bars,  Protein Water and Mixes, Special K Cereal Bars, or Special K Snack Bites. You are also encouraged to eat fresh fruit and vegetables throughout the day.

With this diet plan, they tell you that you can lose up to “1 inch from your waist in two weeks.”

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Should I Count Calories? | Diet and Nutrition

Counting calories can help you identify weak links in your diet. Learn how and when to calorie count without going crazy.

Few topics generate more debate then whether counting calories is an effective strategy for long-term fat loss.

The anti-calorie counting camp says that obsessing on calories alone can cause people to ignore the nutritional composition of their diet, and continue to eat unhealthy even if they are eating fewer calories. They’ll also point out that counting calories accurately and consistently can be a tedious and time-consuming activity, and may actually de-motivate people to eat healthier.

The pro-calorie counting side, advocates will point out that without having a good idea of how many calories you are consuming each day, it can be difficult to lose fat and avoid hitting fat loss plateaus later on. And because most people underestimate how many calories they are actually eating, counting calories can help provide a reality check.

So what should you do? Count calories or not count calories?

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One Simple Trick to Stay Away From Junk Food

Staying away from junk food can be a challenge for anyone trying to eat more healthy. Try this easy trick to break the “junk food junkie” label.

Junk food.

Who doesn’t love it?

Potato chips, candy, soda, fried foods, french fries … Twinkies.

Let’s face it: If it wasn’t “junk” and terrible for our health and waistline, we’d eat it all day. Even the most fitness-conscious person will admit that if we could instantly make Snickers and Mountain Dew a health food, they’d be downing candy bars and soda in a second. 

Problem is, you can’t lose fat or stay healthy on a diet of soda, snack cakes and fried potato products. 

So how do you break the cycle?

Simple: You learn the fine art of “substitution.”

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Dietary Fat: Five Myths About Fat | Diet Tips

Think eating less fat will make you thinner? Not necessarily. Answer Fitness debunks the five most common myths people have around dietary fat.

Navigating the sometimes contradictory research and information around dietary fat can make a person’s head spin. Should I eat more fat? Less fat? A different kind of fat? Here are the five most common myths around dietary fat:

Myth #1: Eating more fat makes you fatter

Not true.

Eating more calories than you burn makes you gain fat.

Whether those excess calories come from protein, carbohydrates or dietary fat, any calories that you eat above your daily energy requirements will get stored away as body fat. 

The issue with dietary fat is that it’s extremely calorie dense, meaning that it contains more calories per gram than other macro-nutrients like protein or carbohydrates. This means that gram-for-gram, foods with a higher fat content contain more calories (9 calories per gram of fat versus 4 calories per gram for carbohydrates and protein.)

So if you aren’t careful, you can end up eating more calories in foods with higher fat content, even though you are eating the same amount of food.

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Five Healthy Breakfast Ideas from Answer Fitness®

A healthy breakfast can help you stay energized during the day and keep the pounds off. Try one of these healthy breakfast ideas to jump start your day.

Why make time to eat breakfast?

Because it makes good fitness sense.

Research indicates that people who regularly eat breakfast may have less body fat and are less likely to overeat during the rest of the day. More importantly, when they lose weight, they tend to keep it off longer. 

Two studies in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association support this.

While they were funded by cereal companies, the science has been peer reviewed and seems solid: People who it breakfast have more success with weight loss over the long haul.

If the thought of trying to wrangle up a healthy meal in the morning causes you to shudder, relax. Regardless of your schedule or prowess in the kitchen, try one or more of these five breakfast ideas to get your morning off to a healthy start:

Healthy Breakfast Idea #1: Oatmeal

Oatmeal is a power food that belongs in every healthy pantry.

Inexpensive (a large container of oats will cost you less than $3), loaded with heart-healthy soluble fiber and plenty of complex carbs, oats are one of your best breakfast bets.  On their own, they can be bland, but dressed up with cinnamon, a touch of honey, dried or fresh fruit, or even a scoop of whey protein powder, they become something that transcends their humble reputation.

If you don’t care for the consistency, try Scottish Oats (which are grainier and have more texture) or provide a little crunch by adding chopped walnuts, pecans or sliced almonds.

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Five Ways to Make That Glass of Water Taste Better | Diet Tips from Answer Fitness®

Try these five tricks to stay hydrated and enjoy drinking water at the same time. 

Water is essential to good health, but let’s face it, compared to soda, juice, wine or beer, water is pretty … um … boring. But it has zero calories, no sugar, is filling and may help with fat-loss, so drinking plenty of water makes sense.

The problem is, water just doesn’t have much zip to it.

Until now.

Try one or more of these tricks and products to meet your daily fluid requirements while making water a beverage that you actually enjoy:
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