Protein Shakes: Contents

• 1.0 Protein Shakes: Introduction
• 2.0 Benefits of using Protein Shakes over Protein Powders
• 3.0 Our Most Popular Protein Shakes
• 4.0 Protein Shakes: Side Effects
• 5.0 Protein Shakes for Weight Loss
• 6.0 Make Your Own Protein Shakes
• 7.0 Protein Shakes: Related Pages

1.0 Protein Shakes: Introduction

There are many types of protein supplements available, but generally they either come as protein powders or protein shakes.

2.0 Benefits of using Protein Shakes over Protein Powders

1. Protein shakes are ready to drink and do not need mixing or blending, meaning that you can simply open them and drink. However, they taste much better cold, so try and get them out of the fridge, rather than your car, office draw, etc.
2. Protein shakes come in disposable cartons or bottles, saving on washing up
3. Protein shakes can be carried around with you, making them a convenient on-the-go snack, whether at work, out in the car, or after a training sessions as your post-workout shake.
4. Protein shakes make for the quickest breakfast ever. If you are anything like me and you are always busy and sometimes miss breakfast, then having a few ready to drink protein shakes in the fridge allows you to get breakfast out of the fridge in 5 seconds. Then you can drink your shake in the car, or when you get to work. Missing breakfast is one of the major pitfalls for any training programme, but if you have some protein shakes in the fridge, you have no excuses for missing breakfast any more.
5. The vast majority of ready to drink protein shakes taste great and can be enjoyed. My current favourite tasting protein shake is BSN Syntha-6.

3.0 Our Most Popular Protein Shakes

BSN Syntha-6	Pro Recover Shake N Take	CNP Pro Slam

4.0 Protein Shakes: Side Effects

The side effects of using protein shakes is a hot topic on the internet, despite the side effects being virtually non-existent for most protein shakes. The vast majority of protein shakes are made from milk and eggs, so if you are lactose intolerant, then whey protein concentrate is likely to give you an upset stomach, due to the lactose content. However, whey protein isolate contains no lactose, so is okay for people who are lactose intolerant.

Protein shakes that are made from milk are literally the whey proteins from milk, but without the majority, or all of the sugars and fats removed. Separating the whey protein from milk involves complicated processes, such as freeze drying and filtration techniques that remove the sugars and fats, but do not affect the quality of the protein. The more expensive protein shakes such as whey protein hydrolysate have been through more expensive processes, resulting in them costing more to purchase.

5.0 Protein Shakes for Weight Loss

Protein shakes are a good supplement to use whilst trying to lose weight, as they can help you keep protein high, whilst allowing you to keep calories low, whilst also keeping you hydrated and acting as meal replacements. Consuming 3 small regular meals per day, with 3 low calorie protein shakes in between, provides the ideal environment for fat loss, whilst increasing muscle tone. Exercise on top of this kind of diet would provide excellent, progressive, consistent results. More information is available in our bodybuilding blog about healthy weight loss.

6.0 Make Your Own Protein Shakes

It is easier and cheaper to buy protein shakes, but if you want home made protein shakes then here is some advice... First of all, the ideal pre and post workout shake contains 25g simple sugars, 20g whey protein hydrolysate and little or no fat. Now consider 568ml (1 pint) of skimmed milk, which contains 25g of simple sugars, 19g of protein and a small amount of fat. Not much differnt is it? The protein is fast and slow releasing, i.e. micellar casein and whey, so not as good as good as a recovery drink which is all whey protein hydrolysate, but very easy and quite cheap at around £0.50. Milk is not so good at other times though, when you don't want the insulin spike from the sugar content, which is associated with the accumulation of body fat.

Other home made protein shakes, which are worthwhile, usually use a whey protein powder for the protein content, then are mixed with other ingredients to make them into meal replacement shakes. A typical example, which is my favourite is 1/2 cup of fine milled oats, 450ml water, 1 scoop of whey protein, as it is the absolute perfect meal for bodybuilding and can be tweaked to suit your own calorie and protein requirements. It makes for a low GI, high protein, highly nutritious meal. Did I mention whey protein powders are the cheapest source of protein per gram, boost your immune system and are also being researched for their many health benefits.

7.0 Protein Shakes: Related Pages

• Protein Powder - Recommended protein powders, comparisons, types of protein powders, etc.
• Whey Protein - Types of whey protein and their benefits, i.e. hydrolysate, isolate, concentrate, etc.
• Bodybuilding Supplements - Types of bodybuilding supplements and their benefits, such as creatine, protein, glutamine, nitric oxide, etc.