More whey protein in 2% versus 1% and whole milk

In The United States of America, all whey protein available on the commercial market has been pasturized. Native whey, which many think to be unpasturized, is actually just a reference to the fact that it wasn’t derived from the cheese making process, but rather was made into whey for the express purpose of making whey. It’s still pasturized, and if it weren’t, you wouldn’t be able to legally sell it in the USA. Still, the variances found in whey can differ substantially with season, diet, and numerous other factors, especially when you factor in processing.

Making a whey protein concentrate involves the concentrating (duh) of the protein to a degree higher than found in nature; (by definition, denaturing it, or making it different than it is in its natural state. Making it an isolate is again removing it further than found in nature, and making a hydrolysate is still farther than one would encounter whey in raw milk. Even the milk at your supermarket is “denatured” (not a dirty word) when it is pasturized. But until recently, we (here at 3Fu3l) had assumed that the relative concentration of whey versus casein (the other protein found in milk) was still about 20/80. This is not the case, as we just found out, and it appears that whole milk contains more whey than the 1% incarnation, but (paradoxically?) contains slightly less than 2%!

The difference between 2% and whole milk is very slight, to the point of statistical irrelevance, which doesn’t make it any less interesting…or bizarre. Still, it makes us wonder about the 70s Big types, and their spiritual predecessors like Paul Anderson and the like. They espouse the benefits of drinking whole milk for muscle growth, and avoid skim milk like the plague. The reasoning is often that the extra fat and calories are promoting myogenesis, or the creation of new muscle tissue – but perhaps the superior concentration of whey in whole milk is playing the role attributed to the fat and calories?

Either whey (ha!), we’ve seen a lot of old-time strongmen bulk up on a gallon of milk per day, but this new evidence gives us reason to think that these guys were even more ahead of their time than we’d previously thought. They were ditching the low-whey stuff and supplementing with a ton of high-quality whey protein…even if they didn’t know it!

• Reference: Analysis of Casein and Whey Protein in Whole, 2%, and Skim Milk by CapillaryGel Electrophoresis.Marcia Santos, Staff Applications Scientist, Beckman Coulter Life Sciences, Brea, CA USAMark Lies, Marketing Manager, Beckman Coulter Life Sciences, Brea, CA USA