It all starts in the gut! (Doesn’t everything?)

You take that first sip; the alcohol travels through your esophagus into your stomach where it meets your gastric juices. Did you know if your drink is carbonated the effects of the alcohol will be felt quicker? The pressure in your stomach from the carbonation forces the alcohol into the blood stream faster! Did you also know if there is food in there when you have a drink, the effects will be slowed as the alcohol will stay in your stomach longer and be released into the blood slower. Your portal vein connecting your gut to your liver transports alcohol to the liver. The liver is the king of alcohol metabolism. As the alcohol enters the liver it will enter a very complex pathway involving two enzymes called alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) and aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH). ADH breaks down the alcohol into safer products (this is part of phase II detoxification, see here to read my blog on detoxification) like acetate, water and CO2 where it can be excreted out of the body. But imagine what happens when you drink too fast, and too much for your body without food in your stomach. Your livers capacity is exceeded it cannot metabolize or breakdown what’s coming in and your blood alcohol levels rise because the alcohol escapes from the gut and small intestine without being processed by the liver!

This rising level has many effects…if it’s within safe limits say one drink for women or two drinks for men it can be a relaxing, possibly even providing some cardiovascular benefits. Why does drinking relax your body? Once in the blood stream the alcohol travels many different places one being the central nervous system where it interferes with neurotransmitter signals, specifically GABA. When your body produces more GABA it slows down your brain cells. (S) (Xanax and Valium also increase GABA production). This may be one of its beneficial qualities; moderate drinking provides relaxation that can improve blood pressure a known risk for CVD. Might it even have long-term benefits of reducing stress? The reservatrol in red-wine has been touted as a positive effect, there has even been some research on its effects of increasing HDL, but mind you that is from drinking in moderation! When you keep drinking past this moderate level, you now enter the phase of slurred speech and impaired balance. Vomiting may occur because your liver is overwhelmed and your body knows it needs to get rid of this toxin. You have your gut to thank for this! The lining is extremely irritated by all this alcohol and its sending signals to your brain that it should get rid of some of it! You wake up, you curse yourself drink some water and take a few Advil and go on with your day. Fast forward 10, 20 year and this has been going on regularly. Sound familiar?

So what have I been doing to my body?

Your body is designed to cope with moderate levels of toxins. And remember alcohol is a toxin; the body see’s it as poison and produces the enzyme alcohol dehydrogenase (ADA) to help your body rid itself of it. When the alcohol comes into contact with this enzyme it steals a hydrogen atom off the ethanol (alcohol) molecule and turns it into a less toxic acetylaldehye (but still toxic). Your body then sends in acetaldehyde dehydrogenase to finish the job and break down the acetaldehyde into acetic acid (an ingredient in vinegar) and rid your body of it. So really it’s a fight between how much you drink and how fast the enzymes can work. On average one ounce of alcohol can be metabolized every 60-90 minutes. As you can imagine EVERYONE is going to be different. We have male versus female (females make less ADA), age (We make less ADA as we age), how much you ate, whether you take aspirin, your nationality (Asians make less ADA), and your genes (people with impaired detox genes in the CYP genome are affected more!)! Putting that all aside for now lets look at some of the things happening in your body once you’ve moved past moderate drinking.

-Alcohol affects the way your neurons get triggered by glutamate. Alcohol gets into the glutamate receptors and hurts their ability to send off their normal messages. This is what impairs your speech, coordination and judgment.

-Alcohol increases the amount of Dopamine (a catecholamine) that creates a feeling of pleasure when someone takes a drink. One interesting note here, when reviewing your DNA results from 23andMe (see here on how to analyze your test) there is a particular gene mutation COMT 4680 which degrades dopamine. I happen to be homozygous (meaning both genes are different from the norm) my dopamine breaks down slower than normal. People with this gene SNP are more prone to searching for a dopamine fix because they have a high accumulation of dopamine and the brains starts to ignore it and needs a bigger and better fix to get that pleasure feeling. This can be dangerous as drinking is increasing the dopamine even more.

-Alcohol interferes with NMDA or N-methyl-D-aspartic acid that is a receptor that helps the brain make memories. Ever forget the whole night when drinking heavily? This may be why.

-Do you have a glass of wine to help you sleep? Yep it might help you get to sleep because of the relax response we talked about before but as you sleep your brain try’s to take back control and it screws up your crucial REM sleep (S), plus you are dehydrated which affects sleep too.

To get rid of toxins from the body the liver needs water. Alcohol is a diuretic and therefore there will not be sufficient amounts in your body. The liver will start diverting water from other organs including the brain that may cause the pounding headache you experience.

When intoxicated, hypoglycemia (low blood sugar)can occur. An accumulation of the coenzyme NADPH that is involved in the citric acid cycle can cause pyruvate to convert to lactate instead of Oxaloacetate (OAA). Pyruvate and OAA are both intermediates for gluconeogenesis, so if both are reduced gluconeogensis cannot occur. Hypoglycemia can occur if glycogen stores are depleted in liver. This will be worse in people who have not eaten before drinking.

Alcohol depletes key nutrients, it also affects the gut and impedes their absorption.

-Folic acid –tetrahydrafolate receives 1-carbon units from numerous amino acids that are depleted when drinking (impairs methylation).

-Pyridoxine (B6) depleted – acetaldehyde messes with the enzymes needed to activate B6, it also makes it less available in food. B6 or P5P is used in many important pathways in your body.

-Thiamine (B1) is depleted – alcohol decreases the absorption in the GI tract and impairs utilization of thiamine in cells, this can contribute to neurological problems.

-Alcohol is hydrophilic and lipophilic and may harm nearly every organ.

-Alcohol increases the NADH:NAD+ ratio and can lead to increased androstenedione conversion to testosterone in the liver, may cause hyperandrogenism and loss of female characheteristics in females who drink heavily.

-Alcohol inhibits Vitamin A synthesis. It provides competition for the alcohol dehydrogenase enzyme we discussed above (blocks oxidation of Vit A by inhibiting ADH).

-This destruction of Vitamin A increases P450 enzyme activity that stimulates hydrolysis and indirectly reduces Vit A in the liver by increasing the mobilization of Vit A to peripheral tissues.

-Amino acids are lower in people who drink, this affects neurotransmitter synthesis, serotonin and dopamine levels are impacted because of low tryptophan and tyrosine. It also affects coenzyme formation and the body’s ability to handle ammonia load in the body.

-The citric acid cycle is impaired because of higher NADH, the liver than has impaired function to oxidize the acetate to CO2 to be expelled. Acetate therefore escapes from the liver into the blood; acetaldehyde can also escape the liver (the more toxic form) and can bind with proteins and nucleic acids and disrupt DNA function.

-Acetaldehyde can also bind and inactivate glutathione causing oxidative stress increasing reactive oxygen species (ROS).

-Our gene CYP2E1 is induced when alcohol intake is high, repeated induction is responsible for alcohol intolerance. This can also increase metabolism of barbiturates, anesthetics, and acetaminophen all by increasing clearance and formation of toxic intermediates (S)

-Alcohol creates a choline imbalance and interference with lecithin synthesis needed for VLDL synthesis (cholesterol) it inhibits 3 enzymes needed for lecithin synthesis.

-Increases serum estradiol levels.

-Alcohol creates deficiencies in most water-soluble vitamins especially Vit C and B3.

-Decreases bone density and increased osteoporosis-defect in hydroxylation step of Vit D product by P450 enzymes in liver.

-Decreased Vit K storage/utilization (also needed for Vitamin D synthesis).

-Depleted minerals from increased urinary loss and decreased ingestion: Zinc, Calcium, Magnesium.

-Alcohol irritates your digestive system. It damages the stomach lining and can cause gastritis (or inflammation of the stomach lining). Initially alcohol increases the production of stomach acid that can damage the lining. This can lead to gastritis that in turn leads to heartburn. Alcohol also relaxes the esophageal sphincter making it easier for stomach contents to escape into the esophagus.

Steps you can take to be healthier if you choose to drink:

-Eat protein, drink a protein shake or protein heavy meal before indulging so your body has amino acids to use, and buffers the effects of the alcohol.

-Keep your stomach full of food when drinking: A full stomach slows down the rate at which alcohol is absorbed into the blood. Absorption from the stomach is much slower than absorption from the intestines. This prevents accumulation in the blood. The decreased rate of gastric emptying gives your liver more time to break down the alcohol before it enters your blood (called first pass hepatic metabolism). As the alcohol moves to your liver more slowly, your liver enzymes don’t become overwhelmed. Food stimulates blood flow to the liver and the production of liver enzymes that also help break down alcohol (ADA and CYP450).  Enough food can substantially decrease the amount of alcohol that reaches your blood. A meal basically lessens the damage from alcohol. The best meal is something that stimulates your liver and delays gastric emptying. That means protein, fiber and vegetables and a high volume of food.

-Drink a lot of water, especially when drinking alcohol. You’ve been told to do this (glass for glass) but now that you see the science of what is happening in your body I hope you will make a concerted effort to drink more water!

-Make sure your body has sufficient vitamin C. Consider keeping something like Emergen-C on hand to take after indulging. It also contains a good dose of B vitamins that can become depleted.

Most people could use more B vitamins, especially if you drink. Find a good B-complex to take (one that contains folate not folic acid) my favorite here. (Search for Metabolic Maintenance B-Complex Phosphorylated)

-Avoid Tylenol (acetaminophen) with regular alcohol consumption. Alcohol interferes with the gene that regulates the way your body processes acetaminophen, it interferes with the enzymes needed to process it and can damage the liver further. If you take Tylenol regularly (Tylenol PM also) you should not be drinking regularly.

-Monitor your yearly blood tests and watch for liver enzymes and other markers that are out of range.  Read here for traditional and specialty tests that can be looked at when assessing risk.

Keep your liver healthy – it is doing a lot of work!

Besides detoxing chemicals like alcohol it does the following:

-Stores glycogen (a form of sugar for energy)

-Helps regulate blood sugar levels

-Production and storage of proteins and substances that aid in protein metabolism

-Production of bile acids to help with the digestion of fats

-Production of blood proteins and substances important to the production of RBC’s

-Regulation of a number of hormones

-Helps to neutralize free radicals with antioxidants

-Stores many vitamins like iron, copper, B12, vitamins A, D E and K

Do you see how stressing the liver with too much alcohol can have a negative affect on all the functions in the body mentioned above? The image of toxins “building-up” in the liver is actually false its just that the liver becomes less effective and toxins entering the liver to be processed do not get acted upon in the most efficient way so they are left to float around in the body or are stored in adipose tissue causing destruction. This is what being toxic means. Love your liver by sticking to a moderate amount of alcohol and when you do over-indulge, follow the rules to lessen the impact the binge will have on your liver health!

My favorite Liver supplement here and here (search for Protocol for Life Balance Liver Detox)

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Deprivation? Starvation? Juicing? Reset? It means something different to everyone. In this post I am going to tell you about the science of detoxification and when and how you should do it safely so that you are not weakening your body or releasing toxins into the blood with no where to go. If you really don’t want to read the background you can skip down to the where it says “what can I do” and start taking some steps to strengthen this process in your body!

Why should we care?

The body is constantly in the presence of potentially harmful agents. Environmental compounds can gain entry through the skin, the GI tract and the lungs. These are outside (or exogenous factors). Within our own bodies we produce endogenous toxins from digestion, metabolism, tissue regeneration and various cellular mechanisms that can become dangerous if not removed form the body effectively. An example would be NH3 (ammonia) that our body produces when bacteria in the intestines break down protein. The combination of these two plus any toxins produced by our microbes is our total toxic load.

In our bodies the process of detoxification is the mechanism of transforming these potentially harmful products into compounds that can be removed from our body through breath, sweat, feces and urine. When our body loses the ability to effectively do this because of weaknesses in a pathway (from enzyme deficiencies due to genetic factors or nutrient deficiencies) disease can result because these toxicants interfere with normal cellular function. So when you think of your liver, kidney or colon and you imagine this sludge of toxins built up in there, it may be a good visual but really it’s more about a process of a weakened system. People may drink olive oil and be able to poop out little stones, drink green juice for 10 days and feel lighter because they released all these “toxins” but scientifically this has not been proven to be the case, it is a matter of strengthening the mechanisms by giving your body a break and replenishing the nutrients and enzymes that aid your body in making the toxins water soluble and able to be excreted in a timely matter from the body.

What are these toxins you speak of??

Here is a short list of a few of the things that come into your body that need to be dealt with on a daily basis!

Heavy Metals – this can be as simple as small amounts of arsenic from rice or chicken to large amounts of lead from paint or battery exposure. Other examples: aluminum in deodorant, mercury in certain cuts of fish.

Xenobotics- compounds not produced in a biological system, examples would be pesticides, phthalates in food packaging and cosmetics, PCB’s in plastic.

Latrogenics – pharmaceuticals like prescription medication or OTC like acetaminophen that lowers hepatic glutathione (an important amino acid), alcohol.

Plant sources – like nicotine

Microbial – bacterial overgrowth, yeast and fungi overgrowth from high carbohydrate and sugar diets.

Endogenous – an example is AGE’s or advanced glycation end products which can be present in foods we eat, like charred barbecue meat, but the majority of these happen within the body.

How do I know if I’m toxic?

In the world we live in most humans will be carrying some toxic burden. The way our body’s handle this will differ from person to person based on what we eat, our health, our environment and our genes. (s) Children, the elderly, individuals with poor nutrition or those that are physiologically stressed will be more affected. Skeptics to detoxing will say, that’s what our liver is for! and it does a darn good job at ridding our bodies of unwanted things. And they are right…..in a perfect world. But we do not live in a perfect world, and sometimes our bodies become weakened and overloaded and this process does not work the way it should. (s) In a dysfunctional detoxification system we may see disease states like impairment on childhood development, brain disorders, cancer, heart disease, skin disorders, infertility, rapid aging, and pulmonary disease. Besides actual disease, long-term exposure to low level of toxicants can contribute to DNA regulatory interference or damage, enzyme disruption, oxidative stress, immune hypersensitivity, autoimmune diseases, brain fog and fatigue. Testing on the safety of toxins are done individually, and yes, if our bodies were exposed to one chemical in small doses one at a time our liver could easily make it water soluble and we could just pee it out but we are exposed to a multitude of things daily and it becomes more complicated than that. So in reality we could all stand to give our bodies and livers some love, so lets look at how to do that safely…..

How our body detoxifies itself:

 Barriers like skin protect us, but if something gets in, the body will mobilize than excrete the toxin. This happens in two phases. Phase I is an oxidation step where molecules are converted to substrates for Phase II by enzymes like Cytochrome P450 (CYP). Phase II is called the conjugation pathway and the liver adds another substance (like glycine) to make it less harmful and makes it water-soluble so it can be excreted. Endogenous toxins, diet-derived or pharmacological compounds are converted primarily by liver enzymes to more water-soluble forms in order to be removed from the body. Detoxification involves mechanisms that can make your body more tolerable to exposure, increase the conversion rate of the toxin and/or induce the excretion of the toxin. Each of these steps can be addressed by clinical interventions.

Do I need to do testing?

If you are having major symptoms and want to see what your recent exposures may have been, or to find out what your response is to a toxin and the ability of your body to handle the exposure to know what nutrients to focus on, then yes. Hair, blood and urine testing (all with different pros and cons) can show toxic metals because these metals bind to many tissue proteins and tend to accumulate with repeated exposure. The half-life of metal-binding proteins is somewhat slow, so testing done even months after exposure can reveal elevated tissue levels. It does not show what is stored in your adipose tissue or bone and the only way to find this out is to have a fat biopsy. On the other hand organotoxins (like phthalates) are a challenge because these toxins are removed promptly from body fluids, converted to derivatives and stored in adipose tissues. So only recent exposure will show on a test. One way to circumvent this is to measure urinary products of liver detoxification that can reveal the level of trapped compounds still being processed through the liver long after the first exposure. One thing to remember is that the heavier you are or the more body fat you have the more stored toxins you have in your adipose tissue and when losing weight or detoxing for obese individuals the risk of a reaction to released circulating toxins is greater. (s)

Types of testing:

A few simple blood tests that your doctor runs on you at your yearly check-up can be used as a start. (My ranges will be different than those on your lab slips. Ranges for functional blood tests are a little different than for acute-care medicine. The acute-care model ranges are set to identify and diagnose disease and to fit 95% of the population. Clinically normal ranges are very large and have little practical value except for extreme cases. I look at optimal ranges that reduce the range in which you are declared normal. Functional ranges are used to identify conditions before they become a full-fledged problem.)

Blood urea nitrogen or the marker called BUN (optimal range 10-16 mg/dl) shows the detoxified form of ammonia, so if this is elevated you may have increased ammonia loading and conversion in the urea cycle.

Bilirubin (optimal range 0.1-0.9 mg/dl) will be elevated if impaired glucoronidation (Phase II metabolism of drugs, pollutants, bilirubin, androgens, estrogens, mineralcorticoids, glucocortocoids, fatty acid derivatives, retinoid and bile acids)

Creatinine (optimal range 0.8-1.10) mg/dl Increased creatinine can indicate kidney damage due to an autoimmune disease, congestive heart failure, atherosclerosis or complications in diabetes, even slightly raised should be a major consideration for evaluating toxins because this is a major route of removal.

ALT/AST/GGT (10-26 u/l) – if high may indicate impaired liver detoxification capacity.

Other tests usually run by an N.D. , nutrition professional or functional medicine M.D. if needed:

To show exposure:

Heavy metal testing via hair, urine or blood

Oral cavity mercury vapor (to test fillings)

Metabolites in urine – organic acids test

Microbial products – organic acids test

Porphyrinurias in urine (This pathway to heme is highly active and any disturbance will cause a fast and large accumulation of these intermediates, these enzymes are also widely distributed inhuman tissue and are highly sensitive to many different toxins. These porphyrins can serve as biomarkers of the toxic effects of heavy metals and some drugs).

Assessment of detoxification capacity:

Amino acids and organic acids test

Challenge test (given in high doses to challenge pathway) of caffeine, salicyluric acid, sulfate, cystiene or glucuronide

Assessment of nutrients protective in detox pathways

Sulfur amino acids

Glycine (amino acid)

Minerals – magnesium, zinc, copper, selenium, manganese

Antioxidants – A,E, beta caroteine, COQ10,

B-vitamins

Genetic testing – CYP, UGT, GSTP, NAT and SULT genes (to name a few) can show if you have a possible reduction in the clearance of various toxins or if you have reduced ability of clearing a certain type of drug. These abbreviations represent an enzyme used in the pathway to clear a specific toxin. You can read more here about DNA testing.

What can you do? 

1. Nutrition plays a key role in toxin management. Detoxification pathways are metabolically demanding! If you are deficient in various nutrients, your body may have a hard time with toxicant clearance. Your nutrition status will dictate your response to exposures. (s) Clinical tests can guide nutritional interventions, but if you want to make sure your body is primed and ready to get rid of toxins that enter your body this is a list of the most essential nutrients it will need:

Vitamin C-antioxidant protection (Phase 1)

 B-complex vitamins for liver enzyme cofactors and methylation (Phase 1 & 2)

Lipoic acid for liver protection and antioxidant regeneration (Phase 2)

N-acetylsysteine (NAC) – for formation of glutathione (a key amino acid in detoxification Phase 2)

Cystiene-a sulfur amino acid to be used in sulfation reactions (Phase 2)

Methionine- methyl donor and sulfur supply (Phase 2)

Glycine –  used in liver conjugation (Phase 2)

Essential amino acid mixtures – mitochondrial energy production (Phase 2)

Calcium (Don’t forget you need Vitamin D to absorb calcium) – protection from lead (Phase 1)

Magnesium-liver and other effects (Phase 1)

Selenium – glutathione regeneration and protection from mercury (Phase 1)

Manganese, copper – glutathione regeneration (Phase 1)

Zinc – glutathione regeneration and cadmium protection (Phase 1)

Milk Thistle – supports normal liver function, liver cell regeneration and glutathione production

Curcumin – promotes activity of glutathione s-transferase (an enzyme in Phase 2)

There are many different liver support formulas. This and this (search for Protocol for Life Liver Detox) are two of my favorites.

2. Avoid and remove xenobotics (pharmaceuticals, plastic, cleaning supplies, mold, cosmetics, lotions, perfume ect ect), this may mean modifications of home and work environments.

3. Remove and repair microbial overgrowth like small intestinal bacterial overgrowth, see my post here to read more.

4. An elimination diet can provide a period of absence of food-based and endogenous  toxin exposures. (s) This could be a water fast or a juice fast, but remember those with high body burden must be very careful with fasting. The absence of food can increase mobilization of stored toxins and this heightened detoxification will demand extra nutrients (including protein!). Get your nutrient levels high and your overall health in check (including pooping!) before attempting various juice diets.  I would rather see someone do a fast that includes a healthy diet (like intermittent fasting) rather than juicing alone. This can limit the number of new food-based toxins entering your system and help you shed weight.  Fasting may have some mental health benefits, and of course, fasting can have spiritual benefits; it is often a religious practice.  But you need to be careful.

5. While reducing our toxic load you must remember that eliminating the toxins is just as important, if they are left to float around in the blood they will cause damage. Use of dietary oils may stimulate bile flow (especially olive oil) and help with gall bladder emptying.

6. High fiber diets can help speed intestinal transit time and assist toxin removal through the feces. This may help avoid re-acquisition via hepatic recycling. If you are not regular, a detox diet is probably not for you as you will not be able to eliminate the toxins appropriately. Magnesium citrate before bed can help move the bowels.

7. You can eliminate toxins through the skin! Exercise, sauna and massage can help stimulate toxin loss the increased blood flow and sweat.

8. Alcohol detoxification is a whole other blog that I will be writing soon stay tuned!! But remember alcohol inhibits a lot of the enzymes we discussed above and can weaken the body’s detoxification capacity. Limit to 1 drink per day for women and 2 drinks per day for men.

Do I think you should do chelation therapies, extreme juice fasts, coffee enemas, gall bladder cleanses ect ect? Before attempting any extreme measure do your research, talk with a nutrition professional and look at the pros and cons. Can you achieve the same (or better and safer) results by first attempting to clean up your diet, reduce your exposures, add in some nutrients, lose some weight? That is for you to decide. I’d like to do a post on the scientific research behind these modalities (although there is not much) but that is for another time….for now work on your overall health so your body can do what its suppose to (and wants) to do!

In Health, Michelle

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So really what is the scoop?  What are we really drinking when we gulp down smoothies, are they good for us? Do we really need them?

How is Protein powder made?

Whey protein is derived from milk during the making of cheese through a natural fermentation process. Cow’s milk contains two types of protein, a large part that consists of casein protein and another small part that consists of whey protein. When cheese is created, the casein is the part of the milk that makes up the cheese, and the whey protein is the liquid that is left over after you separate out all the milk solids.

Sometimes there is liquid on top of natural yogurts when you open them at home. That is whey protein in it’s original form.  The liquid whey then goes through a drying process to remove all the water to turn it into powder.

Hemp, Rice, Pea, and Soy protein powders are all non-dairy forms of protein, made by drying the seed, nut or grain and grinding into powder.  Last but not least is Egg White Protein powder, this is made by separating the yolk and the whites and dehydrating the white part.

As whey is the most widely used and tested powder and is a complete protein, my research is based on this type.

Protein powder terms:

A complete protein contains all 9 essential amino acids that the body cannot make. Whey, hemp, soy and egg white are all complete proteins. A concentrated protein means that the powder left is 70-85% protein with some carbohydrate and fat left over.  An isolate protein means it is reduced down even further and usually contains 95% pure protein.

Ion exchanged, Cross Flow Micro filtration (CFM) ultra filtration (UF), micro filtration (MF), reverse osmosis (RO), dynamic membrane filtration (DMF), ion exchange chromatography, (IEC), electro-ultrafiltration (EU), radial flow chromatography (RFC) nano filtration (NF) and hydrolyzed are all ways to filter the whey protein and concentrate it.  Cross Flow Micro filtration is the least denatured of these (meaning the least amount of change occurs to the structure of the primary protein) and is usually cold pressed so the native protein structures remain intact to a large degree.  More of the beneficial micro fractions (things such as immunoglobulins that help immune and appetite function),  exist in higher concentrations when this method is used.

So what’s the scoop?

Our bodies need protein, it is the building block of every living cell.  It doesn’t just build muscle it builds hair, skin, nails, tendons, ligaments, blood plasma, organ tissue and almost 2000 enzymes!  There are many different opinions on how much protein we need ranging from the low RDA recommendation of 46 grams/day for women and 56 grams a day for men to 1-1.5 gram per pound of body weight!  The range I believe is most appropriate for a typical moderately active person (based on opinion after reading much data) is about 15% of our daily intake of food. So for an average man that would be 113 grams for a 3000 calorie a day diet or 83 grams for a women on a 2200/day diet.  Studies show that eating high protein does not cause kidney disease, but once you have kidney disease, eating lower amounts of protein may help.  If you have an existing kidney disease please consult with your Doctor.

Are their people who can benefit from eating 20% or more protein per day?  Possibly.

If your trying to lose weight (protein is more filling than carbs or fat) increase muscle mass, have blood sugar problems, train hard, are over 65, or have high stress you may benefit.

I’d say eating whole foods for protein is your best bet.  But even though we can meet all our dietary protein needs from a hunk of meat, chicken or an egg most people don’t eat enough of these to stay full and obtain the benefits they can offer, supplementation is to help us do more that just fill a requirement it is also for convenience and to help us do better!  So what are the best protein powders to use?

First lets list what to avoid.

What to avoid:  added MSG (on a side note protein powders contain free glutamate which is a naturally occurring form of MSG as when it’s processed the amino acids become unattached turning them from a bonded to a free glutamate, if you are MSG sensitive I would not consume protein powder, if you have unexplained headaches try cutting out all MSG and foods containing free Glutamates), artificial flavors, partially-hydroganated oils, artificial colors, artificial sweeteners including (Acesulfame-K, aspartame, Sucralose)

Are protein powders denatured?

Denaturing is any change in the primary, secondary, or tertiary structure of the source material, that takes it away from it’s natural state. Generally denatured proteins function differently than unaltered ones but different is not always bad! I love this article here that explains this in detail.

The amino acid sequences do not change when protein is denatured, and whether a protein is denatured during processing or in your body does not affect its muscle-building, fat burning qualities. All large proteins are broken down during digestion into smaller protein chains and individual amino acids (denatured), and whether this process occurs in the gut or in the manufacturing plant is irrelevant to the muscle fibers getting these proteins.  Pasteurizing milk will denature it, even at the lowest temperature allowed by the FDA because it will cause changes in certain fractions. All whey protein is made from pasteurized dairy, it’s the law!  Not every whey protein powder is denatured to the same extent, but it’s all denatured.  But does this really matter? Probably not. The majority of Whey Protein studies in athletes have been done on denatured whey protein. Those studies almost universally show that whey protein enhances performance, and also helps you build muscle and burn fat, not to mention having a ton of other beneficial properties. Non-denatured whey protein is non-existent. It’s a marketing gimmick!

Should I use concentrate or isolate?

Pushing the liquid portion of milk through a filter creates whey protein. The material left behind is dried and forms whey protein concentrate. Concentrate contains varying amounts of fat and carbohydrates in the form of lactose. The percentage of protein varies from about 30% to about 80%.

Whey concentrate is further processed and purified into whey protein isolate, containing about 95% protein.

When choosing a whey protein product, it is important to consider your goals, budget, and any allergies. For example, since whey concentrates contain significant amounts of lactose, anyone with lactose intolerance should avoid them. Isolates contain a higher amount of protein per serving. For people who are calorie restricting and trying to consume as much real food as possible the higher the protein content the lower the carbohydrate and fat which leaves more room for whole foods. Whey isolates are more rapidly absorbed than concentrates and create a more profound insulin response.  This makes whey isolates popular post-workout choice.

Concentrate contains trace amounts of lactose and milk fat, it might be considered more of a whole food but when using whey, most people are trying to obtain a very specific nutrient – protein.  Add your fat and other nutrients into your diet another way.  Concentrate is not necessary in my opinion and more reactive to people that don’t digest dairy well.

The vast majority of studies examining whey protein’s beneficial effects on general health, immune functioning, and recovery from training use whey protein isolate, not whey protein concentrate.

Proven Benefits:

Among patients with fatty liver, whey protein isolate supplementation improves liver blood work and reduced fatty deposition. It also increases glutathione production (which is the body’s most effective immune builder and antioxidant) and these increases correlate with the improvements in liver health.

A combination of whey protein isolate and resistance training boost glutathione levels, HDL, and total antioxidant capacity.

In both young and older men, whey isolate after resistance training increases muscle protein synthesis (but older men need more protein to get the same effect).

Whey is among the richest source of BCAA’s or branched chain amino acids such as lucine. Beta-Lactoglobulin in whey increases the absorption of fat soluble vitamins and prevents the breakdown of muscle tissue.  After 20 we start to lose muscle mass.  This leads to insulin resistance which can lead to the middle age belly.

Whey helps spare glycogen stores (energy in your muscles and liver) during exercise.

Whey is rich in Alpha-lactalbumin which provides an anabolic environment for strength and muscle growth, it is natures highest source of an often missing amino acid called tryptophan.  Tryptophan helps with the production of the brain chemical serotonin.

Whey contains Lactoferrin which inhibits bacteria from attaching to the gut wall. and can help with overall gut health.

Whey protein powder has been associated with reduced total body mass and waist circumference

I’ve seen people pushing concentrate because it contains conjugated linoleum acid (CLA) this is a dairy fatty acid with some beneficial health effects.  This may be true but the amount of CLA in full fat dairy is quite small to begin with. Once it is reduced down to the concentrate the amount of fat left is negligible.  Take as a separate supplement if you want the benefits of CLA.

Whey isolate is the superior product overall. It’s far higher in protein than concentrate, ranging from 90% protein and up.

What about grass-fed whey?

Why do we eat grass-fed meat and milk? Grass-feeding can affect the fatty acid, antioxidant, and micronutrient content of meat and dairy in a favorable way, but not the amino acid profile. Whey protein is about the protein. The amino acid profile of grass-fed whey protein is identical to that of grain-fed whey protein.  If you were going with a high-fat whey concentrate, you might want grass-fed, but once again the amount of fat in most whey concentrates is so low as to make the fatty acid profile irrelevant.

Bottom Line:

We need protein! If you are not an overly active person, have time to cook and access to whole food options, protein powder may not be necessary for you.

Whey protein has been shown to augment muscle protein synthesis, support fat burning, boost the immune system, improve insulin sensitivity, and decrease appetite.

If you a like the convenience of protein powders, work out a lot, are trying to loose weight or need additional protein in your diet, feel free to have a daily protein shake, but choose wisely!!

Review the ingredients before buying any product, do not let the sales person at GNC talk you into a big tub of crap because it is on sale.  If you are putting this stuff into your body everyday it needs to be a good product!  Look for cold-pressed, cross micro-filtered whey protein isolate without artificial sweeteners.

If you are a person that suffers from headaches often and cannot pinpoint the reason, try removing glutamate from your diet to see if it helps.  Free glutamate is present in protein powder, it is not added msg it is naturally occurring but could effect you if you react to msg.

I do not feel the nutrition left in whey concentrate is enough or has had enough studies done on it to recommend it over isolate.  I also do not believe there has been enough studies done on hydrolyzed protein powders (which are usually more expensive), to recommend those either.

On a personal note I have used Jay Robb protein powder for as long as I can remember and am very happy with it.  It is sold at Wholefoods or Amazon.  It is cold-processed, cross-flow micro filtered whey protein isolate and is sweetened with stevia.

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