What is protein?
Protein is one of the essential nutrients that we need to survive, along with fat, carbohydrates, water, minerals and vitamins. Our article on why our bodies require protein explains the essential role that protein plays in our lives. Protein can be obtained from a variety of sources, as we explain in a recent blog post on how we can meet our daily protein requirements.
What is protein powder?
Protein powder is a really convenient and low cost way of supplementing other sources of protein in our diets. It can be easily consumed before or after a workout in a convenient shake, to replenish protein stocks and nourish the muscle fibres that we have just worked out. This article is a handy read and explains what our recommended daily intake of protein is, based on age, weight and fitness goals.
Protein powder can be manufactured from a variety of sources. The most common and well known source is milk, where the milk protein whey is separated and concentrated into a powder known as whey protein powder. This can be further refined to produce whey protein isolate. To find our more about the differences between whey protein concentrate and whey protein isolate, check out our article on WPC vs WPI. Protein powder can also be made from plant sources such as peas, to produce pea protein isolate.