Plant v. Whey

Supplemental nutrition has become a huge part of life for many people - especially those in the health and fitness world. The reason is simple: supplements are an easy way to fill nutritional gaps with very little guesswork, and in many cases without the extra “stuff” that sometimes comes with achieving nutritional goals. For example, if you need to consume higher levels of protein, but not necessarily fats and carbs, a whey shake is an awesome choice because it pretty much only contains protein without other calories from fat and carbs (this is shake specific so always check the label).

With the availability of supplements, there are SO MANY products on that market that it’s tough to keep them all straight. In this blog I’m just breaking down the big differences between whey protein powder and plant protein. The biggest difference is that whey is an animal product - it’s made from byproducts produced when cheese is made, and plant protein comes from plants - it could be one or a combination of many different plants, such as peas, soy, rice, and hemp.

One of the reasons that I love whey protein is because of the fact that it is an animal product, which means it’s a complete protein - it contains all 20 amino acids in proper amounts including EAA’s (which have to be consumed in the diet and are not made in the body). Plant proteins are often not complete proteins unless in a blend, except for soy (which isn’t awesome for you in large quantities).

Some fast facts on whey and plant protein powders:

All in all, it mainly comes down to personal preference - taste, allergies/intolerances, nutritional needs. Both types of protein are able to assist in building muscle and losing fat, so either choice is sound in that regard. As always, be sure to do your research because the supplement industry isn’t governed by the FDA (not that I have much faith in them as it is), so doing research on a company and product is super important. Third party testing and NSF certified for sport are good things to look for on labels.