Whey Protein Concentrate

What is usually labelled as and taken for ‘standard’ whey protein is whey protein concentrate – the cheapest form of whey protein. It’s important to understand a little about what you are purchasing, so this article will look at what whey protein concentrate is, how it’s made, why it’s cheap, and whether it’s worth supplementing with.

What is whey protein concentrate?

Whey, as you probably know, is the by product of cheese making, and contains other nutrients aside from protein. The quality of the protein contained in whey is extremely good, but, it needs to be refined to make it more concentrated so you don’t have to take a large volume of whey to get a good dose of protein. Therefore, the first step in refining whey protein for supplements is concentrating it – hence whey protein concentrate.

Whey protein concentrate is produced by filtering out unwanted aspects of whey such as fat and lactose. Depending on the methods used and which company do the filtering, quality and purity will vary greatly – usually between 30-80% purity.

Of course, the more work that goes into refining and purifying the whey protein, the more expenses are incurred. As whey protein concentrate is the least refined whey protein, it’s the cheapest.

Knowing what purity whey protein concentrate you are buying is important. If the purity of the protein isn’t listed on the packaging, you will need to calculate the purity yourself by dividing the protein content per serving by the serving size.

Is this protein worth buying?

Absolutely. Any whey protein is good, but like anything, getting a good deal is down to the individual, and the higher the purity, and the lower the cost, the better. Whey protein concentrate may be behind whey protein isolate and hydrolyzed whey protein in purity and refinement, but, for 99% of amateur (or even professional) athletes, a good quality whey protein concentrate will be just great.

A final word about whey protein concentrate: Generally, the less pure the concentrate is, the more lactose it contains. Most people can only stomach so much lactose before they experience temporary stomach discomfort – so if you are lactose intolerant, you have 4 options: 1: Aim for the highest purity concentrate you can find. 2: Possibly go for an isolate. 3: Take lactase enzymes to help your stomach cope with the lactose. 4: Purchase a whey protein product that contains lactase enzymes.