Whey Protein a “TRUE” Miracle Food – Part 3

So last week we looked at why whey protein is the best protein for building muscle and has the added advantage of boosting nitric oxide (“NO”). Well now we’ll look at a few of the completely under-reported health benefits of this protein!

When most people think of healthy proteins, they think of soy. Well that reflects very well on the ability of the soy protein lobby to promote and market their product but it reflects quite poorly on the ability of the whey protein lobby to get their message out. Maybe it’s all the tree-huggers who think anything from an animal is bad...who knows...but one thing I can tell you for sure is that whey protein kicks soy’s butt when it comes to positive health effects!

But don’t just take my word for it, here’s a quick look at what the guys in the lab coats have discovered about whey protein and health over the years...

As discussed last time, whey protein’s ability to increase NO increases blood flow and this improves heart and blood vessel function...but that’s not all it does for your ticker. A study in the Journal of Clinical Hypertension showed that whey protein not only decreased blood pressure but also decreased levels of bad (LDL) cholesterol and just as importantly, decreased levels of the main indicator of inflammation, called C-reactive protein. This would not only have positive effects on the heart and other bodily functions but could increase muscle recovery from training and injury!

A study in Clinical Nutrition showed not only increased muscle mass but decreased triglycerides and cholesterol and showed improvements in liver health in obese females who used whey protein. Several other studies also show that whey protein improves insulin function and could help treat diabetes and also to help people avoid getting the disease in the first place.

Finally, whey protein has been shown in studies to improve immune function in humans too. A study in the Journal of Nutrition showed that it increased levels of numerous immune factors and enhancing their ability to attack pathogens in the body that lead to disease and inflammation. Other studies confirm these effects. Further studies show that whey protein boosts the primary lymphocytes (CD4 cells) that lead to the complications caused by AIDS.

I’m running out of space here detailing whey protein’s many health effects but I should also mention that it increases levels of (arguably) the body’s most potent antioxidant called glutathione by a whopping 24% and researchers have stated that this and other effects of whey protein are probably behind the results of case studies which “strongly suggest” an “anti-tumor” effect of whey protein.

...and finally, all of the above benefits are probably to one extent or another responsible for whey protein’s ability to increase the lifespan of lab animals (and it’s a safe bet, humans) as detailed in a study published in the journal Clinical Investigative Medicine.

As I said last week, there was a lot to cover on the health benefits of whey protein, so I’ll have to put off for next week how whey protein increases fat loss whist helping you hold onto hard-earned muscle when dieting and I’ll finish off with some of the incredible and various ways that whey protein causes muscle gains.