Is it okay to heat up whey protein?

that is what i think, but thought i'd ask others more professional opinion's than myself!!! thanks Dan.

Heating does "denature" the protein (technically that means it changes the quaternary structure of the protein strands - but enough geekiness).

So you'll still get the excellent amino acid profile of whey protein, which supports muscle growth but you won't get some of the other muscle-building and health-supporting effects that result from the the way the shape and structure of the protein is made up.

Stomach acid and enzymes have similar effects in the gut but their effect is specific and results in peptides that have specific shapes and effects. If you denature the protein before it gets to the stomach, then you get different peptides because the protein gets broken down into different constituent peptides - sorry getting geeky again!

Think of it like a "lock" and "key"...the different specific proteins in whey have their effects in the body because they are like a key that fits in a lock located in the body. If you bend the key (by changing the protein's shape) it won't fit the lock and the "door" to that particular effect of the protein cannot be opened.

So if you want to cook with whey or heat it up, that's fine as it's still the best source of protein for building muscle but you'll lose some of the additional functional effects that go beyond its excellent amino acid content.

Hi Mark,

Wow, what a great answer! thank you!!! i won't be heating my whey protein, thanks for all that!

I understand what has been said above but surely we heat all other protein we eat e.g chicken, eggs, fish etc so on the big scale of things surely heating or cooking with whey is nothing major as your still choosing a quality source of protein.