Nutrition: The Importance of Whey Protein & Casein Protein

Nutrition is the most important aspect beside the workout session itself. During workout, our muscle fiber actually suffers "micro-tears", and our body will heal those micro-tears using nutrition that come from food, mainly amino acids that is contained in protein. Without proper nutrition, the muscles won't have the necessary ingredients to build themselves.

Protein is the most essential nutrition needed to recover and build muscle, and milk is a good source of protein. There are two kind of protein that compose milk:

1. Whey protein

is the protein contained in whey, the watery portion of milk that separates from the curds when making cheese. Whey protein is fast-digesting protein. Whey protein can be quickly absorbed by our body, it only need up to 30 minutes to be absorbed completely. Whey protein causes a large and fast spike in blood amino-acid levels. That's why whey protein is the best supplement to be consumed right after workout session.

Source: whey protein powder, milk, red meat, ricotta cheese, yogurt.

2. Casein protein

is a slow-digesting protein. It's suggested that we consume casein protein before we go to sleep, so that our body get enough nutrition to recover the muscle all the time when we are sleeping.

Source: casein protein powder, milk, egg white.

How much protein do we need?

Here is a simple formula to calculate our daily protein need:

Daily protein need (grams) =  1.1 x body weight in pounds

For example:

My weight: 62 kg => convert kg to pounds: 62 kg x 2.20462 = 136.7 pounds

Daily protein needs = 1.1 x 136.7 pounds = 150.37 grams

Now you know your daily protein need, you can start making your meal plan to fulfill the need.

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Here is a list of high-protein foods and amount of protein in each (source: http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/whattoeat/a/highproteinfood.htm)

Beef

• Hamburger patty, 4 oz – 28 grams protein
• Steak, 6 oz – 42 grams
• Most cuts of beef – 7 grams of protein per ounce

Chicken

• Chicken breast, 3.5 oz - 30 grams protein
• Chicken thigh – 10 grams (for average size)
• Drumstick – 11 grams
• Wing – 6 grams
• Chicken meat, cooked, 4 oz – 35 grams

Fish

• Most fish fillets or steaks are about 22 grams of protein for 3 ½ oz (100 grams) of cooked fish, or 6 grams per ounce
• Tuna, 6 oz can - 40 grams of protein

Pork

• Pork chop, average - 22 grams protein
• Pork loin or tenderloin, 4 oz – 29 grams
• Ham, 3 oz serving – 19 grams
• Ground pork, 1 oz raw – 5 grams; 3 oz cooked – 22 grams
• Bacon, 1 slice – 3 grams
• Canadian-style bacon (back bacon), slice – 5 – 6 grams

Eggs and Dairy

• Egg, large - 6 grams protein
• Milk, 1 cup - 8 grams
• Cottage cheese, ½ cup - 15 grams
• Yogurt, 1 cup – usually 8-12 grams, check label
• Soft cheeses (Mozzarella, Brie, Camembert) – 6 grams per oz
• Medium cheeses (Cheddar, Swiss) – 7 or 8 grams per oz
• Hard cheeses (Parmesan) – 10 grams per oz

Beans (including soy)

• Tofu, ½ cup 20 grams protein
• Tofu, 1 oz, 2.3 grams
• Soy milk, 1 cup - 6 -10 grams
• Most beans (black, pinto, lentils, etc) about 7-10 grams protein per half cup of cooked beans
• Soy beans, ½ cup cooked – 14 grams protein
• Split peas, ½ cup cooked – 8 grams

Nuts and Seeds

• Peanut butter, 2 Tablespoons - 8 grams protein
• Almonds, ¼ cup – 8 grams
• Peanuts, ¼ cup – 9 grams
• Cashews, ¼ cup – 5 grams
• Pecans, ¼ cup – 2.5 grams
• Sunflower seeds, ¼ cup – 6 grams
• Pumpkin seeds, ¼ cup – 8 grams
• Flax seeds – ¼ cup – 8 grams

Whey protein powder: usually contain about 24 gr of whey protein per serving

For me, whey protein powder is a must, because if we are to get all the protein needed just from meals, we would have to eat a huge amount of food. Moreover, I don't really like to consume meat and I don't eat much. As for casein protein powder I haven't tried it yet. I get my casein protein from egg white and milk.

See my meal plan here.

That's the basic information about protein that we need to know. Of course other nutrition have their function as well in building muscle. I will try to cover those later.