Who needs Whey Protein?
 
Everybody. It’s not just athletes who need lots of dietary protein. Protein can improve the health of:
•   Children
•   The elderly
•   Vegetarians
•   Women
•   Men
•   Anyone who is ill or recovering from illness or injury
•   Anyone with a compromised immune system
•   Anyone whose diet lacks adequate protein
 
What does protein do for you?
 
Protein is a key nutrient that every body needs, every day. It is made up of essential and non-essential amino acids, the “building blocks” for the body, including the immune cells, enzymes, hormones, brain cells as well as muscles and tissue. Unlike fats and carbohydrates, protein cannot be stored by the body. It is needed daily to repair body cells, build and repair muscles and bones, provide a source of longer lasting energy and control or influence important metabolic processes.
 
Protein is our only dietary source of nitrogen, an essential catalyst for metabolism. To determine how much protein one is getting, nitrogen intake is compared to nitrogen excretion. Stress, illness, injury and increased activity can cause the body to excrete more nitrogen than usual, and protein will then be scavenged from the muscles.
 
Why choose Whey Protein?
 
It is a soluble, very easy to digest protein. It quickly enters the body to provide the important essential amino acids needed to nourish muscles and other body tissues. This is one of the reasons whey protein is often found in infant formulas and therapeutic protein supplements.
 
How MUCH protein is enough?
 
Protein requirements vary from person to person depending on age, weight, sex, activity level and general health. Lean muscle mass is an accurate way to determine protein needs, but if you don’t know your lean muscle mass you can use the following chart to help estimate your protein needs based on activity level.
 
Multiply your weight by the protein conversion factor to find out how many grams of protein you need each day. For example, if you weigh 200 pounds and are an active adult, you need between 100 and 120 grams of protein each day.    
Who Should Use Whey Protein?
 
Women
 
Whey protein is a healthy snack or meal replacement for long-term energy, lean muscle building and weight control. Women often do not consume enough protein and feel fatigued, or eat high calorie foods to compensate. Adding whey protein to their diet may help women maintain muscle tone, especially with the help of an exercise and resistance training program.
 
Seniors
 
Aging muscle tissue can lose elasticity and tone, even with exercise. Whey protein supports muscle building and maintenance. A study at Boston University also showed that seniors who consumed insufficient amounts of protein had a significant loss of bone density, especially in the hip and spine areas. A recent study in Europe compared whey protein to casein, the primary protein in milk. The study found that older men who consumed whey protein had greater protein synthesis and less muscle loss. A nutritious diet including whey protein may help keep bones and muscles healthy and strong. Valuable peptides in whey protein can support bone and muscle growth, stimulate immunity, increase enzyme action for anti-inflammatory support and may provide anti-tumour activity.
 
Children and Teens
 
How much food protein does your child consume? Fast food is high in fat but low in nutrition. Even healthy fruits and vegetables don’t provide enough energy to keep an active child going for hours. Protein is essential for growing bodies and a whey protein shake makes it easy to add it to their diets.
 
Active People
 
If you lead an active life and exercise regularly, your body needs more protein than someone with a more sedentary lifestyle. After exercising, use whey protein to replenish the amino acids, glutathione and energy your body requires to bounce back. Whey protein combined with exercise will increase lean muscle mass and help you burn fat.
 
Vegetarians
 
Many vegetarians are concerned about getting enough protein without too much fat, which can be difficult with nuts, cheeses and other non-animal protein sources. For vegetarians who consume dairy products, whey is an excellent source of protein, with a high biological value, that is easy to use and easy to digest.
 
Weight Control
 
Achieving and maintaining a healthy weight can add years to your life and help prevent weight-related conditions, such as diabetes, cancer, and heart disease. Adding whey protein to your diet can help you lose weight, since the body requires more energy to digest protein than other foods, so you burn more calories. Also, high quality whey protein is rich in leucine, and amino acid that helps preserve lean muscle while promoting fat loss. Protein helps stabilize blood sugar by slowing absorption of glucose into the bloodstream. This in turn reduces hunger by lowering insulin levels and makes it easier for the body to burn fat. Studies show that individuals who combine protein-rich diets with exercise:

•   Lose body fat more quickly
•   Build more lean muscle
•   Burn more calories (it takes more energy to digest protein than other foods)
•   Improve their metabolism and blood glucose levels (reducing hunger) 

Immunity
 
Whey protein not only supports immunity by adding an essential nutritional boost to the diet, it also helps the body produce glutathione, a potent antioxidant. Glutathione levels drop as we age, so whey protein may act as a catalyst to increase glutathione production and improve immunity.
 
Wound Healing
 
Wound healing, including surgical incisions, requires plenty of protein and the amino acid building blocks that help us grow new skin. Whey protein also contains lactoferrin, an antimicrobial nutrient.
 
Hypertension (high blood pressure)
 
High blood pressure, or hypertension, is one of the leading causes of heart disease and stroke. Research shows whey protein may help reduce blood pressure in those with borderline hypertension.
 
High cholesterol
 
High cholesterol is another factor associated with heart disease. Certain bioactive components in whey protein may help balance cholesterol, as shown in a number of animal and clinical studies.
 
Cancer patients
 
Patients undergoing radiation or chemotherapy often have difficulty in meeting daily nutritional requirements due to nausea and lack of appetite. This can lead to weight loss of muscle wasting. Whey protein is very easy to digest and may be added to a variety of foods and beverages to increase protein intake. Cancer patients also often have compromised immunity. Studies have shown that whey protein, which is high in cysteine, helps raise glutathione levels for improved immunity, further reducing the risk of infection. A study presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Cancer Society, showed that women with the highest levels of plasma cysteine had a 56% lower risk of breast cancer than to individuals with the low levels of cysteine. Additional research shows that whey protein may have anti-tumour activity.
 
Various diseases and medical conditions can increase the body’s protein requirements. Whey protein can help speed healing and recovery for the ill or injured.