by Briana Michel SixPackAbs.com
The “new whey” to improve your health!
If you haven’t tried a whey protein shake or been told to add in whey protein powder to lose weight, build muscle, keep blood sugar steady, etc then you must be living under a rock! The protein supplement industry is MASSIVE to say the least. Just hop on over to BodyBuilding.com and it will only take you a millisecond to realize what big business the protein world is. I actually used to manufacture my own line several years ago (thanks to the founder of ProteinFactory.com) when I couldn’t find a quality protein on the market that I would feel confident putting in my body and telling my clients to put in theirs. He was an incredible wealth of knowledge about the sources of protein, benefits of different processing techniques and so on. Unfortunately, the cost of whey went up over 300% while I was “in the biz”. To keep the quality I demanded I would have had to price myself out of business because without tons of money and energy to educate the public as to why my product was different, I couldn’t compete with people saying “Sam’s Club has a 5lb jug of XYZ for only $” or I just got some at Walmart (AHH!!! Oh the horror!) . Small manufacturers can’t compete with the giant poor quality (“crap in a container” I call it) proteins sourced from cheap ingredients, chemicals, fillers, poorly treated cattle, dyes, artificial flavorings and sold in bulk through big retail and online. I ended my 3+ years in the protein world and even stopped all protein supplements myself for another couple of years. I was burned out from combing through products I didn’t trust. I will always believe in real whole food first, but in the real world I also know we sometimes need something more convenient than grilled chicken or tastier than yet another hard-boiled egg. Also, with the growing trend of food intolerances, I started to notice a lot of my nutrition clients were experiencing digestive upset from whey shakes.
The forever student in me, started to do a lot more research and realized just how incredible collagen protein is! Why didn’t I think of this years ago? The beauty industry tries to make us believe miniscule amounts topically will give us a sip of the Fountain of Youth. If we can ingest collagen from quality grass-fed cattle though, the benefits become real!
Benefits of Collagen Protein:
- Faster Tissue Repair – proteins that help with cohesion, elasticity and regeneration of skin, cartilage and bone
- Great Post Exercise – helps repair and refuel muscles after exercise. Supports creatine synthesis for muscle growth.
- Flexibility & Mobility – makes the main building blocks for connective tissue more bioavailable and better absorbed into the joints leading to better mobility and flexibility potential.
- Bone Density –Bones with sufficient collagen are like steel, strong and elastic. Bones lacking in collagen are like dry, brittle wood, easily broken.
- Youthful Skin – promotes skin hydration and maintains skins suppleness, often leading to fewer wrinkles and more skin repair.
- Better Sleep – when taken at bed time, collagen provides arginine to stimulate growth hormone release and provides nutrients necessary for tissue repair while sleeping.
- Better Brain Function – provides glycine, a neurotransmitter involved in motor and sensory pathways as well as ATP synthesis.
- Hormonal Balance – By helping to balance the tryptophan, collagen can supports healthy thyroid function and reduces the metabolic stress of increased cortisol. So, if you consume animal meats, it is beneficial to simultaneously take collagen (gelatin) so the amino acids enter the blood stream in better balance. (Read more in-depth here)(Stay tuned for delicious shake recipes!)
Just keep in mind you need quality sources collagen from good animals that were NOT pumped full of antibiotics, hormones and pesticides on their food, or ate from feed lots. I personally use Great Lakes and Upgraded Collagen. Share with me if you have found other brands you love too!
Source: http://sixpackabs.com/collagen-protein-shakes-the-new-whey-to-go/
