I’m guessing the different between protein powder, and ‘muscle fuel’/‘weight gainer’ or whatever is that protein has no or minimal carbs in. I would guess therefore that it is protein that I wanna use as a supplement. Correct me if I’m wrong please. Does anyone know what are they best brands to choose for protein shakes? Baring in mind I’m in the UK other Brits may be able to help more, but I don’t know, brands like Met-Rx I know are available world wide. I find that some protein shakes taste of sh*t, they are horrible! They seem to be ok for the first few shakes some times, but then they aer disgusting! Anyone else get this. Can anyone tell me a decent brand that tastes good? Cheers.
Check the double tap w/ john berardi thread. Excellent insight on training and workout nutrition.
A high quality recovery product contains hydrolysed protein, i.e. the peptides have been partly digested to increase their absorption rate. Unfortunately this makes them taste bitter. Other (valuable) ingredients that can impact taste include lipoic acid (increases sensitivity to insulin) & L Glutamine (improves immune function)
You can mask these flavours with a good sweetener but be wary off products high in simple sugar. Simple sugars increase the osmolality and significantly decrease the rate of gastric emptying. Remember the quicker a solution passes through the stomach the quicker it can be absorbed. Note also, sucrose is one unit glucose and one unit fructose. The fructose does not have an insulin effect (important post exercise) and can only be absorbed by passive mechanisms (which limit absorption to ~5g per hour).
Try Prolab NLarge2
There are many items that in my opinion need to be considered when deciding upon a protein mix and they all have to do with the specific qualities of the protein.
WPC that is cold processed will have the highest levels of immuno and other beneficial health fractions but it also has the highest amount of fat and lactose.
Isolated whey will taste better and have less fat and practically zero carbos but you just lost most of the microfractions.
Hydrolyzed peptides are digested with exceptional ease and have significant benefits in increasing circulating amino acids quickly, but the more hydrolyzed a product, the less microfractions there will be.
So in my opinion the ideal whey drink should contain a blend of all three to maximize all the benefits and cover all the negetives. I also hate how so many of the mixes require 6-10 ounces of water per scoop! This is because they utilize lower quality product which mixes poorly and tastes horrible.
Personally I want a product that I can mix up a couple scoops in 6-8 ounces of water and down it after a workout to jumpstart recovery or after a meal to spike the protein content. Also, some products are so damn sweet that when I try to add carbs to the mix post training I can hardly get the syrup down.
Vit, minerals and other phytonutrients can be added after processing. Hydrolysed whey should be the no.1 choice post workout.
thanks for the advice guys i really appreciate it. does anyone know of the EAS protein and how good it is?
I’m confused, is that above drink supposed to be better then surge? I went over the ingredients quickly, they looked pretty even (did I miss something?) but i thought consensus was the surge was “the” ultimate workout drink
What??? I am not talking about vitmains, minerals and there are no phytonutrients in milk. I am specifically speaking about ACTIVE immunopeptides. Proteins that stimulate immune and other health functions. You can add them yes after they have been isolated from another batch of protein. That is always an option.
I’m not going to argue for better or anything like that, but since having some of my athletes start their new training cycles with cytofuse I’ve heard and seen some wonderful things. One of the girls who started taking cytofuse is even swearing that it has reduced the severity of her menstrual cramps like no medication ever has (she has had severe cramping issues in the past which have limited her activity and training for the past 6 years!!). I love the cytofuse formula and have the utmost confidence in the people from xcell so I’m a little biased but yes, it’s an outstanding product. I still have to get some frost.
A blend of all 3 is better PWO. It’s just like how a blend of maltodextrin/dextrose is better than either by itself. One is absorbed immediately and the other is absorbed quickly thereafter.
One of the best combinations of post workout recovery drinks that I have found is;
1 pint of raw colostrum
1 scoop Ultra Size by Beverly International
1 scoop Muscle Milk by CytoSport Nutrition
2 table spoons of Essential Fatty Acids
10 grams of Glutamine
5 grams of Creatine
Taken immeditatly post workout.
20g fat? not optimal for PWO.
no no, lol, I think you misunderstood my intention
I wasn’t trying to get into a pissing match over wich was better, etc… I just want to learn which one is better, I’m going to take the time later to break down the ingredients and compare, and heck I’d even consider switching if I think the cytofuse is a better product. So you say your athletes have good results off of that? Intresting, it seems very similar to Surge in many regards. What was the sizing and price (and number of servings)? I couldn’t find the price on the website.
Thanks again!
I second that, PWO you want to avoid both fat and fiber, have you read the secret to PWO nutrtions by Berardi? Also, read up on the PWO Nutrtion myths by Dave Barr.
No, sorry I did understand you I just didn’t want it to sound like anything that my explanation wasn’t. I just wanted to say that cytofuse was excellent stuff but I didn’t care to comment on comparing it to Surge or anything else. If you have real questions, ask Clemson, he designed Cytofuse!!
Just so people know what I am doing and not doing.
Currently I am spending half my day involved with the industries of biotechnology and nanotechnology, so that my new company I have been hired to test, engineer, and communicate with will be on the cutting edge. AIDS/HIV, Cancer, and Brain Disorders are areas I am involved with. While I am not with Xcell anymore due to the fact I was offered a better deal, their products I give a 100% thumbs up.
Xcell’s products are fantastic and I use cytofuse since it doesn’t require a blender to mix, tastes great, and is not filling. This allows me to eat a meal after my shower and drive home. I was a very important person behind FROST, I just named cytofuse. I did test it and give it the clemson thumbs up before production based on the formula. The main thing I do is make sure that no short cuts are done to products. If I don’t like it I pull a tantrum. The company owner listens to me because he knows that I care about the little things.
One thing I like about Xcell’s cytofuse is the growth peptides that stimulate protein synthesis and how the product works well. What does bother me is the crap I am hearing other companies do to make profits.
One example is “Scientific Advisors”, or marketing ploys to make a company seem like some huge R + D firm when they just make creatine and protein formulas. Most of the time this is a way to get lecturers or conference speakers to hype their products when they are in the hallways talking to coaches. Some companies have some good guys behind them, but this is one area that pisses me off. The new company I am involved uses too many sources but will employ some advisors in the future directly. The key is to pay for the “advising” not the “advertising”! I know you need a spokes person to market stuff, but I think a good brochure and honesty is best.