How to choose the best protein for you
Have you ever wondered how you choose the right protein?
Here are six key things to think about when assessing which of the many protein supplements are the right choice for you.SHORT TERM GOALS
When it comes to protein the first thing that you need to look at is what are your goals?
What are your short term goals? Are you trying to lose weight? Are you trying to build muscle? Are you just trying to be fit? Are you trying to maintain muscle mass? Are you specifically looking for some type of nutritional benefits? Your immediate goal is the first thing to consider when you're looking to choose your protein.
ACTIVITY LEVEL
Next you need to look at what your activity level is. The more you do, the higher your protein requirement. For example, if you're just casually training 30 minutes a day, five days a week, you don't need as much protein as someone who's training two hours a day seven days a week or as much as someone who is doing multiple types of activities daily as part of their training regime.
So what's your goal and what's your activity level are the first two things that you should look at because that determines whether you're going to need a quick acting protein, or whether you need a protein which is a little more economical because you're using it a lot, or whether you need a specific recovery protein or maybe a slow release protein.
AGE
The other thing to think about is how old you are. There are different proteins which are more suited to younger people, and different proteins which are more suited to older people in terms of the nutritional properties that they have and the other health benefits that come with those proteins.
YOUR SCHEDULE / NUTRITION PLAN
How many times a day do you eat? If you eat 6 or more meals a day you might need to eat a lot of protein meals to get that protein in each meal, so you will need a different supplement to someone who just uses protein once a day.
What time do you train? That's a really big one because the time that you train really impacts on whether you want to take a whey protein (fast absorption) or maybe a more slowly digesting protein.
Takes these things into consideration as it's not all the same. If you train first thing in the morning you might want to take a really good slow release protein the night before versus someone who trains in the afternoon and maybe just has to have their post-workout protein.
CONVENIENCE
The other things to think about are how many cooked meals do you like to have or have time to make? Protein powder is convenient and if you're trying to substitute a cooked meal then it’s best you take a more slow-release protein than take a more rapidly digesting protein.
OTHER NUTRITION OR DIETARY REQUIREMENTS
And finally, when you're looking for a protein you need to look at your other requirements. Do you need gluten-free? Are you a vegan and do you need a plant-based protein? Do you have any allergies? Do you want natural sweeteners? All of those type of things need to be taken into consideration when you choose your protein?
Now at International Protein I would say look to our brand first no matter what protein you're looking for because I believe that we have one that will suit everybody. We are coming out very soon with our Plant Power range and we also have our sweetener-free whey or sweetener-free WPI that's coming out very, very soon.
I believe International Protein is where you look, but if you don't look at International Protein, do look for a reputable brand, one that has been around for a while like we have. International Protein has been on the market for 18 years so we know our products are quality, we know they're trusted by everybody. I don't think you should look anywhere else but if you do, do look for things like that.
Look for banned substance-free like our International Protein products are. All Internatioal Protein products are also gluten-free and the ones that contain WPI, we use grass fed WPI with its higher nutritional value, including Vitamin D and CLA content.
Anyhow, in summing up, everybody's different so take those 6 factors into consideration next time you go shopping for protein.