Whey protein might trigger images of hulking bodybuilders lugging massive plastic tubs from supplement chain stores. While it certainly can help build stronger muscles via its branched chain amino acids and other factors, whey protein provides numerous other benefits, whether your idea of heavy lifting involves a bench press or a Macy's home clearance sale.
Designer Whey Softens Whey's Image
The Designer Whey Company, which claims to be "America's #1 Protein Since 1993," offers a variety of protein choices with bright, eco-friendly packaging that seem to target health-conscious people who spend more time lifting pens than free weights.
Besides its Designer Whey brand, the company offers Aria Protein, a soy/whey blend protein drink for women, as well as The Biggest Loser Protein.
The Designer Whey brand consists of whey protein powder, a quickly absorbable, complete protein. A complete protein contains adequate amounts of all nine essential amino acids. Designer Whey's "Apt Full Spectrum Whey Peptides" contains a blend of whey concentrate and whey isolate. Each contains unique benefits.
Whey concentrate contains higher amounts of bioactive compounds such as lactoferrin, a powerful immune-boosting glycoprotein. Whey isolate, on the other hand, tends to be more processed, with lower fat and lactose but slightly higher protein. A blend, then, can give you the best of both types of whey. Designer Whey also includes added leucine, a branched chain amino acid that helps synthesize muscle protein.
Designer Whey comes in four types: Original, All Natural, Weight Control, and 2GO Packets. Each differs in nutrient profile, flavors, and other additives.
Designer Whey Original
Designer Whey Original comes in Chocolate, Strawberry, Chocolate Caramel Peanut, and Vanilla Praline. Each offers a respectable 18 g of whey protein per serving. Of its 3 g of carbohydrate, 2 come from sugar, which makes this a perfect low-glycemic choice for diabetics and low-carb dieters. You also get half a gram of fiber. Twenty of the 100 calories in Designer Whey come from fat. Of that, 2 g of fat, 1 g is saturated.
Designer Whey Original contains an array of added micronutrients you won't find in many commercial whey powders, including 75 percent to 88 percent of the Recommended Daily Allowance, or RDA, for many B vitamins. You also get several important minerals. Besides the naturally occurring calcium, Designer Whey Original offers 25 percent of the RDA for magnesium and 35 percent for zinc.
Be aware that Designer Whey Original contains artificial flavors and sweeteners. The Chocolate flavor, for example, has artificial chocolate and vanillan. It also contains sucralose and acesulfame potassium, both artificial sweeteners. If you'd rather avoid them, stick with the All Natural flavors.
Designer Whey All Natural
Designer Whey All Natural contains a very similar profile to the Original, including 18 g of whey, with several important distinctions. Rather than sucralose and acesulfame potassium, for instance, stevia leaf extract provides its sweetness. Also unlike the Original, Designer Whey All Natural contains no artificial flavorings. So while the Original Vanilla Praline flavor contains "natural and artificial praline flavor," for example, the All Natural French Vanilla flavor contains natural vanilla and almond flavors.
Designer Whey Weight Control
Designer Whey Weight Control contains more fat, at 3 g, and fiber, at 5 g, and a little less protein, at 15 g vs. 18 g, than the 100-Calorie version. The added fat and fiber bumps Weight Control to 120 calories per serving. Nutrients are also higher in Weight Control. You get 35 percent of the RDA for calcium, plus 25 percent of the RDA for several B vitamin, vitamins A, C, D, and E, as well as crucial minerals such as magnesium, chromium, and manganese. Along with protein, the fat and fiber both increase satiation. Weight Control, then, provides the perfect mini-meal or even meal replacement, especially if you blend it with coconut milk or have it with a handful of raw almonds. Weight Control comes in Chocolate and French Vanilla. Both flavors are naturally sweetened with stevia and inulin, a subtly sweet fiber.
Designer Whey 2GO Packs
Designer Whey 2GO Packs come in Orange Mango and Pomegranate Fruit. Most of the 50 calories come from protein, with a 0.5 g fat and just 2 g carbohydrates, 1 g from sugar. Rather than meal replacements or post-gym recovery fuel, 2GO Packs seem designed more to conveniently toss into your bag to tide you over between meals. When dinner is two hours away and you're craving a candy bar, a 2GO Pack dissolved in bottled water can satiate you without the subsequent sugar crash or guilt.
Beyond the protein to curb mid-afternoon hunger pangs, 2GO Packs can boost immunity and energy. They offer 100 percent of the RDA for vitamin C and half the RDA for several B vitamins. You also get a small amount of magnesium, calcium, and zinc.
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