Whey protein drinks provide you with high-quality dietary protein in a convenient package. They can bolster your protein intake whether you are an athlete or a dieter, and you can use them as your primary source of amino acids or as a supplement to food-based protein sources. However, consuming too many whey protein drinks in a day may have negative implications. Consult with a dietitian or your health care practitioner for advice on adding whey protein drinks to your diet.
Protein and Carbohydrates
The amount of protein you need in your daily diet varies with your body size and activity level. As a sedentary person, you need only 0.8 g for each kg you weigh, while, as an elite strength and power athlete, your requirement may increase to 2 g per kg, states Bill Campbell in the September 2007 issue of the "Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition." Consuming more protein than this on a regular basis is unlikely to cause adverse effects if you are healthy. However, if your high protein intake excludes carbohydrates from your diet, your body will burn dietary protein as fuel, which is not only expensive but also denies your muscles of carbohydrates, their preferred fuel source.
Calories
Excessive consumption of whey protein shakes may add enough calories to your diet to result in unwanted weight gain. Your body can incorporate only a finite amount of dietary protein to meet your needs, and you do not store excess amino acids the way you do fats or carbohydrates. Protein in excess of what your body needs either burns as fuel or converts to fat for long-term storage.
Digestion
The digestion process of whey protein drinks begins when your stomach acid denatures the whey, causing the protein strands to unfold. Digestive enzymes in your stomach then clip the protein into smaller peptides. As the peptides travel from your stomach to your small intestine, additional digestive enzymes break down the peptides to single amino acids for absorption by your small intestine. Drinking many whey protein shakes in a day may overwhelm the capacity of your protein-digesting enzymes, leading to a backlog of undigested protein. The result may be abdominal discomfort until your digestive system processes the overload of whey protein.
Other Considerations
The more your diet consists of whey protein drinks, the less room your diet has to accommodate foods with a diverse range of nutrients. While whey proteins provide essential amino acids to your daily nutrition plan, they lack the vitamins, minerals, complex carbohydrates, fiber and heart-healthy fats available from a whole-food, well-balanced diet. Long-term supplementation with whey protein drinks may lead to a deficiency of one or more nutrients you need for optimal health.
References
- University of Illinois McKinley Health Center; Creatine and Whey Protein Supplements; December 2008
- "Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition"; International Society of Sports Nutrition Position Stand: Protein and Exercise; Bill Campbell et al.; September 2007
- Tips From Nancy Clark: Protein Power: The Truth About Supplements
- Francis Marion University; Digestion; July 2010
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