#fitnessfriday - Wellaholic Prohydrolase Whey Protein [Sponsored]

Quoting Dr. Spencer Nadolsky, the doctor who lifts, "Protein is King".

Proteins are the main building blocks of our body, and makes up an important component of almost every cell in the body. Other than being an important building block of our bones, muscles tissues, cartilage, skin, and blood, protein is also found in our hair and nails. Almost everything important, yes? And having said that, we can even conclude that life will not be possible without protein. Along with fats and carbohydrates, protein is a macronutrient, which our body needs in relatively large amounts to function normally. However, unlike its two macro-counterparts, our body does not store protein.

Most official nutrition organisations recommend a fairly modest protein intake of about 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight, and this would be the bare minimum we all should be taking each day in order to not die remain functionally healthy (if there's such a term). However, if you're fairly active, looking to lose weight (or rather, fats), or hitting middle age, the amount of protein you should be getting daily would jolly well be much higher than just that miserly 0.8g/kg body weight. 

Here's a simple calculator to get a very rough gauge of how much protein you should be aiming for each day. As a fairly active woman (I walk almost 2000 steps and burns 130 kcals every single time I visit the washroom, and also hits the gym after work 4x a week), I target to hit about 134g of protein each day. And I've NEVER manage to accomplish it solely just based on whole foods. 

Let me work this out for you by quickly listing the amount of protein you get from basic, whole foods that I usually enjoy eating. 

1 large hardboiled egg (50g) - 6g

100g chicken/pork - 27g 

100g fish - 22g

100g tofu - 8g

100g baked beans - 6g

100g edamame - 11g

100g vegetables (kale, broccoli, spinach etc) - about 3 to 4g

100g fruits (banana, guava, strawberry) - <1g to <3g

1 slice wholemeal bread - 3 - 4g

1 cup (195g) brown rice, cooked - 5g 

200ml Marigold's HL milk - 10g

And so with my usual carbs-heavy diet, even with mindful eating (of trying to choose higher protein alternatives), I could barely even hit 100g of protein intake based on whole foods. 

And I'm glad to say my #eatclean-but-still-need-to-eat-134g-of-protein life got so much easier when I found Wellaholic WX ProHydrolase Whey.

Our W+ ProHydrolase Whey contains 26 grams of whey isolate fortified with ProHydrolase which provides up to 3 times more protein absorption and up to 55 times more Amino Acids in the bloodstream compared on other leading protein enzymes. With ProHydrolase Whey Advanced, you can reduce your serving size without any real loss of protein compared to an equivalent serving of a conventional product without ProHydrolase.

-credits to wellaholic.com-

At 26g of protein per 33.5g serving, the WX Prohydrolase Whey is about 78% protein, which is a pretty impressive yield. Best of all, it is sweetened with stevia and contains less than 1g of sugar. 1 serving of 26g protein will only "cost" you 120 kcals that is actually pretty negligible unless you're on an extreme caloric deficit diet of perhaps less than 1000 kcals, which you shouldn't. 

As we already know, not all proteins (supplement) are created equal. And as of now, we can conclude that the internet has came to a consensus that whey is the best choice of fast-acting, anabolic protein shake you can go for as a pre or post workout supplement, unless of special dietary requirements. And yet, the equation does not end here. Not all whey are created equal. 

While I'm not choosing sides for the battle between WPC (concentrate) and WPI (isolate), and would prefer to think that each has their own benefits, WPI has always been the "better" option, mainly for its quicker absorption, higher protein content and negligible (or no) lactose content as compared to WPC. Thus, this is extremely important for individuals who are lactose intolerant, or those on a caloric-restrictive diet who wants to get the most protein out of their calorie intake. 

And of course, since it's whey protein isolate we're talking about here, WX Prohydrolase Whey has got your BCAAs (branch chain amino acids) and EAAs (essential amino acids) covered. 

As we all know, proteins are made out of smaller molecules called amino acids and while some of these amino acids can be produced by our body, there's also some that we can't and need to get them from our food sources. And these are our EAAs. 

As for BCAAs, they act as nitrogen carriers, assisting our muscles in synthesizing other amino acids. BCAAs also stimulate production of insulin, which allows blood sugar to be taken up by our muscle cells and used as energy source. Most importantly, BCAAs is also anti-catabolic (prevent muscle breakdown), helping our body to retain our lean muscle tissue. This pretty much means that BCAAs is very important for those cardio-bunnies on a caloric-deficit diet. 

You really wouldn't want to burn your muscles instead of fats. 

And as the product name goes, what sets this apart from the usual protein powders, is the addition of the digestive enzyme ProHydrolase. A recent clinical study has shown that taking whey and ProHydrolase together provided 20% more amino acids than taking whey protein itself.

Ideally, for whey protein to help promote muscle growth, it should be broken down to the tetra-peptide level within 90 minutes to be absorbed and used by the body. Larger protein fragments cannot be absorbed and thus becomes food for micro flora in the large intestine, creating digestive discomforts like bloating and cramping, which is easily confused with lactose intolerance. 

But do note that there is no lactose present in whey protein isolate, so if your "lactose intolerant" symptoms persist even after switching from whey protein concentrate to whey protein isolate, it might have been peptide sensitivity all along. 

ProHydrolase, when taken together with a whey protein supplement, encourages pre-digestion of the protein, hence allowing release of the full content of the EAAs for building muscles and improving muscle recovery. The pre-digestion also ensures formation of smaller peptides, thus reducing the issues of peptide sensitivity. 

And lastly, the factor that is both subjective and yet of utmost importance; the taste. 

No protein is a good protein when you can't even stomach it, right? 

Unlike many of the protein powders in the market, which tends to be really sweet with either tons of added sugar or sugar substitutes, WX Prohydrolase Whey didn't seem to have gone crazy with the stevia. Having cocoa powder listed as the 2nd ingredient right after WPI also looked extremely promising to me (in case you didn't know, ingredients are always listed in descending order of predominance by weight). 

And it didn't disappoint! I usually mix it with 1 serving of HL milk (200 ml) and it taste like legit chocolate milk/iced cocoa. The first few sips even tasted a little dark (like dark chocolate) before the sweetness of stevia kicks in. On days I wish to save up on that additional 100 kcals from milk, I'll mix the powder with iced water and it still taste pretty okay as well, albeit the distinctive chemical aftertaste of stevia might be more prominent in this case. 

This product is also super blendable, and you can easily mix it up in a cup with a spoon (no need for a shaker at all) and enjoy your protein drink totally lump-free. 

WX Prohydrolase Whey comes in Chocolate & Vanilla flavours and is retailing for $79 per pack of 744g (about 22 servings) on Wellaholic right HERE.

Wellaholic also carries other awesome fitness supplement in their premium fitness range, manufactured in the USA, in an FDA-certified facility with over 30 years of manufacturing experience. For more information, visit their website at www.wellaholic.com/

Till then,

Mia Foo