Whey Protein Powder: 
A Real, Nutrient-Dense Food?
Does Your Whey Naturally Contain High Levels of
Vitamins, Minerals, Antioxidants and other Nutrients?
 

Fresh, nutrient-dense foods in this ideal world would contain all the nutrients we need!  However, today, even most organic food is missing nutrients, probably even if you get organic food from a local farmer or even from your very own garden.  In addition, we have higher requirements for certain vitamins, minerals, amino acids and especially antioxidants today because we live in a toxic world. 

Our bodies use up nutrients, including some of the amino acids that can be found in whey protein powder, to detoxify things that are bad for us, and so the more toxins we are exposed to, the higher levels of certain nutrients are required.  These amino acids can help your body make more glutathione, which is a major help in the work of detoxification.  That’s one reason why we think whey protein powder supplements can be so helpful in today’s world. 

More Info on Whey Protein Powder and Detoxification

Buy Farm-Fresh Food If You Have Access

If you want to try to get most of your nutrients from your food, you need to find supplies of nutrient-dense, organic, farm-fresh food.  Most food that we buy in the supermarket is processed, and even the fresh fruits, vegetables, dairy and meat products are often missing nutrients.  Most “fresh” produce is picked before it is ripe and it may have been days or even weeks from when it is picked until you bring it home. 

Food that is not organic has been shown to have higher levels of pesticide and herbicide residues, and dairy and meat products often contain antibiotics.  Conventionally raised animals often do not get their natural diet and hence their meat or the dairy products or eggs from them do not have the right composition of fats and are lower in nutrients, especially the fat soluble vitamins including vitamin a, d and e, as well as the omega3 fatty acids.

Food-Based Supplements May Help

One option is to take one or even a few high quality food-based nutritional supplements.  There are not very many people today who are receiving all the nutrients they need from their food, no matter how hard they try!  In addition, we are literally being assaulted every day by the increasing number of chemicals in our modern world, and in order for your body to detoxify those chemicals, you need nutrients, especially minerals and amino acids along with omega3 fatty acids and antioxidants. 

Trace Minerals:  Seaweed is a Superfood

While a high quality whey protein powder supplement does contain minerals, we recommend for most people an additional natural trace mineral supplement.  This is because one of the most important nutrients to make sure you are getting enough of is the trace minerals. 

Did you know that your body cannot properly use the vitamins that you ingest if you do not have enough of certain minerals?   Seaweed is not commonly consumed in this country, but it is a powerhouse of trace minerals, including iodine and selenium, which are both very important in immune system function and detoxification.

If you don’t like eating seaweed like wakame or bladderwrack, try a high quality organic nutritional supplement like our highly recommended Seaweed Superfood, Emerald Sea™.

Animal Foods May Have Nutrients Many of Us Need

Many people are trying to stay away from animal products, but for many of us who are not that healthy, we may need some animal products because they include many nutrients that can be used directly by the body without any type of conversions.  For example, the ALA type of plant-based omega3 fatty acids found in flax seed oil can only be converted to DHA and EPA if you are healthy enough.  It seems many of us today do not make that conversion very well.   But the omega-3 fatty acids in pastured eggs or beef or wild salmon can be used directly by the body. 

Beta-carotene is similar - it must go through a conversion process before your body can use it as vitamin A.  Many products these days are labeled as containing vitamin A when in fact true vitamin A is only found in animal products, not vegetables.  If you are someone who does not convert beta-carotene well to Vitamin A, you may need to eat some animal products that are high in Vitamin A or take a supplement.

Whey protein powder has a full complement of all the amino acids your body needs, including the essential ones you body cannot make.  In contrast, many vegetable foods including whole grains and legumes, contain only some of the amino acids your body needs.  The amino acids in a high quality, non-denatured, whey protein powder are also  highly absorbable, even by those with weak or compromised disgestive systems.

By the way, for those who still think that animal fats or saturated fats cause heart disease, that is really misinformation, widespread as it may be.  Many people were traditionally nourished for centuries with large amounts of saturated fats, from things like bacon, butter, whole milk and coconut oil.  But heart disease was practically unheard of until the introduction of more modern inventions like vegetable oils, hydrogenated fats, homogenized dairy products, and large amounts of white refined sugar came into our diets.  For more information, check out these pages:

Saturated Fats - The French Paradox

Omega3 Fatty Acids

Omega-3 Fatty Acids are another nutrient that so many Americans are deficient in.  You can get them from some plant foods, but only if you are healthy will your body make the conversion to the some of the nutrients you need like DHA and EPA.  In animal foods, omega3s are abundant in fatty fish, but often these are contaminated with PCBs and heavy metals like mercury. 

As a supplement, fish oil and cod liver oil are abundant in omega-3 fatty acids.  So is green-lip mussel oil, which is more easily absorbed and used by the body than the fish and cod liver oils.  It also has a much higher anti-inflammatory potency than the fish oil and cod liver oil, so if you battle with some type of inflammation in the body, it might be worth the extra cost to try a good green-lip mussel oil supplement.  The one we recommend is Moxxor™.

Whey Protein Powder

Whey protein is an animal-based food that has been shown to have many benefits.  It contains all the essential amino acids and has many powerful health benefits, including:

• Boosts antioxidant production (glutathione)
• Has nutrients essential for a well-functioning immune system
• Boosts endurance as well as energy, on an everyday basis as well as in sports
• Assists in removing various toxins and chemicals from your body
• Supports weight management and healthy metabolism
• Helps maintain healthy blood pressure and blood sugar levels
• Helps you age well and can boost mental clarity and mood

But if you are having a hard time getting your whey protein from grass-fed dairy products, and you want to purchase a supplement, beware!  Most whey protein powders out there are made from denatured whey, which cannot give you the benefits you need. 

You must look for a whey protein powder that contains no damaged proteins that is cold processed from fresh raw milk.  It is also important that nothing artificial or synthetic is added, and that it is tested to be free or low in heavy metals and also radioactive pollutants.  In our research, we have found one Whey Protein Powder we can recommend.