The Best Protein Combination

Every day I seem to learn more about the benefits of protein for muscle growth and recovery. And, every day I try to incorporate protein powder into my diet so I can build lean muscle and burn all that pesky fat! I typically use soy protein, which is a high quality complete plant protein comparable to animal based proteins like dairy or eggs. I find it really easy to incorporate protein powder into some of my favorite meals, especially breakfast and/or snacks.

I love Protein Pancakes:

I always add some protein into my post-workout smoothies:

Mixing some protein powder into your oatmeal gives it an extra kick and some deliciously sweet flavor! I love to make chocolate oats with chocolate flavored protein powder!

Well, with all this talk of protein powder comes some exciting news about the benefits of a protein combination of soy, whey and casein that is the best to consume post-workout for building muscle.  A recent study found that a protein blend of 25 percent isolated soy protein (Solae™ SUPRO® isolated soy protein), 25 percent isolated whey protein and 50 percent casein protein will increase a person’s anabolic window which is the amount of time it takes for building muscle to occur post exercise.

The reason this blend works so effectively is because each one of the three proteins is digested at different rates prolonging the muscle building window.

• Whey protein is a ‘fast’ protein that is rapidly absorbed.
• Casein protein is a ‘slow’ protein and requires several hours to digest which is why they say to eat it before bed to build muscle while you sleep
• Soy protein delivers amino acids at an intermediate rate right in between whey and casein proteins.

Looking at the way these 3 proteins work, it makes sense that the blend would be the most effective, long lasting way to build muscles. The blend extends the period of time your muscles receive amino acids, the building blocks of protein, which help drive the growth of lean muscle mass. By combining whey protein with soy and casein, the blend delivers a more balanced amino acid profile and provides prolonged delivery of critical nutrients to the muscles.

I found this study to be super informative and really logical. It combines all the benefits of all the different types of proteins. If you are looking for more information on this study or the benefits of soy protein, head over to Solae as they are the world leader in developing innovative soy ingredients for food, meat and nutritional products. They provide solutions that deliver a unique combination of functional, nutritional and economical benefits for their customers.

There will also be a Twitter chat about soy protein and this study on Wednesday, May 23, 2012 at 8 PM CST with the hashtag #soyprotein if you want to join the discussion. I will be there!

Disclaimer: FitFluential LLC compensated me for this campaign. All opinions are my own.