Resources From Today's Episode:

Bariatric Surgery Success with Dr. Susan Mitchell Private Facebook Group
FREEBIE: 5 Tips to Packing in Protein
Free Samples: ProCare Health FREE Samples
Podcasts Mentioned:
#31 Does Protein Help Prevent Weight Regain?
#29 Should You Go Keto after Bariatric Surgery?
#48 Is Pea Protein a Smart Choice After Bariatric Surgery?
Protein, protein, protein! Do you feel like your head may explode if you hear that word one more time? I bet you do, for I admit, I talk about it a lot as do most dietitians. There are so many protein powders on the market…egg, soy, whey, pea, collagen. Which is the best one for you after surgery?


There are days when no matter what you do, you can’t consume enough protein thru food, right? Maybe it’s a bad day and you’re just not feeling well. Maybe your day was interrupted unexpectedly and the meal plans you had just didn’t work out. Protein powder is an excellent way to help hit your daily protein target when eating enough protein thru food is just not happening.
Let’s take a quick look at the most common ones. Soy, eggs, whey, and casein are all complete proteins with a high PDCAA score. The highest score is 100 which all of these have. If you’ve listened to some of the other podcasts where I’m talking about protein, you may recall that PDCAA means Protein Digestibility Corrected Amino Acid score which measures quality of protein. A complete protein contains all nine essential amino acids. It isn’t missing, or low in any one of the nine. Essential amino acid means that it cannot be made by your body and must be taken in thru food.
Soy protein, made from ground soybeans is a quality complete protein. It’s a good choice if you prefer a plant based protein. Soy, egg, whey and casein all taste a little different so it comes down to your personal preference.
Egg protein comes from the egg white or albumen. It’s also a high quality complete protein and is popular with people who can’t have dairy or just want to change it up.
I’m going to spend most of our time together on whey protein powder as it’s so popular. It’s often called the gold standard of protein powders. But remember what we just said…egg and soy protein as equally as good just not as popular.
The protein in milk is 80% casein and 20% whey. Whey is a complete protein containing all nine essential amino acids and is digested faster than casein. Just like egg or soy protein powder, it isn’t missing or low in any one of the nine essential amino acids.
Science 101 for this week. Whey powder comes in several forms: whey concentrates, whey isolates and whey hydrolysates. In whey concentrate the water has been removed but the remaining product usually still contains lactose, fat and cholesterol which are naturally found in whey. Whey protein isolates usually have a little more protein but less of lactose, fat and cholesterol than whey concentrates. Whey hydrolysates are pre-digested and assimilate into the body more quickly. Isolates and hydrolysates are typically more costly due to processing.
Most containers just say whey protein on the front. How do you know what’s what? Look at the ingredient label. The ingredients go in descending order most to least. The first words should be whey protein concentrate or whey protein isolate, the two most common forms. It’s up to you which you purchase.
Because whey comes from milk, anyone who is truly allergic to milk proteins should avoid whey. A milk allergy is not the same as lactose intolerance. They’re two different things. Because the lactose level is low in whey concentrate and lower in whey isolate, they often work for lactose intolerance.
Casein is also a complete protein in milk. Studies suggest that since casein is absorbed more slowly than whey and releases amino acids over time, it may be beneficial to consume before bed. This will supply protein through the night. A combination of whey and casein works well too.
Make sure your whey protein doesn’t have a lot of other a