Whey Isolate vs. Concentrate
Our Goal in creating Baby Booster was to take the guess work out for mothers trying to attain the most healthy, holistic approach to prenatal nutrition. Here’s how and why we chose some of our important ingredients.
PROTEIN:
We needed protein sources for Baby Booster that are extremely bioavailable, with no additives or questionable components whatsoever. We immediately ruled out any soy sources of protein due to the controversial ingredient’s purported effects on developing babies. That further led to our discovering that various other sources of plant proteins may have accumulation of heavy metals from impure soil and other factors. It was easy to cross those off the list.
So then we were left with sources like Whey Protein Concentrate and Whey Protein Isolate. So what’s the difference and how did we make our choice?
Protein concentrates are created by pushing the protein source (milk, whey, etc.) through a very small filter that allows water, minerals, and other organic materials to pass though. The proteins, which are too big to pass through the filter, are collected, resulting in protein powder. When this process is used to make whey protein concentrate, it yields a protein powder that is 70-85% protein and up to 5% lactose. People with lactose intolerance will have trouble consuming large amounts of whey protein concentrate.
Protein isolates entail a further step in cleaning up the protein; the protein is purified again using more filtration or a technique called ion-exchange or cross-flow microfiltration. Protein isolates have very low levels of carbohydrates and fat and are almost exclusively pure protein. It became apparent to us that Whey Protein Isolate, while unfortunately more expensive, is a more advantageous source of protein. Not to mention, with a higher bioavailability than sources of protein like chicken, red meat, and fish, it clearly is a perfect choice for a mother trying to effectively give her baby the most easily used nutrition (not to mention, through our research, people tend to think Whey Protein Isolate tastes better than Whey Protein Concentrate…an extremely important factor for women going through so many changes that may affect appetite).
Most companies would stop after choosing Whey Protein Isolate. But we believe in giving as many people a chance at a holistic approach to nutrition as possible; enter Collagen Protein. Collagen is the main structural protein of the various connective tissues in animals. As the main component of connective tissue, it is the most abundant protein in mammals, making up from 25% to 35% of the whole-body protein content. Collagen, in the form of elongated fibrils, is mostly found in fibrous tissues such as tendons, ligaments and skin, and is also abundant in corneas, cartilage, bones, blood vessels, the gut, and intervertebral discs.
As such a fundamental, important part of the structure of humans and developing babies, we felt as though we should keep things as simple as possible. Collagen protein is a completely dairy free, allergen-free, super bioavailable form of protein. Furthermore, it mixes quite easily in water and is nearly flavorless. This source of protein was invaluable in our ability to create a light, easy-to-drink product of which mom’s can’t wait to pour up a glass.