Supplements

There are literally thousands of supplements out there suggesting to do much of the same thing -- get you strong, muscular, and lean as hell.

And two of the most common are Creatine and Beta-Alanine.

In fact, both of these compounds appear in a multitude of different pre-workout supplements because research indicates that they are both effective.

Which begs the question -- do you really need them both, or is one better than the other?

Creatine and Beta-alanine: What are they?

To work out whether one of these common supplements is better than the other, it is first important to gain an understanding of what they actually are.

And first up is creatine.

Creatine is a compound found naturally occurring in the human body, where it is synthesised from small protein molecules called “amino acids”. Most of the creatine found in your body is stored within your muscle tissue. It is then released during exercise to produce energy during short, explosive efforts.

One thing to note is that the amount of energy you can produce via creatine is limited, because it is dictated by the amount of creatine you have stored in your muscle tissue -- which is exactly where creatine supplements enter the equation.

By increasing the amount of creatine you have stored in your muscle, they increase the amount of energy you can produce during intense exercise. This can lead to a couple of extra reps per set at a given weight, which has obvious benefits in the gym environment.

Pretty cool, right?

Next up we have beta-alanine.

Beta-alanine is a unique amino acid that is naturally found in your muscles and brain. Under normal circumstances, it combines with another amino acid called “histidine” to form a compound called carnosine.

And this is important, because carnosine helps reduce the accumulation of lactic acid in your muscles during exercise, which staves off fatigue.

But much like creatine, the amount of beta-alanine stored in your muscle tissue is relatively small compared to the amount of histidine. This limits the production of carnosine, and puts a ceiling on your ability to buffer lactic acid during exercise.

As a result, supplementing with beta-alanine can cause an immediate increase in carnosine production, which improves your fatigue resistance during exercise.

Creatine and Beta-alanine: What are their benefits?

So, we have two very different compounds that impact your body in two very different ways. Which really makes you wonder -- what are their benefits when it comes to boosting the results of your training?

The Benefits of Creatine

I mentioned above that creatine supplements ultimately saturate your muscle cells with creatine, which improves your energy production capabilities. I also went on to suggest that this could improve your gym performance acutely by allowing you to lift more weight.

Well, the research indicates that this is completely true.

Evidence has repeatedly shown that supplementing with creatine can cause vast improvements in strength during your gym sessions [1] -- and while lifting more weight is cool itself, this has further benefits when taking a longer term perspective.

Over the duration of a long term training program, lifting more weight every single session will place your muscular and nervous systems under more mechanical load. This stimulates greater training adaptations, leading to improvements in strength.

In fact, in one study, individuals who supplement with creatine saw improvements in strength that were 8% greater than people not taking creatine -- despite performing the exact same training program [2].

Moreover, this was just a short term study. When we extrapolate these effects over years of training, the results become astronomically larger.

But wait, there's more.

Because creatine allows you to lift more weight, it causes an immediate increase in the amount of total volume you lift per session (think of volume as sets x reps x load). This is important, because training volume has been shown to be one of the largest predictors of muscle growth.

As a result (and much like strength), combining creatine supplementation with a longer term training program has been shown to cause larger improvements in muscle size than simply training alone [3].

The Benefits of Beta-alanine

Now, as discussed above, beta-alanine works in a very different manner to creatine, where it increases the production of carnosine within your muscle tissue. This, in turn, directly limits the build of lactic acid during exercise.

As a result, it has been shown to improve muscular and aerobic endurance, while limiting fatigue during training [4].While having more energy during training is unquestionably a good thing, you should understand that the implications of this are quite large.

Let's say that you can normally perform 3 sets of 8 repetitions on the bench press at 80kgs -- but, when you supplement with beta-alanine, you can do 3 sets of 10 reps.

This can also cause large increases in volume load across the duration of a training session. In fact, it is for this reason that beta-alanine supplementation has been shown to enhance muscle growth and fat loss significantly when combined with training [5].

Do Creatine and Beta-alanine Have any Side Effects?

OK, so they both offer some pretty positive benefits -- but do they have any side effects?

To keep consistent with the theme of this article, we will kick off creatine.

If you have been around the traps for a while then it is highly likely that you have heard some anecdotal reports that creatine can cause some nasty side effects, including kidney damage, muscle cramps, dehydration, and even diarrhea.

However, evidence would suggest that this is not really the case [6].

A previous study in athletes has shown that up to 5 years of creatine supplementation does not have any adverse effects on renal function. Now, I must admit that while we do not have any idea what happens after 5 years of supplementation, it is likely to be pretty safe. Nonetheless, we encourage you to check with your medical practitioner before supplementing with creatine.

Moreover, while some people may experience some symptoms of dry mouth and increased thirst during the first week or so, that tends to disappear pretty quickly.

In short, creatine is one of the safest supplements on the planet.

And beta-alanine?

Well, much like creatine it appears to be very well tolerated in humans.

In fact, the only notable side effect that people experience is something called “paraesthesia”, which describes the “tingling” sensation that occurs on the face, neck and back of the hands after taking beta-alanine [7].

While this may be slightly odd, it is something that normally disappears pretty quickly, and only occurs with higher dosages.

Creatine VS Beta-Alanine: Who Wins?

And the winner is.... *drumroll please*... both and neither.

Evidence has shown time and time again that both of these compounds have the ability to improve the results of your training. However, because they work through very different mechanisms, they are hard to compare directly.

I mean, creatine helps you lift more weight, and beta-alanine helps you perform more reps -- both of which will improve muscle growth and strength development in a big way.

In fact, because they do improve gym performance by two very different mechanisms, I would argue that they both complement each other perfectly. As a result, it is probably in your best interest to take both of them if you want to optimise the results of your training.

And look, no one is saying that you can only have one -- so why not take both?

Key Points

Both creatine and beta-alanine are some of the safest supplements that you can get your hands on. And given that they have both been shown to help improve muscle strength and size, they both deserve a place in your supplement regime.

So what are you waiting for? Give them a go and let us know what you think.

References

1. Mills S, Candow DG, Forbes SC, Neary JP, Ormsbee MJ, Antonio J. Effects of Creatine Supplementation during Resistance Training Sessions in Physically Active Young Adults. Nutrients. 2020;12(6):1880.
2. Rawson ES, Volek JS. Effects of creatine supplementation and resistance training on muscle strength and weightlifting performance. J Strength Cond Res. 2003;17(4):822-831.
3. Cooper R, Naclerio F, Allgrove J, Jimenez A. Creatine supplementation with specific view to exercise/sports performance: an update. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2012;9(1):33.
4. Hobson, R. M., Saunders, B., Ball, G., Harris, R. C., & Sale, C. (2012). Effects of ?-alanine supplementation on exercise performance: a meta-analysis. Amino acids, 43(1), 25-37.
5. Kern, B. D., & Robinson, T. L. (2011). Effects of ?-alanine supplementation on performance and body composition in collegiate wrestlers and football players. The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, 25(7), 1804-1815.
6. Poortmans, Jacques R., and Marc Francaux. "Adverse effects of creatine supplementation." Sports Medicine 30.3 (2000): 155-170.
7. Trexler, Eric T., et al. "International society of sports nutrition position stand: Beta-Alanine." Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition 12.1 (2015): 1-14.

When it comes to optimising your training, actually getting in the gym and exercising is only half the battle.

And the other half?

Nutrition.

In short, you want to be sure that you are providing your body with everything it needs to perform maximally in the gym, while also recovering optimally after. This is key when it comes to maximizing the results of your training.

Now, a common suggestion around this is to make sure you consume an abundance of easily digested carbohydrates (such as dextrose) after you train -- but is this really required?

What is Dextrose?

As I alluded to above, dextrose is a type of carbohydrate.

It is what many would consider a “simple sugar” because it is very easily digested. It is generally made from corn, and is chemically identical to glucose (which is the same type of sugar that is found in your blood).

While dextrose is commonly used in medical scenarios to increase blood sugar rapidly, it has become increasingly popular in body building circles as an addition to the all-important post workout shake -- but why is this the case?

Taking Dextrose Post-Workout

During a weight training session, you are working at a high intensity the whole time. This means that you are using carbohydrates for energy.

Most of the carbohydrates in your body are stored in your muscle tissue in the form of glycogen. During exercise, this is broken down into glucose, which is then used to produce the energy required to support muscle contractions.

All of which leads to a reduction in muscle glycogen after training.

As a result, after exercise your muscle tissue is primed to receive carbohydrates to replenish these glycogen stores . From this perspective, the benefits of taking an easily digested carbohydrate like dextrose after training is apparent.

See, as dextrose is digested and absorbed so rapidly, it makes its way into your muscle tissue immediately after training. This quickly increases your glycogen stores, and better facilitates recovery.

Dextrose and Muscle Growth?

OK, so dextrose can speed up recovery after training -- but how does it impact the results of your training.

Well, it all comes down to insulin.

Because dextrose is so rapidly absorbed, it causes a rise in blood sugar immediately after consumption. This causes a subsequent increase in the secretion of the hormone “insulin” which drives the glucose from your blood into your muscle cells.

It is this hormone that is almost entirely responsible for replacing your muscle glycogen stores -- but that's not all it does.

Insulin also promotes the movement of amino acids (i.e. protein molecules) from your blood into your muscle tissue. Because these compounds are used to repair and grow muscle, this could conceivably promote additional muscle growth.

And research would indicate that there is some truth behind this.

Does Dextrose Increase Muscle Growth?

The growth of new muscle tissue comes down to maximising the accumulation of muscle protein -- which is driven by a process known as “muscle protein synthesis” which simply describes the production of new muscle tissue.

Interestingly, simply consuming a simple carbohydrate like dextrose after training has been shown to cause a substantial increase in muscle protein synthesis compared to not taking any carbohydrates at all [1].

Now, it is important to note that this effect is further magnified when dextrose is combined with a fast absorbing protein powder like whey [2].

So, while dextrose itself is not used to develop muscle tissue, it can facilitate the movement of protein into your muscle cells after exercise. This leads to an increase in muscle protein synthesis, which can lead to improved muscle growth.

As a side effect of this, it can also lead to enhanced recovery after training. This could enhance the quality of your next training session, leading to further improvements in muscle strength and size over the course of a training block.

When Should I Take Dextrose?

Now, a lot of people will suggest that you need to smash down your post-workout shake of whey and dextrose within 30 minutes of finishing your session, or it will all go to waste.

But this is not entirely accurate.

When it comes to maximizing muscle growth, you first want to ensure that you are consuming enough protein on a daily basis (around 2.2 grams per kilogram of body weight is a good place to start).

Then the next most important thing is to try and spread your protein intake evenly throughout the day across 4-5 meals.

Which means that if you are ticking these town major boxes, you don't actually need to consume your post-workout dextrose straight after training. In fact, as long as you consume it somewhere within the first 2-3 hours after your workout, you will be maximizing all of its benefits [3].

Closing Comments

Dextrose is one of the fastest absorbing carbohydrates on the market. As a result, it has the potential to promote recovery and improve muscle protein synthesis after training -- especially when combined with a fast absorbing protein like whey.

While it is not the most important part of your nutrition, when added to a solid diet that contains adequate protein, it should offer a little boost in muscle growth -- which over time, will result in some serious gains.

References

1. Roy, B. D., et al. "Effect of glucose supplement timing on protein metabolism after resistance training." Journal of applied physiology (1997).
2. Tang, Jason E., et al. "Minimal whey protein with carbohydrate stimulates muscle protein synthesis following resistance exercise in trained young men." Applied physiology, nutrition, and metabolism 32.6 (2007): 1132-1138.
3. Aragon, Alan Albert, and Brad Jon Schoenfeld. "Nutrient timing revisited: is there a post-exercise anabolic window?." Journal of the international society of sports nutrition 10.1 (2013): 5.

Every once and a while a supplement seems to take over the fitness industry. It becomes the hot topic amongst every gym goer on the planet, while simultaneously becoming the primary interest of every exercise scientist around the globe.

Which is what happened a couple of years ago to Glutamine.

But is it really it's all cracked up to be, or is it just another overhyped supplement that is costing you money?

What is Glutamine?

Glutamine is one of the 20 amino acids your body needs to survive.

Although amino acids play a number of important roles in your body, they are arguably most well known because they are used to produce proteins. These little compounds are used to create every protein in your body, which means that they ultimately act as the building block for your cells.

And of course this includes your muscle cells, as well as the cells that make up your bones, organs, skins, hair, and practically anything else you can think of.

In short, they are very important -- and none more so than glutamine.

Glutamine is the most abundant amino acid in your body. The vast majority of it is found within your muscle tissue. This indicates that it plays an important role in the production and development of new muscle tissue, which also explains its popularity as a supplement.

I should note that the form of glutamine found in your body is called “L-glutamine”, and it can actually be made by your body. However, there are times when the amount of glutamine made in your body is insufficient to meet its demands -- which is thought to impair function.

All of which should give you some insight into why supplementing with glutamine might be such a good idea.

What are the Benefits of Glutamine?

So, we know that glutamine has a number of important roles in the human body, particularly when it comes to muscle cell function -- but how does its supplementation benefit you?

Glutamine and Recovery

When it comes to gaining size, your ability to recover is integral.

I mean, I am sure you have heard it all before.

Training in the gym is what breaks down your muscle tissue, and tells your body that it needs to rebuild itself bigger and stronger -- a process that can only occur if you recover appropriately.

While this is a rather simple way of looking at things, it is very much true.

Now, the supplementation of glutamine has been shown to speed up recovery after intense bouts of resistance exercise. It has also been shown to lead to reductions in muscle soreness after training compared to not taking glutamine [1].

This means that it can facilitate your ability to repeatedly show up and train at the gym -- which is key to making long term, injury free, progress.

Glutamine and Immunity

Although most of the glutamine in your body is found within muscle tissue, it also has a very important function with respect to your immune system.

In short, glutamine is used for energy by your immune cells.

As a result, it has the ability to improve your recovery after things like major injuries. It has also been shown to boost immunity and reduce your likelihood of getting an infection, while also helping your body fight off invading bacteria and viruses [2].

While this may not sound as flashy as improved recovery, I would argue that it is even more important.

I mean, there is no doubt in my mind that the most important predictor of training success is your ability to actually get in the gym and train. And very simply, you cannot train if you are sick.

With this in mind, glutamine might be able to keep you consistent in the gym, which is essential to making gains.

Glutamine and Gut Health

Finally, glutamine has also been shown to improve digestive health -- especially in people who are in a high state of stress.

Like your immune cells, glutamine is also used as a fuel source for many of the healthy bacteria that live in your gut. As such, it can help maintain the barrier between your intestines and the rest of your body, aiding in digestion [3].

Interestingly, this has been suggested to improve the uptake of protein from the digestive tract in people who are highly stressed (stress has been shown to impair gut function).

So, if you are someone who suffers from a rather stressful lifestyle, or are currently in a high-stress state, glutamine could be a very useful addition to your weekly regime.

Does Glutamine Improve Muscle Growth?

Now, something that I want to note here is that the supplementation of glutamine alone does not appear to improve muscle growth -- or at least in the one study that has explored it in depth.

In this study, people were allocated to two groups. One group underwent a 6 week gym training program while taking a glutamine supplement every day, while the other group did the same training program but took a placebo.

And at the end of the 6 weeks, both groups saw the exact same increases in muscle size [4].

This most likely comes down to the fact that if you are eating enough protein on a daily basis (~1.6 grams per kg of bodyweight), you are maximizing your potential for muscle growth from a dietary standpoint -- somewhat blunting glutamine's effectiveness in this area.

This does not mean that glutamine supplementation is useless, just that it becomes a little less effective if you are eating adequate protein.

Is Glutamine Safe?

Because glutamine is produced by your body, and also found in a number of common foods within a regular diet (albeit in small amounts), there is no reason to believe that it will be harmful in what we could consider “normal” amounts.

What is a normal amount?

Well, it has been estimated that someone eating a typical western diet will consume between 3 and 6 grams of glutamine per day, although this is going to be a little less if you follow a vegan or vegetarian way of eating.

Some research has looked at people taking up to 14 grams per day without any notable side effects, suggesting that this would be a safe upper limit for the vast majority of the population over a 4-10 week period [5].

I do also want to point out that the effects of long term glutamine supplementation have not been explored. Some people believe that adding glutamine supplements to a regular diet may impair your body's ability to absorb glutamine from the food you eat.

As such, making sure that you take some time to cycle off glutamine supplements every 10 weeks would offer a way to mitigate this risk. And of course, make sure you seek advice from a medical professional before supplementation -- just in case.

We would also encourage you to start with a lower dosage (3-5 grams per day) to gauge how your body responds to it. If you do not experience any negative side effects, you can then increase the dosage slowly over time.

Key Points

So, should you be taking glutamine? Like most things in the health and fitness industry, it depends.

Glutamine has been shown to improve recovery after exercise, while also enhancing immune system function. Moreover, it can promote nutrient absorption in people who are currently in a high stressed state -- all of which may improve long term training outcomes.

This makes it the perfect option if you feel your recovery is slower than it should be, or if you are currently stressed out.

However, it will not have huge effects on muscle growth if your diet is on point and you are eating enough protein on a daily basis. While this does not negatively impact its other effects, it does need to be considered.

References

1. Legault, Zachary, Nicholas Bagnall, and Derek S. Kimmerly. "The influence of oral L-glutamine supplementation on muscle strength recovery and soreness following unilateral knee extension eccentric exercise." International journal of sport nutrition and exercise metabolism 25.5 (2015): 417-426.
2. Cruzat, Vinicius, et al. "Glutamine: metabolism and immune function, supplementation and clinical translation." Nutrients 10.11 (2018): 1564.
3. Camilleri, Michael, et al. "Intestinal barrier function in health and gastrointestinal disease." Neurogastroenterology & Motility 24.6 (2012): 503-512.
4. Candow, Darren G., et al. "Effect of glutamine supplementation combined with resistance training in young adults." European journal of applied physiology 86.2 (2001): 142-149.
5. Shao, Andrew, and John N. Hathcock. "Risk assessment for the amino acids taurine, L-glutamine and L-arginine." Regulatory toxicology and pharmacology 50.3 (2008): 376-399.

Most people know that fruit, nuts, and seeds are good for them -- but I doubt too many people have an understanding as to why.

Which, in essence, comes down to the nutrients they contain.

Foods that most of you consider “healthy” are full to the brim with vitamins, minerals, and numerous other compounds that improve how you function on a daily basis. Interestingly, a number of these compounds have made a mark in the supplement industry by providing additional benefits when you take them in higher doses.

One of which is Inositol.

What is Inositol?

Inositol (referred to as Vitamin B8 in some circles) is a potent compound found naturally occurring in a variety of foods, including fruits, beans, nuts, seeds, and grains. If you are completely starved of Inositol, your body can also synthesise it from dietary carbohydrates -- albeit it only makes very small amounts.

I should note that even though Inositol is sometimes referred to as Vitamin B8, it is actually not a vitamin. Nope, it is a unique type of sugar that has some rather important roles in the human body.

Firstly, Inositol is an integral component of your cell membranes (AKA the walls of your cells). If you did not have Inositol, your cells would not be able to efficiently let compounds in and out of them.

Secondly, it has also been shown to impact the action of the hormone “insulin”. This hormone is essential for blood sugar control, and also affects the secretion of dopamine and serotonin -- two very important brain chemicals that control your mood.

Interestingly, the average western diet has been estimated to contain around 1 gram of inositol per day. While this amount is enough to function, research has consistently shown that supplementing with higher doses can have some HUGE benefits.

The Health Boosting Powers of Inositol

Because inositol plays a number of important roles in your body, there is quite a bit of evidence demonstrating that its supplementation can have some potent benefits to your health and function.

1.    Mood Enhancer

Remember above when I mentioned that Inositol helps with the production and secretion of Dopamine and Serotonin?

Good, because this is important.

Both of these chemicals (or, more scientifically, “neurotransmitters”) help regulate mood and emotional control. Moreover, research has shown that individuals who suffer from depression and anxiety tend to have naturally lower levels of both of them.

With this in mind, supplementing with Inositol has been shown to boost mood, improve emotional well being, and even aid in the treatment of chronic depression and anxiety [1].

If you suffer from either of these mental health disorders, then this is obviously going to be beneficial. But more than that, by simply improving mood and motivation, Inositol could also improve workout quality and the results of your training.

Lift happy, get jacked -- simple.

2.    Increases Immunity

In addition to its unique impact on mood and mental wellbeing, Inositol has also been shown to have a positive impact on your immune system -- and it does this by enhancing the action of “Natural Killer Cells”.

While these cells may sound like something out of a science fiction movie, I can assure you that they are very real and very useful. These specific immune cells play the important role of destroying any unwanted pathogens that enter your body [2].

As a result, they may have the ability to stave off disease, illness, and infection, all while potentially helping you recover faster -- all of which means your long term progress in the gym is enhanced.

3.    Improves Insulin Sensitivity

So, onto insulin.

Insulin is a specific hormone that is super important when it comes to controlling blood sugar levels. In healthy individuals, insulin is secreted after eating food -- where it then helps shuttle protein and carbohydrates into your cells.

This is why people often suggest taking a carbohydrate and protein supplement after training -- it increases insulin secretion, promoting the uptake of nutrients into your muscles, thus facilitating recovery.

However, a lot of people in modern day have become “insulin resistant”, which means that their body does not really respond to insulin all that effectively. This can lead to chronic elevations in blood sugar, which can even result in the development of diabetes.

Fortunately, Inositol has been shown to improve your cells ability to react to insulin, causing a lasting improvement in insulin sensitivity [3]. From a pure health perspective, this can lead to reductions in blood sugar, improvements in blood cholesterol, and a reduced risk of both metabolic and cardiovascular disease.

And from a not so health perspective?

Well, increasing your cells sensitivity to insulin may lead to improved nutrient uptake after training. This, in turn, could aid recovery and promote further muscle growth.

4.    Helps Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS)

While this will not apply to all of you, many would argue that this is where inositol exhibits its most potent health benefits.

PCOS is a relatively common condition that causes serious hormone imbalances in women. These imbalances can lead to an irregular menstrual cycle, abnormal blood sugar levels, weight gain, and even infertility,

Interestingly, the supplementation of Inositol has been shown to improve the hormone profile of women with PCOS, while also increasing health and fertility [4].

With this in mind, if you are a female who has PCOS and has been struggling to see changes in your body despite training hard and eating well, Inositol could be a viable option.

5.    Boosts Fat Loss

Finally, because Inositol can improve hormone profiles, it has also been shown to have a positive effect on weight management.

Or more specifically, fat loss.

In a recent weight loss study, women with PCOS were put in one of two groups -- a group that went on a diet, or a group that went on the same diet, but with the addition of an Inositol supplement [5].

After 6 months both groups saw a significant reduction in fat mass, however the group supplementing with Inositol lost way more weight than the diet only group.

While this research was conducted in women with PCOS, it is likely that they will transfer in some capacity to most populations -- which means that if you are in a cutting phase, you may want to add inositol to your supplement stack.

Inositol Dosage

Now, this is where things get a little interesting. Because Inositol is a carbohydrate, there does not really appear to be an upper limit with regards to its supplementation dose -- and as a result, the dosages used in research settings are quite varied.

With that being said, there is some clear evidence to suggest that different dosages are required for different adaptations.

For example, to improve mood and boost emotional wellbeing, dosing between 1-2 grams per day should be sufficient. However, if you are looking to help any diagnosed mental health conditions, research would suggest that 12-18 grams per day is optimal.

Now, you will be happy to note that when it comes to the other stuff mentioned above, the dosage is not as varied. In fact, it appears that 1-2 grams per day is sufficient to improve fertility in people with PCOS, enhance insulin sensitivity, and facilitate fat loss.

As such, I would suggest starting with 1 grams per day for the first few weeks, with the intent to slowly move up to 2 grams per day over a month or two. This should cover most of your bases quite comfortably.

And if you do suffer from depression or anxiety, you should seek advice from a medical professional before supplementing with the higher dosages discussed above.

Take Home Message

Inositol is an extremely safe supplement that has been shown to boost mood, improve insulin sensitivity, increase immunity, and promote weight loss -- making it a super useful supplement for any training phase.

Moreover, when we consider its ability to improve upon PCOS, it might be one of the most powerful natural supplements on the market.

References

1. Mukai, Tomohiko, et al. "A meta?analysis of inositol for depression and anxiety disorders." Human Psychopharmacology: Clinical and Experimental 29.1 (2014): 55-63.
2. Gumbleton, Matthew, and William Garrow Kerr. "Role of inositol phospholipid signaling in natural killer cell biology." Frontiers in immunology 4 (2013): 47.
3. Giordano, Domenico, et al. "Effects of myo-inositol supplementation in postmenopausal women with metabolic syndrome: a perspective, randomized, placebo-controlled study." Menopause 18.1 (2011): 102-104.
4. Laganà, Antonio Simone, et al. "Inositol in polycystic ovary syndrome: restoring fertility through a pathophysiology-based approach." Trends in endocrinology & metabolism 29.11 (2018): 768-780.
5. Le Donne, M., et al. "Effects of three treatment modalities (diet, myoinositol or myoinositol associated with D-chiro-inositol) on clinical and body composition outcomes in women with polycystic ovary syndrome." Eur Rev Med Pharmacol Sci 23.5 (2019): 2293-2301.

If there is one supplement that you simply cannot go without, it is protein powder.

While it won't get you jacked up like a pre-workout, or increase your strength and power like creatine, it does provide your body with everything it needs to build new muscle tissue -- which makes it integral for athletes and weekend warriors alike.

However, you can't just buy a simple “protein powder” and be done with it.

See, there are several different types of protein powder that are all suggested to have their own unique pros and cons -- of which two of the most common are “casein” and “whey”.

But what's the difference between these two options, and more importantly, is one better than the other?

Casein and Whey Protein

While they do have some key differences, the first thing I want to point out is that casein and whey protein also share some major similarities.

Firstly, they are both derived from dairy milk. Secondly, they are both considered to be “complete protein” sources, which means that they provide your body with a full array of essential amino acids (i.e. the building blocks of your cells), rather than just a couple.

So, how are they made?

Dairy milk is made up of a number of different components. These include water, sugar (or lactose), several vitamins and minerals, and finally two very unique proteins -- which are obviously casein and whey protein.

To keep it simple, casein is found within the solid part of milk, while whey is found in the liquid part.

And how do we actually get the protein powder out of the milk?

Well, it all comes down to cheese...

When cheese is made, it starts off as dairy milk, before undergoing a number of unique production processes. During processing, the liquid component of the milk is separated from the solid to make it thicker, and then the thickest curds are fully extracted to stop it going lumpy.

These curds are then washed and dried to create casein protein powder, while the watery component is filtered to extract the whey (which is also dried into a protein powder).

Now, as I mentioned above, while they are indeed very similar, they also have some notable differences that influence when you might choose to take them.

Casein vs. Whey: Nutritional Information

The first major difference between casein and whey relates to their nutrient breakdown.

Because casein is naturally thicker, it undergoes a less stringent filtration process than whey. This means that it typically contains a little less protein per gram than whey, in addition to a little more carbohydrate and fat.

For example, the Amino Z micellar casein contains 81.5 grams of protein, 5 grams of carbohydrates, and 1.3 grams of fat, per 100 grams of protein powder.

This is in stark contrast to the Amino Z whey protein isolate, which contains a whopping 90 grams of protein per 100 grams, for only 1.2 grams of carbohydrate and 1 gram of fat.

This also means that casein contains more total calories than whey, which could influence your choice if you were in a cutting phase.

Now, it is important to note that this doesn't have a huge impact when we are looking at the typical 30-40 gram serving size of most protein powders, but it does still need to be considered.

Casein VS. Whey: Absorption

Arguably the biggest difference between casein and whey protein powder is that they are absorbed at different rates after consumption.

Like any protein source, both casein and whey are broken down into thousands of tiny little compounds called amino acids after consumption. These amino acids are then absorbed into your bloodstream, shuttled around your body, before eventually being used to create new tissue.

But the rate at which this occurs is very different between casein and whey [1].

Interestingly, when casein enters your digestive tract it interacts with your stomach acid to form curds. These curds are quite thick and clumpy, and subsequently take quite some time to break down and absorb.

As a result, after consuming casein, you will slowly absorb amino acids for up to the next five hours.

On the other hand we have whey.

Because whey is much more refined than casein, it is broken down rapidly in your intestine, before being absorbed extremely quickly. In fact, it will only take about 90 minutes for all of the amino acids from whey to be absorbed and shuttled around your body.

Which probably gives you a bit of insight into what type might be better when it comes to post-workout nutrition...

Casein vs. Whey: Post workout nutrition

Because whey protein is absorbed so quickly, it stands to reason that it is going to a better choice immediately post-workout -- but this is not the only reason.

Whey protein also contains a higher number of branched chain amino acids than casein [1]. Branched chain amino acids are a group of three specific amino acids that play a primary role in the production of new muscle tissue.

In fact, despite only being three of them (there are a total of 10 amino acids), they comprise about 35% of all the muscle tissue in your body -- which makes them pretty important for muscle growth.

Therefore, because of these two distinct factors, whey has been shown to increase muscle protein synthesis (the production of new muscle tissue in your body) to a greater extent than casein [2].

This means that it is more likely to contribute to muscle growth after exercise is completed.

Casein vs. Whey: Night time nutrition

Post workout nutrition is obviously important, but when it comes to optimizing muscle growth, your total daily protein intake is arguably the most important factor. Within this, you also want to make sure that you are evenly distributing your protein throughout the day [3].

This keeps a constant stream of amino acids trickling into your body, ensuring that muscle protein stimulus is maximised throughout the day.

With this in mind, consuming casein before bed is a great way to optimise muscle protein synthesis throughout the night's duration. While this is not the most important factor to eliciting muscle growth, it is an important step that can make a notable difference over time.

This would suggest that despite not being optimal post workout, casein offers a unique benefit that whey cannot provide.

Casein vs. Whey: Additional Benefits

Lastly, both Casein and Whey contain several unique compounds that can have additional benefits to your general health and function.

For starters, casein is full of unique bioactive peptides that have been shown to improve immune system function and digestive system health [4]. Within this, they also appear to help lower blood pressure, suggesting benefits to your cardiovascular health [5]

On the other hand, whey protein contains several interesting proteins known as “immunoglobulins”.

These immunoglobulins have been shown to have potent antimicrobial properties, in which they can kill off harmful bacteria and viruses. Consequently, they can boost your immune system function and make you less prone to illness [6].

When considering each of these factors, it is not really a case of one being better than the other. Instead, it is simply acknowledging that both of these protein sources offer some unique benefits that sit outside the realm of muscle growth -- and therefore may both have a place in your supplement regime.

Final Point

And the winner is… BOTH.

When it comes to casein and whey, they both have pros and cons that makes their use very context dependent.

Whey is absorbed much faster than casein, where it also promotes a greater spike in muscle protein synthesis. This makes it a much better source of protein for your post-workout shakes. On the other hand, because of its slow digestion, casein is a great option to take before bed so you can keep protein synthesis high throughout the night.

So, if you want to maximize your results, it might be worth opting for both.

References

1. Dangin, Martial, et al. "Influence of the protein digestion rate on protein turnover in young and elderly subjects." The Journal of nutrition 132.10 (2002): 3228S-3233S.
2. West, Daniel WD, et al. "Rapid aminoacidemia enhances myofibrillar protein synthesis and anabolic intramuscular signaling responses after resistance exercise–." The American journal of clinical nutrition 94.3 (2011): 795-803.
3. Stokes, Tanner, et al. "Recent perspectives regarding the role of dietary protein for the promotion of muscle hypertrophy with resistance exercise training." Nutrients 10.2 (2018): 180.
4. Mohanty, D. P., et al. "Milk derived bioactive peptides and their impact on human health–A review." Saudi journal of biological sciences 23.5 (2016): 577-583.
5. Fekete, Ágnes A., D. Ian Givens, and Julie A. Lovegrove. "Casein-derived lactotripeptides reduce systolic and diastolic blood pressure in a meta-analysis of randomised clinical trials." Nutrients 7.1 (2015): 659-681.
6. Ng, Tzi Bun, et al. "Antiviral activities of whey proteins." Applied microbiology and biotechnology 99.17 (2015): 6997-7008.