Sustained Protein Information
SUSTAINED PROTEIN

No one type of protein is perfect. For all the benefits of Whey, it also has the drawback of being digested too rapidly. Amino acid levels peak and begin declining within 1 to 2 hours of ingestion, which studies show is too quick to effectively prevent muscle catabolism. To design an ideal protein supplement with both immediate anabolic and prolonged anti-catabolic effects, we need more than just a single rapidly digested source of protein. To achieve this goal we've spared no expense, formulating Sustained Protein with the two absolute finest undenatured fast and slow digesting protein sources available to bring you the ultimate 7-hour sustained-release protein supplement.

Sustained Protein is the first protein supplement available to use a 50/50 blend of rapidly digesting (anabolic) CFM Whey Isolate and slow digesting (anti-catabolic) Micellar Casein. There is no other product like it on the market, anywhere!

Anabolic CFM Whey Isolate Protein

You won't find any inferior whey concentrates or ion exchange isolates here. Sustained Protein uses only whey isolated by Cross-Flow Micro Filtration, a patented chemical-free ceramic filter based isolation process that allows for the greatest retention of undenatured Whey Protein Fractions (WPF's) possible.

Anti-Catabolic Micellar Casein

Casein provides a sustained supply of protein, shown in studies to keep amino acids elevated for as long as seven hours. But this is not just any old casein. Micellar casein is a superior undenatured form of casein protein, extremely high in glycomacropeptides (GMP'S) and bioactive casomorphin peptides. The ultimate anti-catabolic protein - cheap regular caseins and calcium caseinates don't even compare.

The Boirie Protein Utilization Study

Carbohydrates are commonly classified as slow or fast digesting, as their structures can affect the speed in which they are broken down in digestion and made available for utilization by the body (the terms high glycemic and low glycemic are also commonly applied). Fast digesting sugars flood the bloodstream with glucose more quickly than more complex and slowly digesting carbohydrates for example, causing them to produce a more rapid rise in insulin and increasing the likelihood excess glucose will be stored in fat tissues. With this in mind we no longer simply look at the total carbohydrate content when food shopping, it is the type of carbohydrate that is important today.

Although a relatively new concept, there are similar differences in the rate of digestion between protein sources, which can affect greatly the way they are utilized by the body as well. A landmark study was published in 1997, referred to most commonly as simply the Boirie Study, that identified and explored this issue extremely well1. In this investigation researchers looked at amino acid supply and turnover in a group of 16 healthy young individuals, after the ingestion of either a whey (30g) or micellar casein (43g) protein (different amounts of protein were given so that levels of tracer-labeled leucine would be equal in both groups). The results were quite enlightening, and allow us to come to some important conclusions about our protein supplements.

To begin with the data from this study presents clearly that whey is a very fast digesting, and anabolic, protein source. It allowed for a very rapid and significant release of amino acids into the blood stream, with peak levels being reached only 1 to 1.5 hours after ingestion. It essentially flooded the body's amino acid pool in a very short period of time, creating a strong state of hyperaminoacidemia (high amino acid levels) and markedly increasing protein synthesis. Protein turnover was quantified by investigators with the help of tracer labeling techniques, and showed whey to increase synthesis an incredible 68%. Casein was much less effective than whey here, increasing protein synthesis only 31% during the same time frame. By this measure alone there would be no question that whey was the superior protein source.

But we find that there is much more to look at before passing judgment. A less pronounced state of hyperaminoacidemia was reached with casein, yes, but unlike whey this positive state was sustained for many hours. It also meant that more protein was utilized instead of wasted, as was noted by the high oxidation rate with whey. These factors actually allowed casein, not whey, to exhibit a measurably greater net protein balance and be the overall more effective protein in the study. Even though it was not capable of triggering the same rapid rise in protein synthesis, it demonstrated a prolonged anti-catabolic effect that was not duplicated with whey protein. Over the 7 hour investigation its slow digestion and steady supply of amino acids were able to inhibit total body protein breakdown a remarkable 34%. Whey, on the other hand, was far too rapidly broken down to be of much help, and in fact exhibited no (0%) measurable net anti-catabolic effect during the study at all. The investigators summed up the differences between these two proteins well when stating:

After Whey Protein ingestion, the plasma appearance of dietary amino acids is fast, high, and transient. The amino acid pattern is associated with an increased protein synthesis and oxidation and no change in protein breakdown. By contrast, the plasma appearance of dietary amino acids after a casein meal is slower, lower, and prolonged with a different whole body metabolic response: Protein synthesis slightly increases, oxidation is moderately stimulated, but protein breakdown is markedly inhibited.

The Boirie study was the first to look at what effect the rate of protein digestion and amino acid absorption can have on post-meal protein metabolism in humans, and may indeed come to have more impact on the protein market than any one single study to come prior. Before it we were judging the value of a protein based solely on its amino acid content. Whey has an excellent amino acid profile, so we thought it must be as close to a perfect source of protein as we can get. But it is clear now that that there are more factors to take into consideration. When we look at the rate of digestion and how it affects a protein's anabolic and anti-catabolic properties, we can never look at pure whey powders the same way again. In many regards whey is sort of like the table sugar of proteins. An excellent quick source of quality amino acids for the bodybuilder, but far too rapidly digested to offer much by way of prolonged anti-catabolic benefits. If you ever use a protein powder to bridge several hours between meals, which most of us do routinely, then whey is low on the list of choices. And as a nighttime protein it would be even less desirable, as it is obviously incapable of sustaining high amino acid levels for more than a few hours into your sleep. Whey has its place, but certainly not as our sole source of supplemented protein.

REFERENCES

1Slow and fast dietary proteins differently modulate postprandial protein accretion. Boirie Y, Dangin M et al. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci 94 (1007) 14930-35

Sustained Protein

*These statements about Sustained Protein have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Sustained Protein is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.