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 added ingredients that you probably don’t need, like  herbs, coffee or guarana, and particularly vitamins and minerals which typically are not added in the amounts specific to bariatric surgery. Generally the fewer ingredients the lower the cost too.

There are so many brands to choose from. I partner with ProCare Health because many of their products are tested by a third party, are made in the US, and meet or exceed current ASMBS guidelines. That’s important to me and for your care. If you want FREE samples, see the link above in the resources and you can try them out.

Let’s move on to pea protein which is an environmentally friendly plant-based option that’s easily digested and most people are not allergic to it. It’s dairy-free for vegans and people with a true dairy allergy. For a lengthy explanation of pea protein be sure and listen to podcast #48 Is Pea Protein a Smart Choice After Bariatric Surgery. The link is above in the resource list. A plant-based protein powder like pea may have all nine of the essential amino acids but be limiting in one or more. Remember this means that the level is not high enough to meet the body’s requirement. Because you had bariatric surgery and your body needs high quality complete protein. Pea protein has a limiting amino acid or one in a very low amount which is methionine. You can add the amino acid methionine to your diet by eating foods such as brown rice, sunflower and pumpkin seeds. Adding these to your diet increases the carb and fat grams too. Some pea protein products add sunflower or pumpkins seeds directly to the pea powder which then pushes up the total calories along with carb grams of a serving of that powder to around 8 grams compared to 1 or 2 in whey protein. When you have a gold standard protein like whey, egg or soy, you can save those carb and fat grams and use them on real food. This is so important to the enjoyment of food when your portions and calories are limited. I’m a fan of protein powder, it certainly mets a need but I’m a bigger fan of eating real food and maximizing the benefits to the body.

We can’t wrap up without a mention of the current darling collagen powder. Yes, it’s super popular right now but it does not contain the essential amino acid tryptophan and is low in both the amino acids cysteine and methionine making it an incomplete protein source with a lower PDCAA score and not a great choice for after bariatric surgery regardless of the Internet hype.

The nice thing about protein powder is that it can be mixed with water, juice, milk or other beverages. Most protein powder mixes best in warm liquid so mix your powder with a small amount of warm water or other warm beverage and then mix into your cold beverage if that’s what you’re having. Or, do you have a frother? This tool works really well for blending in protein powder. Combined with a warm liquid it’s a win-win.

So cut thru all the hype and go straight to the ingredient label to see what’s what. Find a protein powder without all the unnecessary added ingredients that you don’t need and push the price up. Whey protein concentrate is whey protein concentrate. It doesn’t need a bunch of added items. Compare prices and the label and look beyond the hype. Save money. It’s all part of taking care of yourself. Decide what works best for you. You’re worth it!