Whey Protein Powder Side Effects

By Barry Lutz

Whey is one of the purest protein sources available, making whey protein powder one of the most popular and widely used nutritional fitness supplements. But are there also whey protein powder side effects that make this supplement potentially dangerous to use?

Do a search on this topic. You will find many articles, and authority sites like WebMD or Mayo Clinic, showing a number of whey side effects.

I drink whey protein powder shakes and smoothies, along with using it as a recipe ingredient, multiple times each day -

as someone who does weight lifting and resistance training 4-5 days per week, eating high protein is an important part of my diet.

So, I am concerned about potential side effects that could be more of a problem to my health, than a benefit to my workouts.

Upon further evaluation, I see that there can be digestion related side effects from whey, along with health problems from eating too much protein. But I do not see side effects that are specific to whey protein powder. Unless, of course, what you are using is low quality, with nutritionally unhealthy ingredients in it.

What Is Whey Protein And Its Important Properties

Let's look at whey more closely: specifically why it is so popular, along with the primary problems with using it.

Have you heard the nursery rhyme about the little bodybuilder, lifting weights and eating their 'curds and whey' to get bigger and stronger? Well, if you add a special enzyme [it's called rennin] to milk, you will cause it to curdle. This is how you make cheese - the curds are the cheese, and the remaining liquid is whey.

As I mentioned above, whey is a fantastic source of protein. It is around 90% pure protein, and it includes all of the amino acids. The reason whey protein powder is so popular with weight lifters for muscle building is because:

• It can be absorbed and used by the body very quickly
• It is the best single source of the branched chain amino acid leucine - and leucine is needed for building lean muscle, along with muscle repair after working out
• It helps control blood sugar and insulin, when eaten with carbohydrates - this is especially important in keeping glucose from being stored primarily as fat

But regardless of all the nutritional and fitness benefits that whey protein can provide, many people have a lot of problems digesting it. The reason for this comes from the sugars in milk, which is lactose. And since many people are lactose intolerant, it can cause a number of digestive discomforts, like bloating, cramps, gas, and even diarrhea.

Lactose digestion problems come from not having enough of the enzyme lactase, as well as other protein specific digestive enzymes.

A sensitivity to lactose is a problem that affects me; here are some remedies:

• Use protein powders that are whey isolates - this is the purest form, and has the least amount of lactose in it
• Be sure that your whey supplement also has digestive enzymes added to it
• Take a probiotics supplement daily
• Take a digestive enzyme supplement before meals

These remedies have been effective for me. I currently have no problems eating whey. And I can also say that the probiotics and digestive enzymes have been very beneficial to my overall digestive health.

Additional Protein Side Effects

Lactose and digestion are the major side effects from whey. But unless you are very highly allergic to milk products, in which case you would never use a whey supplement, it shouldn't be dangerous.

If whey is too uncomfortable to use, and the digestive remedies don't help, then you just won't be able to ingest a whey supplement.

However, do note that these are not whey protein powder side effects - these are specific to whey.

And this is what I came to find was the case with other side effects from protein. They were directly related to the overconsumption of protein, and not only to the whey supplement.

I consume around 175 grams of protein each day. This amount is higher than what is typically needed in the diet, but I have taken more because of my physical activity and workouts; it is not an excessive or dangerous amount.

As mentioned, I have been able to remedy my whey and lactose digestion problems, and I don't have any of the other protein side effects.

Protein powder supplements are an important part of my nutritional health and fitness diet.

But since I use whey supplements in shakes, or for cooking a couple times of day, I do want to be sure that there aren't whey protein side effects that could be more dangerous than beneficial to me.

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