[Rahkehs]

One thing to keep in my mind while using Whey Protein is the amount of Cholesterol per serving especially for people having high cholesterol levels.
Amul unflavored Whey is quite good and contains no sucralose or other artificial flavors and has good amino acid profile.

[Comrade]

My friend suggested Steadfast Nutrition's "LIVRAW Protein" Whey Isolate to me over regular Whey powders. I haven't personally tried it yet (ordered a 6-pack this week to try).

https://www.steadfastnutrition.in/pr...ivraw-protein/

[abtyagi]

I like and have been sticking to Myprotein (Whey Isolate) for a few years now. Primary reason For me,
- High-quality lab testing and results.
- No-nonsense approach to branding and flavours.
- minimal artificial sweeteners.
- No counterfeit, if bought from their official site.

Most Indian brands are too sweet and I don't trust their content declaration.

[Candy$Cars]

Originally Posted by GTO

We have mentions of whey protein on many threads, but no dedicated discussion on the same, hence starting this new thread for solid advice.

My gym trainer has recommended Whey Protein to me. Ran it by my doctor and he too has suggested the same. I gym 6 days a week and am a pure vegetarian.

1. Please share the best brands, products & recommendations.

2. Also reliable sources to buy from? Have been told there are a lot of fakes in the market.

3. Any other tips & advice.

Muchas gracias (thank you very much ).

Disclaimer - I am no nutritionist or gym bro and so there might be contradictions in what I say. Feel free to correct me.

I have again started going to the gym and have been researching whey powders for the past week. Whey powders come from cheap to expensive so it would have been better had you mentioned how much are you willing to spend.

1. ON (Optimum Nutrition) is one of the most popular brands out there and you can go with it (Get the ON Gold Standard). You can buy from their official website or from Amazon (RK World Infocomm is the authorized seller even mentioned on ON's website). There is a code inside every ON bos which you can use to validate if your box is genuine or not.
   • Other good brands are - Avvatar, MuscleBlaze, The Whole Truth, Dymatize. Some other good brands often recommended but I have not researched about them - MyProtein, Naturaltein, GNC.
   • Brands if you are on a budget - Nakpro, As-It-Is and NutraBay
2. The best source to buy from is the brand's own website. Nutrabay is also a trusted site. Or you can buy from Amazon. Many brands sell on Amazon themselves like Parag Foods (Avvatar), MuscleBlaze etc. Don't buy from shady sellers. When in doubt, go with brand's website.
3. Other tips -
   • Whey come as unflavoured and flavoured. If you are simply drinking with water, unflavoured may taste unpleasant. So, most people buy flavoured ones (but they almost all have artificial flavours and sweeteners like Sucrose). Long term impacts of flavoured ones is highly debatable and I don't want to go into them but most studies show they are safe. (I too use a flavoured one).
   • If you want to make smoothies with fruits and peanut butter etc. unflavoured may work for you. Or you can add hot chocolate powder to unflavoured whey to flavour it and I am planning to buy unflavoured whey this GIF sale.(though it will introduce some more calories from sugar)
   • Whey can be concentrate or isolate. The cheaper whey are often Concentrate. Isolate involves further filtering to remove the fats etc. from milk and so is easier to digest. Concentrate whey may give you bloating and can be difficult to digest while Isolate is better for people with Lactose intolerance. And since isolate is a purer form, same amount of powder has more protein in isolate compared to concentrate. However, they have same effect on muscle recovery.
   • Since concentrate is less filtered, it also has much higher cholesterol. Now, I tried searching but I found mixed information whether cholesterol is bad or good but people with heart conditions or family history may check cholesterol levels of the whey they are buying.
   • For example, a scoop of ON's Gold Standard Whey as around 50mg of cholesterol. People with heart conditions should limit daily intake below 200mg and so I feel this is pretty high amount of cholesterol to come from a single scoop. I have seen some whey having as much as 70-80mg cholesterol per scoop!
   • As you might have guessed, Concentrate Whey often has higher cholesterol while Isolates have very less (Most are less than 10mg per scoop). Thus, I prefer buying Whey Isolate and not Whey Concentrate even if it means paying more money. (However, many concentrate Whey also have cholesterol in range of 20-30mg and if you have no digestion issues you can buy these no problem)
   • Many people recommend buying imported Whey but today we have many good Indian makers as well.
   • Also, many people buy ON Gold Standard thinking it is imported but - ON Gold Standard Double Rich Chocolate & Vanila flavours are now made in India (mentioned on their site) while other flavours are imported. (p.s. I don't have any such fascination for imported whey or enmity towards ON but just writing this here because I have heard this misconception about ON Gold Standard a lot)
   • If you are just drinking with water, use a shaker to make your protein shake otherwise the powder will form a lot of lumps. Also, use cold water instead of hot water.
   • If you are drinking whey for first time, start with half a scoop for the first few days.
   • Always check amount of protein you are actually getting for your money - Check the scoop size and protein per scoop. Use it to calculate how many grams of protein is actually there in the box. Then divide the cost by total protein amount and multiply with 100. Check which one costs less per 100gm protein.

Leaving a few links of Amazon to some Whey Isolates & Concentrates (I am no way associated) you can find the same from their respective sites.

ON Gold Standard Isolate - https://shorturl.at/yjq5N
ON Gold Standard Whey - https://shorturl.at/DgpkO
MuscleBlaze Isolate - https://shorturl.at/NO4Fv
Avvatar Whey - https://shorturl.at/W8eKD
The Whole Truth - https://shorturl.at/5rM72
NakPro Isolate - https://*******.com/4cwyxysd

Originally Posted by Comrade

My friend suggested Steadfast Nutrition's "LIVRAW Protein" Whey Isolate to me over regular Whey powders. I haven't personally tried it yet (ordered a 6-pack this week to try).

https://www.steadfastnutrition.in/pr...ivraw-protein/

Attachment 2653300

Attachment 2653301

Why do you want to go for an unknown brand when there are better known and tested brands available at all price points?

[PreludeSH]

Originally Posted by crazy_coyote166

You should also know that most protein powder supplements are adulterated with various degress of protein content.

This twitter thread does the analysis comparing multiple brands which are sold online:
https://x.com/theliverdr/status/1629670100595888128

According to twitter thread, One Science and Ultimate nutrition have no lead but they have less protein than advertised. Guess Lead is something that needs to be looked at seriously when we buy any of these.

[invidious]

I’ve had quite a few over the years. Recently I switched to Amul - directly available on their website. They send sachets - I find that convenient .Checked some online test results before ordering and it is quite good - I get the unflavored variant. Another Indian one which ticks the boxes is MyFitFuel.

Others have already mentioned various brands like On. Any reputed brand, if you are sourcing it from a proper vendor will do the job.

[gck_tourer]

Coincidentally came across this article on Times of India today

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/.../113225645.cms

I am always sceptical on use of protein supplements. I had briefly dabbled with them in my 30s. I feel dal, sprouts, paneer, milk, curd and nuts in diet should be able to take care of the protein requirement of vegetarians, even those who moderately exercise. Protein supplements are not regulated in India as they should be which is the reason for rampant adulteration and use of prohibited/harmful ingredients. Also the long term side effects are unknown.

[sameerg]

Originally Posted by rajwheelz

I buy from either Tata 1mg or Amazon (Rk World Infocomm is the seller) and always a 1kg container.

Are there any product quality-related reasons behind the preference of a 1 Kg container?

[ach1lles]

Originally Posted by GTO

1. Please share the best brands, products & recommendations.

2. Also reliable sources to buy from? Have been told there are a lot of fakes in the market.

3. Any other tips & advice.

This is what you need in a whey protein supplement:

1. Primary source (the one that is listed first on the label): Isolate. High protein to total mass ratio, typically over 80% with negligible amounts of lactose.
2. Filtration process: cross-flow microfiltration: preserves most whey sub-fractions like BSA, Immunoglobulins, etc which have a multitude of benefits specially to immune function and offer various micro-nutrients.
3. A reliable brand that has lasted through the ages and has passed independent testing.

I’d recommend Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard 100% Whey, bought directly from their website: optimumnutrition.co.in

Usage protocol: start with one scoop, mixed in cold water. Can mix some cream, nuts, milk, coffee etc. for taste and texture, and to make it a meal replacement for convenience. Time of day is irrelevant as it’s a macro nutrient supplement.

[shardul_pathak]

Originally Posted by SlowDough

You need to consider two things:

Common rejection: The Whole Truth. My trainer went through its nutritional info, ingredients, and then even its website. According to him, this is not going to be super good, just decent.

Hi @SlowDough, can you please help me understand why your trainer rejected this? I have been on their Unflavoured Whey Isolate for over 4 months now, which has a claimed 30G of protein per scoop. I was taking ISOPure, no carb whey isolate before this. Can't really see much difference.

But want to know from people who have tried The Whole Truth , to understand I should restack after my current stash runs out?

[Candy$Cars]

Originally Posted by ach1lles

This is what you need in a whey protein supplement:

1. Primary source (the one that is listed first on the label): Isolate. High protein to total mass ratio, typically over 80% with negligible amounts of lactose.
2. Filtration process: cross-flow microfiltration: preserves most whey sub-fractions like BSA, Immunoglobulins, etc which have a multitude of benefits specially to immune function and offer various micro-nutrients.
3. A reliable brand that has lasted through the ages and has passed independent testing.

I’d recommend Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard 100% Whey, bought directly from their website: optimumnutrition.co.in

ON is a dependable brand but I have a few doubts. Don't they do ion-exchange method of filtration and not Cross-flow filtration. Their Gold Standard Whey (the black & red bottle) is not pure isolate but a blend of isolate and concentrate.
Also, I have found their 1 scoop has about 50mg of cholesterol which I think is very high to come from a single scoop. Many other concentrates in market have around 20-30mg and most isolates have it less 10mg.

Originally Posted by shardul_pathak

Hi @SlowDough, can you please help me understand why your trainer rejected this? I have been on their Unflavoured Whey Isolate for over 4 months now, which has a claimed 30G of protein per scoop. I was taking ISOPure, no carb whey isolate before this. Can't really see much difference.

But want to know from people who have tried The Whole Truth , to understand I should restack after my current stash runs out?

I think he rejected it because their recommended scoop to protein content is quite low. I think their 1 scoop is around 36gram while only containing around 24gm of protein. This is quite less compared to other brands and specially Isolates.
Other than this, there is no reason to ditch TWT if you have no other problem like digestion or mixing issue. You can definitely re-stock your unfavoured TWT Whey.
How do you consume it? I have been thinking to buy unflavoured whey but I drink it with water and I am worried about the taste. I am thinking of adding Cadbury Hot Chocolate powder to it to flavour it.

[sameerg]

Originally Posted by Candy$Cars

I have been thinking to buy unflavoured whey but I drink it with water and I am worried about the taste. I am thinking of adding Cadbury Hot Chocolate powder to it to flavour it.

Unflavoured whey is an acquired taste and something that may take some time to get used to.

What you can add depends on your reasons for moving away from flavoured versions. I recently moved from flavoured whey for raw, unflavored ones because I didn't want to have "processed flavours" every day. It didn't taste well in the beginning. Here me and my wife took two different approaches:

1) I used the bare minimum amount of water to dissolve the whey and gulped it like a medicine. Overtime got used to it, and now I can have the standard dilution

2) My wife started with adding some fruits. Berries worked well for her. It adds sugar to the shake but is natural and not processed. Over time, you can reduce the amount of fruit and remove it altogether. She is also now used to the plain version of it.

[avisidhu]

Sorry if these are dumb questions, but how do you decide the frequency of consuming Whey Protein?

Is it on a daily basis or restricted to the days you work out (which are typically 3-4 days a week)?

Do you try to cover for the daily gaps in protein intake through Whey? and how do you determine what quantity to consume?

Finally, is it recommended for family members who do not work out?

[rajwheelz]

Originally Posted by sameerg

Are there any product quality-related reasons behind the preference of a 1 Kg container?

Two reasons I opt for a 1KG container than the 5KG ones. For premium whey, it's not cost effective to duplicate low quantity containers. The bigger ones hence are more prone to duplication. Second is the freshness. A scoop a day, takes me a month to complete the 1KG container with opening and closing of the container once a day. A 5KG container would take 5 months and a fair chance of air moisture seeping in. Yes a very low chance no doubt, but still psychologically the mind plays its tricks

[vinya_jag]

My source of protein these days
Cadbury Cocoa powder (With milk) - 25% protein
Amul 90% dark - 15% protein
Artisan Cheese - 25% or more
Enjoy guilt free
Various sources are a better choice than an isolated one.
Also, a not so regular use of Vitamin supplements help me