For those of you who are asking the question – why animal protein [whey protein] is better than vegetable [soy protein] protein, this may help.
Soy and gluten proteins increase your thyroid hormones triiodothyronine, and thyroxine to muscle-destroying levels. You will never see a pure vegetarian athlete in power and strength sports. Ovo-lacto vegetarians, however, use milk and egg protein supplements, the premium diet for athletes.
Muscle building requires extra alanine. During and after weight training, the muscle branched-chain amino acids leucine, isoleucine, and valine are catabolized to make alanine and glutamine, which are then lost from the muscle.
Beef, sheep, and milk contain appreciable amounts of alanine, however, red meats are not great muscle food. Eating more red meats, to bump up your alanine levels, raises your fat content. Chicken, fish, and egg whites contain less fat, but very little alanine.
The best solution is taking supplementary branched-chained amino acids to provide a substrate for alanine and glutamine. Whey proteins are the best source, containing both a lot of alanine, and all three branched-chain aminos.
There are a number of lactose-free whey proteins. I have tried a few – they still taste like whey protein, which for me is a real turn off, mainly because I have been on a lactose free diet for about 8 years, and anything that has a milk or whey taste to it is now pretty awful. So I use Soy Protein powders and boost their assimilation by making sure they either have all the amino acids or I take supplements.
Good news is – there are a number of combinations you can use to get the effective protein availability you need to support your workout programs. You can find a good range of protein powders here – read through some of the manufacturer product details to see the variations in amino acids and protein boosters included.
Lactose Free Protein Products – Whey and Soy
Zapper