Protein for Vegans and Vegetarians

[Richard]

Unless you're a straight vegan, there is no reason you can't use any of the current crop of powdered whey proteins. Its a huge product in the body building circles. And whey proteins are just a by product of the cheese making process.

Here is a brief description of how whey protein isolate is manufactured.

1) Fresh milk is pasteurized

2) The casein (curd) and a some of the milk fats are separated out to make cheese

3) The remaining whey in liquid form, goes through a series of filtering processes to separate the lactose (a type of sugar found in milk) from the whey protein

4)The liquid whey is then placed in an ion exchange tower to concentrate and purify the whey protein, without denaturing the whey protein

5) The water is then removed from the whey protein in a drying tower to create a powder.

6) The whey protein isolate powder is then put into tubs with labels for sale.

You could make your own home made liquid whey protein from milk, by simply leaving some milk for 3-4 days in a glass bottle at room temperature. The liquid whey then rises to the top above the curds and can be separated by pouring over a strainer lined with a cheesecloth and collecting in a bowl beneath. Leave it overnight, until the dripping stops, then put in a clean glass jar and place in the fridge and it will be good for 6 months (supposedly). The liquid whey will still contain some lactose, but would that be a bad thing if used as a post workout shake?

But it is probably cheaper to buy a standard whey protein concentrate powder, than to try and make your own liquid whey, if comparing the cost per gram of protein.

Richard