Do you really need a protein powder? And if you do which type should you buy? Collagen or whey?

What’s the difference anyway? Here’s a few facts to help guide your choice, and perhaps even save some money.

For good health everybody needs to eat enough of the right type of protein. All foods contains some protein with some food being mostly protein. Think steak, chicken and eggs. There’s a lot to know so it can get confusing quick. 

Some of the confusion comes from the fact that there are 20 different types of building blocks for protein, called amino acids. 

From these 20 amino there are 9 amino acids that we must eat to stay healthy. These are the ESSENTIAL amino acids, and food with all 9 are of HIGH BIOLOGICAL VALUE. This simply means our bodies can do a heap of good stuff with these 9 amino acids. The 9 essential amino acids are: histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, trypthophan and valine.

High biological value foods include: red meat, chicken, fish, eggs, milk, cheese, yoghurt, soya beans, legumes, nuts and seeds.

So if you can eat enough of these foods to meet your MINIMUM daily protein target then a protein powder isn’t essential. If you can’t eat enough of these foods to meet your daily protein target then it’s best to start exploring options to give your eating a protein boost.  

There’s lots of different methods to try and your dietitian will have a tonne of good ideas for you. 

Here’s a link to some research that identifies that whey protein supplements are more effective than collagen supplements in keeping muscles healthy in older women.

Research evaluating whey vs collagen powder (CLICK TO READ)