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Grass-Fed Whey Protein Isolate & Colostrum

Written By Jerry Teixeira

Grass-Fed Whey Protein Isolate and Colostrum

Sustainably Sourced Grass-Fed Whey Protein Isolate and Colostrum

The word PROTEIN has become synonymous with a healthy living, active lifestyle, and athletic training. Whether you’re training for Crossfit, combat sports, endurance sports or you’re perusing general health and wellness, protein is a big part of nutrition planning. But, making sure you’re consuming enough protein from whole food sources can be a challenge – This is when turning to a high-quality protein supplement can make sense.

However, selecting a protein that meets your needs can be more complicated than it needs to be. Walk into any grocery store, convenience store, health food store, or supplement shop and you’ll find a plethora of protein powders to pick from.

With all these protein options to pick from, you might ask…

“Why did PNP Supplements introduce yet ANOTHER protein supplement to add to the ever-growing list of protein supplements to choose from and make picking a protein supplement even more complicated?”

“What makes Grass-Fed Whey Protein Isolate & Colostrum a good option?”

“Is Grass-Fed Whey Protein Isolate & Colostrum right protein supplement for me?”

Below we’ll cover what sets our new Grass-Fed Whey Protein Isolate & Colostrum supplement apart from other protein supplements and who will benefit from our new formula the most.

THE MISSION BEHIND GRASS-FED WHEY PROTEIN ISOLATE & COLOSTRUM

When we set out to create Grass-Fed Whey Protein Isolate & Colostrum, the mission was simple. “Create a high-quality protein powder with a clean formula that delivers the high amino acid yield athletes and active individuals need, yet advanced enough to optimize recovery and support immune system strength and overall health.”

The methodology we used when engineering our new formula was simply to keep it simple. We believe that simple protein formulas are better than long, complex formulas that seem to give you everything, but end up giving you less of what you bought the protein supplement for, which is protein. This is why our grass-fed whey protein isolate and colostrum formula is formulated using only three key ingredients.

Grass-Fed Whey Protein Isolate & Colostrum provides 25 grams of protein with 5.3 grams of natural accruing branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs), 5 grams of colostrum, and 2 billion CFU of probiotics per serving and is completely free of artificial flavors, colors, antibiotics, gluten, and soy.

Let’s take a closer look at our formula for our Grass-Fed Whey Protein Isolate & Colostrum.

BREAKING DOWN GRASS-FED WHEY PROTEIN ISOLATE & COLOSTRUM'S PROTEIN BLEND

A protein supplement is only as good as its source of protein, which is why we selected a grass-fed whey protein for our formula. Whey protein provides several benefits over other protein options.

Promotes Muscle Development:

First and most important, whey protein isolate is a complete protein, meaning that it contains all the amino acids that are considered essential amino acids and must be consumed through food (the body can’t make them). This gives whey an advantage over plant proteins that need to be combined with other types of protein powders or food to provide the full spectrum of amino acids in amounts that the body can use to build muscle. Additionally, whey protein isolate delivers more amino acids per gram than other complete protein sources including regular whey, milk (including casein protein), egg, and soy.

Athlete taking a scoop of Grass-Fed Whey Protein Isolate and Colostrum post-workout.

The real difference-maker is whey protein’s leucine content. Leucine is a branched-chain amino acid (BCAA), and research shows it’s the single most important amino acid for supporting muscle growth. The International Society of Sports Nutrition (ISSN) suggests for individuals looking to maximize muscle gains should eat protein in doses of 20 to 40 grams per meal with three to four meals throughout the day. Each meal should contain 0.7 to 3 grams of leucine, which whey protein hits those targets perfectly.

Your average 3 ounce serving of beef, poultry, and pork will provide you with 2 to 2.6 grams of leucine, with seafood not far behind. Tune providing 1.9 grams of leucine per 3 ounce serving. One serving of our grass-fed whey protein powder provides 25 grams of protein and a full 2.546 grams of leucine! Additionally, it also provides 1.351 grams of isoleucine and 1.415 grams of valine for a total BCAA count of 5.312 grams and 11.404 grams of essential amino acids per serving.

Aid in Body Recomposition and Overall Health:

Whey protein isolate is the purest form of whey available at 90 percent pure protein and provides an excellent amino acid profile. Unlike whey concentrate, whey isolate has had the fat and carbs from its milk source filtered out, leaving you with what you want—straight protein to help you build muscle and change your body composition with no excess calories or sugar. This makes whey protein isolate an excellent choice for anyone who is watching their weight or maybe looking to lose weight.

A meta-analysis of nine studies showed that whey assisted overweight and obese individuals in losing fat and reducing risk factors for cardiovascular disease.

Whey’s benefits for the heart have been demonstrated in other research as well. A study in the journal Appetite showed that overweight subjects who strength trained and supplemented with whey protein had higher levels of glutathione (a molecule that supports cellular health) and HDL cholesterol after six weeks than a control group that exercised without supplementation.

Another trial from the International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition found a linear relationship between the amount of whey protein consumed and increases in glutathione levels. Subjects who took in 45 grams of whey daily for two weeks increased glutathione by 24%.

Supports Faster Recovery:

When you’re done with your training session, it’s time for your muscles to start their recovery process and rebuild themselves stronger and bigger. For this, they need protein and leucine. Whey protein isolate delivers its amino acids to muscles faster than other protein sources – including whey protein concentrate. A study from Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise found that whey protein delivers leucine to the muscles faster, stimulating muscle protein synthesis sooner. This makes whey protein isolate the better choice post-workout.

The sooner you get protein (and the leucine within it) into your muscles, the faster you can begin to recover from your workout. From hard training athletes to weekend warriors who partake in multiple activities per day, fast recovery between sessions is critical. Whey isolate delivers leucine to the muscles more efficiently than other protein supplements, making it a must-have for any post-workout shake.

Other protein options can have their own advantages, such as casein. Casein digests more slowly making it better suited as a nighttime option before going to bed, so it can feed your body leucine gradually through the night as you sleep.

THE SOURCE OF OUR GRASS-FED WHEY

Setting the bar for a higher quality whey protein supplement starts with the quality of life and food the cows have who supply the whey protein. Our whey is derived from the milk of Montana dairy cows that graze pastures and feed on grass year-round. In the process, our dairy cows avoid feedlots, the need for feed supplements, and GMO foods, which often include pollutes that the cows consume and pass on in their milk. Grass-fed naturally produces a cleaner and high-quality whey protein supplement. (For more on grass-fed vs regular whey see here)

Grass fed cows grazing in a pasture of green grass in the morning.

Humanely treated grass-fed cows live healthier, more natural lives, but they also place less stress on the land they inhabit. When properly managed, grass-fed animals can produce a net benefit to the environment. Pasture grazing requires significantly less fossil fuel than a feedlot diet consisting of corn, soy, antibiotics, and hormones. Pastured animals fertilize the land they graze on, which eliminates the fossil fuels required by conventional fertilizing practices. Lastly, grass-filled fields not only hold on to topsoil and moisture but also more effectively remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than any other use of land.

All in all, we believe providing a grass-fed whey protein delivers a higher quality product to you and benefits our environment too.

WHEY BOVINE COLOSTRUM AND WHAT IS IT?

Bovine colostrum is nothing new. It has been used and valued across several cultures for centuries for its powerful health benefits. Colostrum was used in ancient China in Chinese medicine, in Kenya, Tanzania, and all the way to Britain.

In modern times, this forgotten ingredient has gained popularity for both its health and athletic benefits and has been used by top-level athletes, including Britain’s Olympic team.

What is bovine colostrum?

Bovine colostrum is the early milk produced by cows during the first days after giving birth. This early milk contains various nutrients and antibodies that promote health and help fight bacteria. Studies have shown it may also improve body composition in adult athletes.

A study in the journal Nutrition observed men and women who supplemented with colostrum while performing aerobic and heavy resistance training. After eight weeks, subjects saw significant gains in lean body mass compared to a control group.

Make no doubt about it, colostrum has a nutrient profile and immunological composition substantially different from mature milk, which is sold in stores and is used for whey protein.

Calf drinking bovine colostrum from its mom in a grass pasture.

Colostrum is a very distinct ingredient that you’ll only find in a handful of protein supplements. Supplementing with bovine colostrum provides 3 major benefits.

Gut Health:

The gut is responsible for nutrient absorption, detoxification, and supporting immune function. The major player here is a special immunoglobulin protein called secretory IgA (sIgA). Colostrum contains very high levels of sIgA and supplementing it could top up slgA and provide a balancing effect on the immune system by reducing inflammatory and pathogenic species in the gut. Moreover, colostrum also helps provide raw materials to help repair a damaged gut lining. The intestinal membrane replaces cells every three days, and colostrum supplementation can help heal intestinal problems such as leaky gut syndrome and other permeability issues.

Immunity:

Colostrum provides over 100 times the amount of immunoglobulins as regular milk. It is also rich in factors that ‘educate’ and ‘modulate’ the immune system and successfully teach it to recognize specific antigens (threats). These transfer factors also help coordinate the immune system to be able to recognize the difference between normal tissue and pathological microbes or abnormal tissue growth. This improves the intelligence of the immune system and allows it to function with greater efficiency. In theory, therefore consuming colostrum should help with immune function.

Athletic Recovery:

With high levels of growth factors, immune-supporting proteins, vitamins and minerals, and high-quality proteins, bovine colostrum has not only been researched for its potential health-giving properties, but for the possible benefits on athletic performance too. In particular, because the gut plays a key role in modulating the function of a number of hormones (the body’s chemical messengers) involved in a range of processes during digestion and metabolism, there’s been speculation that supplementing with bovine colostrum could aid carbohydrate metabolism, protein turnover, and in turn, recovery after exercise.

Studies at the University of South Australia, University of Queensland, and at Numico Research in the Netherlands have tracked the effect of colostrum on athletic performance. These studies showed that colostrum supplementation resulted in much shorter recovery times following maximal exercise, as well as significantly increased anaerobic power with no significant increases in plasma IGF-1.

Researchers at the Center for Research in Education and Sports Science in Adelaide, Australia demonstrate that colostrum can improve recovery. After eight weeks of colostrum supplementation, performance during the second bout of exercise may be improved.

Colostrum is also an excellent source of a wide variety of critical nutrients including vitamin A, vitamin B1, vitamin B2, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, and vitamin E. Colostrum also provides vital minerals such as sodium, magnesium, and zinc. All this helps to keep you healthy and balanced.

GETTING MORE PER SERVING WITH PROBIOTICS

Grass-Fed Whey Protein Isolate and Colostrum with Probiotics

Gut microorganisms play a key role in protecting the intestinal barrier, fine-tuning the immune system, and metabolizing nutrients, which is why Grass-Fed Whey Protein Isolate & Colostrum includes probiotics or more specifically, lactobacillus acidophilus. One of the most naturally acid-resistant strains of probiotics, lactobacillus acidophilus provides a wide range of benefits from improving digestion and utilization of whey protein by the body to lowering the chance of stomach discomfort and lactose intolerance.

Whey protein features the highest concentration of amino acids gram for gram versus other forms of protein and relatively digest easily. However, that doesn’t mean your body will absorb 100 percent of the protein you consume.

The amount of protein your body can digest and utilize within the hour and a half time frame that it takes whey protein to pass through the digestive tract can be influenced by the level of probiotics and digestive enzymes you have in your digestive tract. You can improve protein absorption in your body by supplementing with the correct probiotics and digestive enzymes to make the digestion process more efficient.

When probiotics are consumed alongside whey protein a higher absorption rate of whey protein can take place. Ingesting probiotics like lactobacillus acidophilus with whey protein has been shown to provide a higher absorption rate of whey protein compared to consuming whey protein without probiotics or digestive enzymes. This is why our whey protein formula is formulated with 2 billion CFU of probiotics.

THE FINAL SCOOP ON GRASS-FED WHEY PROTEIN ISOLATE & COLOSTRUM

No one protein powder is perfect for everyone. Ultimately, the protein powder that is right for you will depend on your goals, nutrition plan, level of physical activity, age, the preferred choice of protein source, budget, and more.

However, if you’re an athlete or live an active lifestyle looking for a purer source of protein with additional health and recovery benefits while keeping the number of ingredients to a minimum, Grass-Fed Whey Protein Isolate & Colostrum could be the protein for you. I invite you to check it out on our website to learn more and give it a shot.

As with all PNP Supplement products, Grass-Fed Whey Protein Isolate & Colostrum comes with a full 90-day 100% money-back guarantee, so check it out and if you think this might be the right protein for you, remember you’ve got nothing to lose.