whey vs casein?

laols01

Can anyone explain the difference or how to properly use whey protein vs casein protein? Is one better than the other? Can either be used for meal replacement/added calories?

Sorry if these questions have been asked and answered, sifting through posts made it difficult to find if it had been used.

Thanks for the help in advance!!

Walter__

First you need to understand what protein powder is for. It is a supplement.. which means it's supposed to SUPPLEMENT your diet, specifically your protein intake for the day.

In that sense, yes it can be a meal replacement. For example - instead of relying purely on chicken breast to meet your protein intake for the day, you can have a scoop or two of whey.

It seems to me that you're thinking of it as a meal replacement in the typical fad diet sense - like those Herbalife diets - in which case your line of thinking is flawed. Rethink it as a way to supplement your diet instead.

Typically if my protein goals for the day are met, and I have any calories left over, I prefer to eat carbs (personal preference because they are tastier).

Casein is supposed to be slow digesting. People like to take it before bed, apparently to prevent muscle breaking down. It's stupid if you ask me.. I just had 12oz of chicken breast with 5oz of potatoes for dinner.. and I'm going to sleep soon. I don't need casein. Common says tells me a pound of whole foods will be slower digesting than a scoop of powder.

WolnaDusza

Drink milk, it has both casein and whey.
Stronglifts.com/milk-post-workout-build-muscle-gains/
:bigsmile:

haydn24

Casein is digested more slowly than whey, therefore it provides a more continuous supply of aminoacids to the body. Unfortunately casein is also one of the most dangerous type of proteins because it has been recognized as a cancer promoter. Using casein supplements is worse than eating cheese because supplements have an extremely high concentration of casein that doesn't occur in food. Such is the relation between casein and cancer that even cheese should be avoided or reduced to a minimum.
https://suite.io/tom-ribe/4vee22x
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/385473

laols01

Thanks for the info. I definitely was not thinking of it as a "replacement" in the Herbalife sense. Perhaps I misworded my phrasing. The rest of your information covered my question. Basically, I wanted to know if having a protein shake on a day that I was not working out would still benefit me by having the protein, or if it would more beneficial to eat lean meats or egg whites, etc. I'm not thrilled at the idea of eating a big breakfast so would like to just add protein powder to a shake with greek yogurt, frozen fruits, and milk. I had heard casein was slower for digestion, and wondered if that meant that it would keep me more full for longer--for instance on a day that I have a morning meeting at work and couldn't get a snack in, would casein be better than whey?