Looking for a good whey protein? Are you confused with the number of brands, their variety, price point etc.? Do you need it? If yes, then which is the best one for you? This blog is going to be all about finding the right whey protein for you. So, consider reading till the end.

Do you need whey protein powder in your daily diet?

In simple words – NO and YES.

No, because You must meet the protein requirement and the best way to get it is through food. So, you must make efforts to fulfil your protein requirement through food. Instead of stuffing yourself with junk; like biscuits, bhujia, instant noodles etc., eat good protein.

Yes, because if you can’t eat enough protein for some reason like a busy schedule, hassle to cook, etc., you must consider having a good quality protein powder to meet the need.

Having optimal protein is essential for growth, development, repair, good skin and hair, production of hormones and enzymes, muscle build, weight loss, satiety, etc.

Are you eating enough protein?

You need 0.8g – 1.5g/kg body weight of protein daily depending on your activity level. Now do the math and figure out your protein requirement.

However, the question is are you eating enough protein? Let me help you with the calculation –

Common Protein-rich foods in the Indian diet are –

• One bowl of dal/ chana/ chole/ rajma/sprouts (raw wt 30 g) provides 7.3 g of protein
• 1 glass of milk (200 ml)/ 1 bowl of curd (200g) supply 6.6g of protein
• 1 whole egg gives you 6.6 g of protein
• 1 standard piece of fish (raw weight 75 g) provides 12 g of protein
• 4 pieces of chicken with bone (raw wt 100 g) supply 25.9 g of protein
• 1 handful of nuts (raw wt 30 g) gives you 4.4 g of protein

Besides these, your daily consumption of rice/ roti/ millets/ oats etc. also provides (raw weight 220-250 g) approximately 20 – 25 g of protein.

Now depending on your regular food choices, you should be able to guess how much protein are you roughly consuming through protein-rich foods daily. If you are eating enough as per your requirement then you don’t need any whey protein support. But if you fail to meet your protein demand then try to increase protein-rich foods and consider having whey protein powder in your daily diet.

As per an article published in Forbs India, most of the Indians are protein deficient which needs immediate attention. (1)

 How to pick the best whey protein in India?

What is whey protein?

If you put a few drops of lemon juice or vinegar in boiling milk, the milk gets curdled. Milk gets separated into a white solid and a greenish-watery liquid. The greenish watery liquid is called whey water.

Milk contains two types of protein – Casein (80%) – present in the white solid part and Whey (20%) – present in the greenish liquid whey water.

Whey protein is a complete and high-quality protein. It has a very high nutritive value. It is easily digestible and absorbable, great for repairing and developing muscle.

Understand the basic protein and amino acids –

Proteins are made up of amino acids. There are 20 types of amino acids that our body uses for multiple purposes.

These amino acids are of 3 types –

• Non-essential amino acids – These are the amino acids which our body can make on its own. There are 7 non-essential amino acids – alanine, asparagine, aspartic acid, glutamic acid, glycine, proline and serine. Note that Glutamic acid plays a crucial role in building protein in the body and also plays a major role in the central nervous system. Often you will see protein powder brands mention glutamic acid content on its label.

• Conditional amino acids – These are the amino acids which our body can make once needed. However, when you are sick or gone through intense athletic training, your body struggles to make it on its own. There are 4 conditional amino acids – arginine, glutamine, cysteine, and tyrosine.

• Essential amino acids (EAAs) –These are the amino acids that your body can not make but require for functions like – building and repairing tissues, and muscles, making hormones, enzymes and neurotransmitters, etc. There are 9 types of essential amino acids – histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan, and valine.

• Branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) – These are the subcategory of essential amino acids. These amino acids are specifically essential for muscle protein synthesis. There are 3 BCAAs – leucine, isoleucine and valine. Note that leucine plays the most important role in triggering the entire muscle protein synthesis process. So often protein powder brands mention leucine and other BCAA content on the label.

 Check the types of Whey Protein –

You will often get to see the terms like “concentrate”, “isolate”, and “hydrolysates” on the protein powder jar.  These terms indicate the type of whey proteins.

Whey water undergoes a lot of processing to get the whey protein. Then whey protein goes through various steps of processing to get a better easily digestible and absorbable form of protein.

Concentrate – It is the least processed form of whey protein. This contains 35-80% of protein by weight. The remaining percentage is made up of carbohydrates and fat.  If you are looking for weight loss or want to just fill the protein gap, whey protein concentrate can be a good choice. However, if you are lactose intolerant, concentrate may not be a good choice for you.

Isolate – Whey protein concentrate further goes through a filtration process leaving behind the carbohydrate and fat making it mostly 90% of protein called isolate. This gets digested and absorbed even more quickly. However, there is not much evidence that isolates perform better than concentrate when it comes to muscle-building recovery or weight loss. Isolate is a better choice for people with lactose intolerance. It is expensive compared to concentrate.

Protein Hydrolysate – Whey protein powder goes through additional processing with acid, enzyme, or heat which breaks the short protein chain into peptides. Therefore, it is a partially digested product that absorbs even faster than isolates. Protein hydrolysate is generally y little bitter. To make the taste more acceptable, sugar or sweeteners are often used. So, if you are diabetic, protein hydrolysate may not be a good choice for you. It is the most expensive form of protein.

Check the Protein blend –

Whey protein is available in various blends. The common blends are with various types of protein- – mixing concentrate, isolates and peptides. Sometimes enzymes, vitamins, maltodextrin, whey powder etc. are added to the protein powder.

Brands use key terms like ”beginners”, “performance”, “gold” etc. to catch the attention of the customer.

Try to buy a clean product with only 80% concentrate or 90% isolate as per your objective. Generally, blended protein powder contains less protein compared to pure concentrate or isolates.  Therefore, read the ingredient list carefully to understand what exactly you are buying.

Pay attention to the serving size and protein content –

Brands often highlight the protein content per serving on the front side of the jar like 45g or 30g or 35g of protein per serving. Here do not get carried away with the high number. Make sure you check the serving size also.

Eg – Product A – 45 g of product A gives 30 g of protein

Product B- -35 g of product gives 30 g of protein.

Remember you are paying the price for the protein. Therefore, check the back of the jar critically.

Pick the flavours carefully –

The good news is whey protein is available in various flavours starting from basic flavours like vanilla, strawberry, and chocolate to coffee, malai kulfi, masala tea, cookie cream, rocky road and whatnot.

However, always remember the flavoured powder is expensive and contains a little less protein per serving compared to its unflavoured version.

Check for 3^rd party testing and other product authentication certificates –

There are many scams around the quality of the whey protein powder. So always pick a brand that has some 3^rd party testing reports, authentication certificates etc.

Focus on your objectives –

Pick the protein powder as per your objectives. If you are looking for weight loss, meet the protein gap or develop immunity pick concentrate. This will help you to feel full for a longer time.

If you are going for a high-intensity workout, athletic training or quick recovery or you are lactose intolerant choose isolates.

Figure out your budget –

If you are looking for a budget option then undoubtedly go for unflavoured 100% protein concentrate. Flavoured options are going to be expensive compared to the unflavoured ones.

Avoid protein blends. They are expensive and often contain fillers (non-protein ingredients) and provide less protein per serving compared to pure concentrate or isolates.

11 Top Whey Protein Powder Brands in Indian Market

1. Brand – AVVATAR

Made in India

Available package – 1kg, 2 kg, 4kg

Flavours – Unflavoured, Chocolate, Malai Kulfi, Coffee, Caramel, Mango

Objective –

• Build strength & enable muscle growth
• Speed up recovery after intense exercise

2. Brand – Optimum Nutrition

Made in USA

Available package – 152g, 1 lbs, 2 lbs, 5 lbs, 1.7 kg, 4 kg, 5 kg

Flavours – Chocolate, Coffee, Strawberry, Vanilla, Cookies &cream

Objective –

• Build strength & enable muscle growth
• Speed up recovery after intense exercise

3. Brand – Big Muscle

Country of origin India

Available package –1 kg, 2 kg

Objective –

• Build strength & enable muscle growth
• Speed up recovery after intense exercise

Flavours – Unflavoured, Chocolate, Coffee, Peanut butter, Mango, Cookie & cream, Malai Kulfi

4. Brand – My Protein

Available package –1 kg, 2.5 kg

Objective –

• Build strength & enable muscle growth
• Speed up recovery after intense exercise
• To meet the protein gap

Flavours – Unflavoured, Chocolate, Coffee, Strawberry, Caramel, Cookie & cream, Thandai, vanilla

5. Brand – Muscleblaze

Made in India

Available package – 1 kg, 1.8 kg, 2kg, 4 kg

Objective –

• Build strength & enable muscle growth
• Speed up recovery after intense exercise
• To meet the protein gap

Flavours – Unflavoured, chocolate

6. Brand – As It Is

Made in India

Available package – 250g, 500g, 1kg, 2kg, 4kg, 5kg

Objective –

• To meet the protein gap
• Athletes

Flavours – Unflavoured, Vanilla, chocolate, coffee, mango, banana, kesar Elichi

7. Brand – NAKPRO

Made in India

Available package – 500g, 1kg, 2kg, 4kg, 5kg

Objective –

• Build strength & enable muscle growth
• Speed up recovery after intense exercise
• To meet the protein gap

Flavours – Unflavoured, Vanilla, chocolate, coffee, mango, banana, Lychee, blueberry, malai kulfi

8. Brand – Absolute Nutrition

Made in India

Available package – 1kg, 2kg

Objective –

• Build strength & enable muscle growth
• Speed up recovery after intense exercise
• To meet the protein gap

Flavours – Unflavoured, Vanilla, chocolate, coffee, mango, banana, Lychee, blueberry, malai kulfi

9. Brand – XLR8

Available package – 908 g, 1kg, 1 lbs, 2 lbs, 4 lbs, 8 lbs

Objective –

• Build strength & enable muscle growth
• Speed up recovery after intense exercise
• To meet the protein gap

Flavours – Unflavoured, chocolate, mango, strawberry, coffee, kesar badam, cookie cream

1 serving –   30 – 35 g

Per serving EAAs 11.9 -14.8 & 5.4 – 6.9  g BCAA

Various blends are available. A blend of concentrate, isolates, and enzymes. vitamins and flavours.

10. Brand – My Fit Fuel

Made in India

Available package – 15 servings, 30 servings, 500 g, 1 kg, 2kg, 3 kg

Objective –

• Build strength & enable muscle growth
• Speed up recovery after intense exercise
• To meet the protein gap

Flavours – Unflavoured, Chocolate, coffee, vanilla, mango, banana milk, milk masala

1 serving –   33.3 g

Per serving EAAs 11.6 -13.8 & 5.3 – 6.4  g BCAA, Glutamic acid – 4-4.6g

11. Brand – Steadfast Nutrition

Made in India

Available package – 6 count, 30 count, 45 count, 60 count, 900 g

Objective –

• Build strength & enable muscle growth
• Speed up recovery after intense exercise
• To meet the protein gap

Flavours – Unflavoured, Mango, Chocolate

Which is the best whey protein brand in India?

If you are considering whey protein powder for weight loss or to meet the protein gap, as mentioned earlier whey protein concentrate is the best choice for you. If you are looking for a budget option whey protein concentrate from a brand like As it is Absolute Nutrition or Muscleblaze suits you the best.

Consider having one scoop of protein powder in the evening mixed in water or milk as per your choice. This will make you feel full avoiding eating junk snacks.

Comparison of Concentrate – Best for weight loss, fill the protein gap, improving immunity

If you are planning to buy a whey protein powder to support your high-intensity workout, for better athletic performance, faster recovery after a heavy workout or having extreme lactose intolerance, look for whey protein isolates. This will get absorbed fast.

Whey protein isolates from Muscleblaze, NAKPRO, As it is, Big Muscle are a few best brands if you are looking for a budget option.

Comparison of Isolates – high-intensity workout, recovery, athletic performance

advertisements

Bottomline

Protein is one of the essential macronutrients in your body. So be careful to provide its uninterrupted supply. Try to eat a well-balanced meal every day to meet your protein needs. If your busy schedule does not permit that, look for a whey protein. However, do not trust advertisement, read the product label carefully before buying.