A while ago, it was believed that exclusively health fanatics and body builders used Whey Protein. Few people are aware of the fact that the history of this substance goes all the way back to the time that Hippocrates was around. Scientists are now studying the product and it is being discovered that there might be more to just muscle growth to this product. Furthermore, it has been found that this is of value to both the mind and the body.
Studies were done on people that were placed under acute stress. The survey revealed that these people coped better with the ingestion of this supplement. This was because of alterations tot he levels of serotin in the brain. This was because the supplement was rich in large neutral amino acids.
When one is placed under chronic stress, there is a decrease in cognitive performance. The theory goes that this is serotin levels in the brain are reduced. The tryptophan levels are increased by the intake of whey protein. Tryptophan is an amino acid that is directly responsible for the activity of serotonin. These scientists found that the ingestion of protein had a positive effect on cognitive performance when one was under stress.
It was found that there was an increase in the plasma trp-LNAA after consuming whey and this was more than was the case with casein. Tests done on memories revealed that the memories of the subjects had improved. This was the case with subjects that had been under a lot of stress.
Strangely, it was found that participants that had no or very little stress showed no increase in their memories. It was therefore concluded that people under stress would benefit greatly when given whey protein. This applied to any other food type that was responsible for raising the serotonin levels.
A further study was done for the purpose of researching certain beverages on muscle mass and body fat. These drinks were taken before any exercise was done. The tests revealed that whatever one consumes before training will be instrumental in what the body uses for energy. There was a difference in performance when one took in fats and carbohydrates as opposed to fats and or proteins. This would change what is oxidized or burned for energy.
Then the scientists made rats exercise twice daily for more than five weeks. This would be when fasting or after an hour after taking whey protein. After the time was up it was found that the mass of the fed rats was higher than those that had been fasting. This was to be expected however. The groups were fed glucose and whole milk protein and the other group was fed the whey. The first group increased weight in terms of body fat.
The rats that took whey were found to have an increase in muscle mass. Their body fat had been reduced. The conclusion was that Whey Protein was able to deliver amino acids very quickly to the body. This could be a major breakthrough in the aim to add muscle while still losing body fat.