Percentage of daily protein from shakes?

[vtach12]

How much daily protein is acceptable from shakes? If one is needing 375-400gms, what is the limit from protein shakes? Half?

[Gaspari1255]

One PWO...aka 50g

[vtach12]

Rats! that is what I thought. Is it better to take an extra shake vs. not get your daily intake target?

[big_ron]

As much as from food as possible, remember they are a supplement meaning to use when u can consume food. i average 2 a day

[Windex]

I think two or three should be the maximum, but are you only doing 1 or 2 scoops per shake? I currently consume 3 shakes/day. 1 Pre-Workout, 1 Post-Workout, and 1 Casein Shake before bed. Ideally, I'd eat cottage cheese before bed, but my body has an intolerance to some dairy, unlucky me ;(.

[Evader]

Do you guys have anything to support the one or two max? or are these just opinions? I have more than that and do 2 scoops in each, and I don't see why I shouldn't.

[Windex]

Do you guys have anything to support the one or two max? or are these just opinions? I have more than that and do 2 scoops in each, and I don't see why I shouldn't.

Yes.

Let assume 1 snickers bar contains 10g of fat and 50g of carbs
1 Scoop of the most delicious protein powder that tickles your taste buds has 25g of Protein per scoop.

Lets say your macros are going to be 300/200/40.

Do you think you will look the same eating 12 scoops of protein powder and 4 snicker bars a day as someone who eats the same macros with the same calories but eats only whole foods and maybe 2 scoops of protein powder a day ?

This is obviously an extreme example, but the more whole foods you eat the better your body will function. Another example would be drinking water full of sliced fruit vs. flavored water you can buy at the grocery store. Yeah you might have that 1-2g of sugar from the fruit, but it's a hell of a lot better than the aspartame and other chemicals they put in the flavored water.

You don't harvest protein powder from a field or slaughter it on a ranch. Evolutionarily speaking, our body has become a factory best functional when consuming, whole, clean foods.

[Gaspari1255]

The only people who use more than one shake PWO (except for those who throw in a little casein before bed) are either cheap, lazy, or broke. The only time you should be consuming a lot of shakes is if you cannot afford real food. So to answer your question Vtach, yes its better to have a whey shake over nothing at all. "I don't have time to cook all my meals" is bullshit. Buy a Foreman grill and do your shopping in bulk. I bounce 5 nights a week, am a full time student at a university, and have an immaculate diet. If anyone knows how important time is, it's me.

[Evader]

Windex: like you said that's very extreme, and your argument is more anti junk food and pro whole food than anti protein powder.

If my macros are 300/200/40 and my whole food diet only gets me to 200/200/40, then I don't see why I can't have 4 scoops of protein to bring it up to 300.

Your response may be to eat different foods, but in my case I'm vegetarian and lactose intolerant so almost everything I eat is high in carbs. Anyhow, I'm not looking for you to figure out my diet, I was just surprised by the one or two max replies which made me wonder if there's something bad about too much protein powder.

[Gaspari1255]

Windex: like you said that's very extreme, and your argument is more anti junk food and pro whole food than anti protein powder.

If my macros are 300/200/40 and my whole food diet only gets me to 200/200/40, then I don't see why I can't have 4 scoops of protein to bring it up to 300.

Your response may be to eat different foods, but in my case I'm vegetarian and lactose intolerant so almost everything I eat is high in carbs. Anyhow, I'm not looking for you to figure out my diet, I was just surprised by the one or two max replies which made me wonder if there's something bad about too much protein powder.

In your case, you're gonna have a hell of a lot more shakes than the average person because realistically, there's very few options out there for you involving your lifestyle.

[FireGuy]

Nearly half of my protein consumption comes from shakes.

[Gaspari1255]

Nearly half of my protein consumption comes from shakes.

Now why is that instead of something like Tilapia, where the fat and carbs are just as low (probably lower) than most Whey powders?

[FireGuy]

Just telling what works for me, I have tilapia 2-3 times a day right now, I also get a good 2-3lbs of leafy green vegetables a day. Best contest shape I have ever been in I was doing 3-4 Met-Rx drinks per day up until a week before the show. I know this isnt what you guys want to hear but just stating the the facts. My current diet, 2 1/2 weeks out from my next show consists of 350-400 grams of protein per day, a good 175 grams of that is in the form of protein powder.

[FireGuy]

The only people who use more than one shake PWO (except for those who throw in a little casein before bed) are either cheap, lazy, or broke. The only time you should be consuming a lot of shakes is if you cannot afford real food. So to answer your question Vtach, yes its better to have a whey shake over nothing at all. "I don't have time to cook all my meals" is bullshit. Buy a Foreman grill and do your shopping in bulk. I bounce 5 nights a week, am a full time student at a university, and have an immaculate diet. If anyone knows how important time is, it's me.

BTW, I can assure you I am not cheap, lazy or broke either. The anti-shake thing is one of the biggest brotelligence myths there is.

[LatissimusaurousRex]

IMO, the biggest problem with drinking shakes over food is the fact that if it's just whey shakes your drinking all that protein is gonna be absorbed in less than a half hour. The advantage of eating a variety of different foods is that you have all this protein being absorbed anywhere from 2-24 hrs. I would imagine you would not make as good of use of the 50+ grams of protein that's getting absorbed seemingly instantly vs the 60-80+ grams you'd get from a meal that will slowly absorb the rest of the day. My point is if you're going to supplement a good number of shakes pay attention to when and how much your taking in, ie 4 single scoops spread out better than 2 double scoops. Maybe FireGuy can shed some light on when/how he takes his 175g of protein powder to better help you, like I said this was just my .02

[gbrice75]

I don't think there is any right answer. Do your best to get the majority of your nutrients from real food, and supplement with shakes when you have to.

[terraj]

Nearly half of my protein consumption comes from shakes.

''

finally, thank you.

I hear that anti shaken sh1t of much on this forum.

[terraj]

IMO, the biggest problem with drinking shakes over food is the fact that if it's just whey shakes your drinking all that protein is gonna be absorbed in less than a half hour. The advantage of eating a variety of different foods is that you have all this protein being absorbed anywhere from 2-24 hrs. I would imagine you would not make as good of use of the 50+ grams of protein that's getting absorbed seemingly instantly vs the 60-80+ grams you'd get from a meal that will slowly absorb the rest of the day. My point is if you're going to supplement a good number of shakes pay attention to when and how much your taking in, ie 4 single scoops spread out better than 2 double scoops. Maybe FireGuy can shed some light on when/how he takes his 175g of protein powder to better help you, like I said this was just my .02

Add fiber or good fats and you slow the absorption

[FireGuy]

To me the problem is not too many shakes it's too little real food. I am by no means advocating we stop eating real food and drink all of our calories. I still get around 200grams of protein from lean meat sources a day, my vegetable intake is around 2lbs per day and nearly all of my fats are in the form of EFA's. In other words, my diet is not lacking in real food meals or fibrous foods. Whether I get my next 150-175 grams of protein from meat or from whey protein has shown me zero difference in my diet. My current protein intake is as follows, I am not going to write in the carbs as they change daily.

6:00am-2 whole omega 3 eggs, 4 egg whites, 2 pieces lean canadian bacon, 8-10oz spinach 1 scoop of whey in my oatmeal.

8:30am-50 grams whey protein

10:45am- 8 ounces white fish, 8-10oz spinach

1:00pm- 8 ounces white fish 8-10oz spinach

3:30pm- 50 grams whey protein

6:00pm-PWO-4 ounces white fish, one scoop whey

7:30pm-2 whole omega 3 eggs, 4 egg whites, 2 pieces lean canadian bacon 8-10oz spinach.

[FireGuy]

I don't think there is any right answer. Do your best to get the majority of your nutrients from real food, and supplement with shakes when you have to.

Yes, as stated, dont worry about too many shakes, worry about too little food.

[Gaspari1255]

BTW, I can assure you I am not cheap, lazy or broke either. The anti-shake thing is one of the biggest brotelligence myths there is.

I apologize for that comment and should have phrased it by saying that **most** of the people consuming an abundance of shakes in a day are cheap, lazy, or broke. Everyone wants the easy way out with dieting. I don't compete, so coming from a precontest perspective, I cannot really comment about the amount of whey powder one should be taking in. But for an every day person who is trying to BB, there are far better whole food options out there then powder.

[FireGuy]

I apologize for that comment and should have phrased it by saying that **most** of the people consuming an abundance of shakes in a day are cheap, lazy, or broke. Everyone wants the easy way out with dieting. I don't compete, so coming from a precontest perspective, I cannot really comment about the amount of whey powder one should be taking in. But for an every day person who is trying to BB, there are far better whole food options out there then powder.

No offense taken, I understand your point of view and hopefully my last few posts have clarified a few things.

[PK-V]

Number 1 you need to be taking into consideration the bioavailability of the protein your taking in it's all good a well taking 500g's a day but you may be only absorbing 60% of the actual protein

Number 2 whey is a poor protein source compared to casein
supplement company's push whey because it's cheap to do so
since when do they care about the protein quality your actually getting

Number 3 No harm can be done from taking to much protein in an adult with two full functioning kidneys

/out

[Windex]

Number 1 you need to be taking into consideration the bioavailability of the protein your taking in it's all good a well taking 500g's a day but you may be only absorbing 60% of the actual protein

Number 2 whey is a poor protein source compared to casein
supplement company's push whey because it's cheap to do so
since when do they care about the protein quality your actually getting

Number 3 No harm can be done from taking to much protein in an adult with two full functioning kidneys

/out

Absolutely incorrect. Protein is made up of amino acids. Amino acids contain nitrogen. Filtrating nitrogen is taxing on your kidneys and arguably the most stress-intensive function your body performs (outside of pumping blood from your heart). In addition, creating too acidic of an environment over time will raise your blood pH. A human cannot function if this were to happen.

Eat "too much" protein for a year then watch yourself die from renal failure or suffer permanent problems.

Disclaimer : I am considering "too much" as an arbitrarily high number of more than 2.5x your body weight.

P.S. - I am speaking from experience, my family has poor genetics and a bad family history of anything related to the urinary system (Kidneys/Bladder/etc). My grandfather is on a LOW-PROTEIN Diet because his kidney's can't properly filter anymore.

[yungone501]

Yes, as stated, dont worry about too many shakes, worry about too little food.

Agreed. Nothing wrong with shakes. Its better to eat whole food but you can (and i DO) grow off shakes. I consume 3-4 whole food shakes per day plus 3 whole food meals and i have excellent consistant progress.

[baseline_9]

The whole reason that the diet board here is agains shakes is because you get too many people coming in this section who are consuming 2-3 crap meals a day and then having 4+ shakes and think there diet is ok.....

This is lazey and not a BB's diet....

Shakes have there place for sure....

I just prefer eating whole food since it tastes good

I keep my whey intake at 1 scoop in the morning and 2 in the evening PWO....

[Turkish Juicer]

Number 1 you need to be taking into consideration the bioavailability of the protein your taking in it's all good a well taking 500g's a day but you may be only absorbing 60% of the actual protein

Number 2 whey is a poor protein source compared to casein
supplement company's push whey because it's cheap to do so
since when do they care about the protein quality your actually getting

Number 3 No harm can be done from taking to much protein in an adult with two full functioning kidneys

/out

There is so much wrong in here:

1. Yes, one sure needs to take into consideration the bioavailability of the protein he is taking. As far as a BB is concerned, the bioavailability of his animal protein sources cannot be as low as 60%, technically speaking. Lowest NPU of all animal proteins belongs to chicken by the rate of 65% and the highest are eggs with 88% NPU. Everything else (meat, fish and dairy products) is in between.

2.Whey is certainly not a poor source of protein compared to casein, any comparison between the two is apples and oranges. First, whey -especially whey isolate- is the most anabolic protein source out there not only because of its extremely high levels of bioavaliability due to its purity, but also because of its high profile of carefully calculated and enginered amino acids. Whether whey is an inferior or superior choice to casein has absolutely nothing to do with the origins of either protein sources, it is merely about the timing. Every relevant research about whey and casein indicate that whey is a much superior choice when it is taken before and after workouts; whereas, casein is proven to be a very poor choice when consumed as a pre and/or post workout drink alone. Needles to say, casein significantly becomes a much superior choice when consumed before bed or in between meals with prolonged time periods in between to fight catabolism. Again, whey would be a bad choice before bed, simply because of its fast acting nature which results in insulin -spike. At any rate, whey is the fastest acting and amongst the most pure forms of anabolic proteins in the whole wide world and neither casein nor any other macro source can replace it for that matter.

Lastly, neither whey nor casein have drastic production costs for manufacturers, since they are both made of pure and natural cow's milk. Casein protein is the predominant protein found in milk. It makes up about 80% of the protein in cow's milk, while the remaining 20% of protein in milk is whey. The only major difference between them is the time it takes for digestion. Casein protein is a slow-digesting protein because it forms a "gel" in the gut, which results in a steady release of amino acids into the blood stream over time and this brings about its added-value, making it commercially a more valuable and hence expensive product.

3. Windex below made an excellent comment about your ''No harm can be done from taking to much protein in an adult with two full functioning kidneys'' comment, exactly what I would have told you otherwise.

Why claim so much with so little information?

[jimmyinkedup]

I don't think there is any right answer. Do your best to get the majority of your nutrients from real food, and supplement with shakes when you have to.

This......
and "when you have to" could be due to time constarints , work etc.....
One of the main reasons whole foods are better is simply overall health resons - they contain micronutrients that a shake does not..and not just vitamins..
If you are getting micronutrient needs met from enough whole food consumption...SUPPLEMENTING with shakes isnt bad...(like fire eluded to in one post)

[Damienm05]

On my iPhone and didn't read replies, so I'm sorry if the flowing has been covered:

It has nothing to do with how much protein you get from shakes but rather real food. If you have 7 meals and 4 of them are chicken/fish/steak/egg based, there's nothing wrong with supplementing with shakes for the other 3. Now if you have eggs for breakfast, steak for dinner and the rest shakes - that's a problem as they are pre-digested and don't cause the same thermogrnic response/sustained absorption. When I critique diets, I look to optimize - meaning ideally I want to see one shake: PWO. However, if you need 350g and a solid 200 is from real food, I see no issue with the rest coming from shakes as long as you understand it's not ideal. There's no limit; see the forest through the trees guys. Hell 5 shakes and 1 real meal is a lot better than being victim to a substandard protein intake.

[PK-V]

Absolutely incorrect. Protein is made up of amino acids. Amino acids contain nitrogen. Filtrating nitrogen is taxing on your kidneys and arguably the most stress-intensive function your body performs (outside of pumping blood from your heart). In addition, creating too acidic of an environment over time will raise your blood pH. A human cannot function if this were to happen.

Eat "too much" protein for a year then watch yourself die from renal failure or suffer permanent problems.

Disclaimer : I am considering "too much" as an arbitrarily high number of more than 2.5x your body weight.

P.S. - I am speaking from experience, my family has poor genetics and a bad family history of anything related to the urinary system (Kidneys/Bladder/etc). My grandfather is on a LOW-PROTEIN Diet because his kidney's can't properly filter anymore.

Is extra protein harmful?

Extra protein is not harmful, particularly in a well-balanced diet. Many studies show the benefit of taking higher levels of protein, even in terms of strengthening bone, and for older people especially. No "upper level" of protein consumption has been scientifically established.

Show me the studies before you attack me and as I said this is in an adult with two full functioning kidneys not individuals with impaired kidney/renal function

There is so much wrong in here:

1. Yes, one sure needs to take into consideration the bioavailability of the protein he is taking. As far as a BB is concerned, the bioavailability of his animal protein sources cannot be as low as 60%, technically speaking. Lowest NPU of all animal proteins belongs to chicken by the rate of 65% and the highest are eggs with 88% NPU. Everything else (meat, fish and dairy products) is in between.

I just used 60% as an example such as is potato's NPU

2.Whey is certainly not a poor source of protein compared to casein, any comparison between the two is apples and oranges. First, whey -especially whey isolate- is the most anabolic protein source out there not only because of its extremely high levels of bioavaliability due to its purity, but also because of its high profile of carefully calculated and enginered amino acids. Whether whey is an inferior or superior choice to casein has absolutely nothing to do with the origins of either protein sources, it is merely about the timing. Every relevant research about whey and casein indicate that whey is a much superior choice when it is taken before and after workouts; whereas, casein is proven to be a very poor choice when consumed as a pre and/or post workout drink alone. Needles to say, casein significantly becomes a much superior choice when consumed before bed or in between meals with prolonged time periods in between to fight catabolism. Again, whey would be a bad choice before bed, simply because of its fast acting nature which results in insulin -spike. At any rate, whey is the fastest acting and amongst the most pure forms of anabolic proteins in the whole wide world and neither casein nor any other macro source can replace it for that matter.

Lastly, neither whey nor casein have drastic production costs for manufacturers, since they are both made of pure and natural cow's milk. Casein protein is the predominant protein found in milk. It makes up about 80% of the protein in cow's milk, while the remaining 20% of protein in milk is whey. The only major difference between them is the time it takes for digestion. Casein protein is a slow-digesting protein because it forms a "gel" in the gut, which results in a steady release of amino acids into the blood stream over time and this brings about its added-value, making it commercially a more valuable and hence expensive product.

What shitstorm have I started?

Why do you want to have to take 5 whey shakes a day to have constant flow of protein when you could just take on casein shake
Why do you want an insulin spike from whey which has no effect on protein synthesis and can lead for fat storage
This is in terms of a natural athlete
We know most of this doesn't apply to those who are on

In order to make cassein, actual milk has to be used (prime material), that makes it more constly as it isn't a bi product.
whey is the biproduct of making cheese, which is a industry much bigger than the supplement industry. Some cheese factories have the equipment to filter the whey biproduct into the grades we use as supplement, 80% concentrate, 90% isolate etc. That is how we get whey, left overs.

Also you post is implying casein doesn't supplies essential amino acids as whey does



3. Windex below made an excellent comment about your ''No harm can be done from taking to much protein in an adult with two full functioning kidneys'' comment, exactly what I would have told you otherwise.

see above

Why claim so much with so little information?

[Turkish Juicer]

Is extra protein harmful?

Extra protein is not harmful, particularly in a well-balanced diet. Many studies show the benefit of taking higher levels of protein, even in terms of strengthening bone, and for older people especially. No "upper level" of protein consumption has been scientifically established.
Show me the studies before you attack me and as I said this is in an adult with two full functioning kidneys not individuals with impaired kidney/renal function

Here are two solid studies that show protein rich diet does not have any positive effects in terms of bone health, and one of these studies actually targeted only older people like you said:

http://www.ergo-log.com/proteindietbones.html

http://www.ergo-log.com/soyabones.html

1. I never drink 5 whey shakes a day nor do I remember ever advocating such activity. Although for a BB who beats his muscles to death at the gym, I do think a pre & post workout quality whey isolate intake is a darn good idea. I always drink casein 30 mins prior to sleep, so that makes 3 shakes of 1 scoop each a day besides 4-5 macro meals for me.

2. Insulin spike will occur when whey intake is the case, whether I want it or not. One study shows that a mediocre quality whey concentrate will spike insulin at a rate of 25%, which means a faster acting whey isolate will spike it at a greater rate. To answer your question here, why would I not want to activate an anabolic hormone by spiking it immediately after my workout when I have the option to do so (unless I am on a strict cutting cycle where insulin spike may become a problem)? The issue of protein synthesis is simply irrelevant here, the point of spiking insulin before and/or after a workout session mainly has an anabolic purpose of carrying nutritions to the cells, although not all BBs are into this system for their own reasons (again, no good for cutting cycles and/or dieting for other reasons).

3. My post certainly does not imply that casein doesn't supply essential amino acids as whey does, unless you really want to read into it thay way. I was very particular about the duration of such supply, not the content. It is simply absurd to take casein as your pre and/or post workout protein alone, unless you really want to starve your protein craving muscle fibers, because casein will exactly do that when taken by itself at that time of the day, as many studies have already revealed. You are making a mistake by directly comparing one protein type to another on a merely qualitative level here, instead of seeing the different levels of benefits determined by rather mere timing.

Just to make an analogy here, a lot of things can run on so called ''biproducts'' and still perform like a demi god, such as my BMW M3 that runs on 100 octane gas, which is a refined animal biproduct in this case. Maybe the quality of a product should not neccessarily be determined by whether it is a biproduct of something else, but rather how refined it is. There are extremely refined fine whey isolates and hydro-isolates in the market nowadays that work miraculously due to superb engineering and BBs will continue to use them for their own valid reasons.

[jimmyinkedup]

You know..i was gonna post a few points...but all in all i think its a waste to do so. The bottom line in this thread is probably the 2 simpliest, most appropraite answers given - those by gbrice and fire.
The rest is turning into a pissing contest of opinion being stated as fact and overall misinformation.

[PK-V]

Here are two solid studies that show protein rich diet does not have any positive effects in terms of bone health, and one of these studies actually targeted only older people like you said:

http://www.ergo-log.com/proteindietbones.html

http://www.ergo-log.com/soyabones.html

1. I never drink 5 whey shakes a day nor do I remember ever advocating such activity. Although for a BB who beats his muscles to death at the gym, I do think a pre & post workout quality whey isolate intake is a darn good idea. I always drink casein 30 mins prior to sleep, so that makes 3 shakes of 1 scoop each a day besides 4-5 macro meals for me.

2. Insulin spike will occur when whey intake is the case, whether I want it or not. One study shows that a mediocre quality whey concentrate will spike insulin at a rate of 25%, which means a faster acting whey isolate will spike it at a greater rate. To answer your question here, why would I not want to activate an anabolic hormone by spiking it immediately after my workout when I have the option to do so (unless I am on a strict cutting cycle where insulin spike may become a problem)? The issue of protein synthesis is simply irrelevant here, the point of spiking insulin before and/or after a workout session mainly has an anabolic purpose of carrying nutritions to the cells, although not all BBs are into this system for their own reasons (again, no good for cutting cycles and/or dieting for other reasons).

3. My post certainly does not imply that casein doesn't supply essential amino acids as whey does, unless you really want to read into it thay way. I was very particular about the duration of such supply, not the content. It is simply absurd to take casein as your pre and/or post workout protein alone, unless you really want to starve your protein craving muscle fibers, because casein will exactly do that when taken by itself at that time of the day, as many studies have already revealed. You are making a mistake by directly comparing one protein type to another on a merely qualitative level here, instead of seeing the different levels of benefits determined by rather mere timing.

Just to make an analogy here, a lot of things can run on so called ''biproducts'' and still perform like a demi god, such as my BMW M3 that runs on 100 octane gas, which is a refined animal biproduct in this case. Maybe the quality of a product should not neccessarily be determined by whether it is a biproduct of something else, but rather how refined it is. There are extremely refined fine whey isolates and hydro-isolates in the market nowadays that work miraculously due to superb engineering and BBs will continue to use them for their own valid reasons.

"There are studies in which an increased protein consumption led to a decline in bone mass. A protein-rich diet increases the production of acid in the body, and that may reduce the amount of calcium in your bones. Every gram of protein costs you 1 milligram of calcium, according to a popular theory put about by the anti-protein lobby."

Thanks for yet another reason not to take whey as to casine which is an alkaline form of protein which is also high in calcium it's not an acid protein like whey

I would like to see that study if they took casine only

You never advocating such activity as 5 shakes a day im just stating that thats the number of shakes you may need to take to keep protein available to the body, whey acts like a high GI carb in the body in terms of protein release.

Ok so lets leave this insulin issue at what you stated, which was what I was trying to get across; insulin is a double edged sword and although it has it's place in shuttling nutrients it is also susceptible to storing excess glucose as fat.

"It is simply absurd to take casein as your pre and/or post workout protein" I never said anything about the correct timing of casein been pre/post wo only. Not the preferred option is you are trying to get amino acids into the system quickly. It should be used at meals and at bedtime. It should not be used when trying to accelerate amino acid absorption.

I wasn't saying the quality was effected by it been a byproduct I was saying that that is the reason why it is so available and pushed. The science clearly states the pros and cons of each whey and casine.

[PK-V]

You know..i was gonna post a few points...but all in all i think its a waste to do so. The bottom line in this thread is probably the 2 simpliest, most appropraite answers given - those by gbrice and fire.
The rest is turning into a pissing contest of opinion being stated as fact and overall misinformation.

This the only way we can get things done around here! lol

[Turkish Juicer]

"There are studies in which an increased protein consumption led to a decline in bone mass. A protein-rich diet increases the production of acid in the body, and that may reduce the amount of calcium in your bones. Every gram of protein costs you 1 milligram of calcium, according to a popular theory put about by the anti-protein lobby."

Thanks for yet another reason not to take whey as to casine which is an alkaline form of protein which is also high in calcium it's not an acid protein like whey

Another misleading information here about whey protein and its acid content.

A pH of 7.0 is neutral. A pH below 7.0 is acidic. A pH above 7.0 is alkaline. Cow’s milk is only mildly acidic with a pH 6.8. In contrast, whey protein powder has a pH of approximately 6.5, which makes it seem like it is mildly acidic; however, in every available Acid-Alkaline food guide/chart, whey protein powder is stated to be mildly alkalizing. Therefore, your claim that whey protein is a source of acid protein and therefore is bad for human health is simply invalid.

Like I have said before, there is no point in making a direct comparison between whey and casein on a qualitative level. They are what they are in their very own respect.

[bigslick7878]

Nearly half of my protein consumption comes from shakes.

Me too.

It is pretty much impossible to get the amount of protein you need from food alone.

50/50 is about the best I can do on a given day.

[Flagg]

Does it make a difference how your protein shakes are consumed?

I know a lot of people use water, which I personally find vile, and I have always used semi skimmed milk.

[Damienm05]

Well milk has calories/sugar and for many, isn't tolerated well. So yes, it makes a difference.

If you respond okay to dairy and the extra cals from lactose/protein fit into your daily macros; go for it.

[ProBody.]

i personally have bout 4 solid meals and 2 shakes a day sometimes 3.

and if im feelin full all the time i just have a shake instead of solid meal, aint gonna sit there 1 hour to get some chicken breast down.

[Narkissos]

How much daily protein is acceptable from shakes? If one is needing 375-400gms, what is the limit from protein shakes? Half?

Up to the individual.

Some of my clients, I have 'em take in 1/3 of their protein from shakes.

Me personally, I've gone as high as 100% of my (complete) protein intake from liquids... depending on what phase I was in.

IMO, it really doesn't make that big of a difference.

What does, if taking in protein you can digest without issue (i.e. no flatulence... no gastric distress)... regardless of whether this protein is solid or pre-digested.