Where's the Beef?

*POSTING THIS IN VSG AND DIET AND NUTRITION FORUMS*

So as a newly pre-op I am starting to take the stroll down Protein Lane, trying to get starting stocking up on the goodies.

Just ooooooone small catch...

I'm lactose intolerant...it's not a pretty sight...it could be classified as down-right frightening...

So questions are:

1. Is the whey in protein even enough to set off ye ol' time bomb?

But more importantly:

2. Has anyone had experience using plant based protein powders and have any suggestions?

A pure whey protein isolate should contain little-to-no lactose so you should be fine.  If you go plant-based then you want soy.

Okies. :) Thank you! Is there any reason soy is the one to go for plant-based?

In the olden days we used to use the term "complete protein" to mean that a food or supplement provided all the essential amino acids that your body requires and cannot synthesize from other nutrients.  Today we use a system called the Protein Digestibility Corrected Amino Acid Score (PDCAAS) and it digs a little bit deeper into the actual ratio of essential amino acids and how closely it meets human needs.  It rates foods on a scale of 0 to 1.

For example, say you had a serving of fictional food that contained exactly one of each essential amino acid.  It would technically be "complete" but it would have a very low PDCAAS score because we need a lot more than that in an optimal combination.

Normally it's not important for every single food to be perfect.  If you eat a variety of foods - some high in this, some high in that - then your overall diet is perfectly complete.  However, if you're relying on supplements - essentially eating a single food for most of your protein - then it becomes more important for that food to be as optimal as possible.

Soy protein is the only plant protein with a PDCAAS score of 1.0.  It's equivalent to whey, egg whites, and casein.

Great info! It has definitely given me a jumping off point and more things to research *gee, thanks! ;)*

Thank you!