Many people turn to non-vegetarian food because the vegetarian diet does not offer the amount of protein that is required to build muscle mass. The more muscle mass you have the less fat the body stores.
While die-hard vegans and vegetarians swear by a few foods like cottage cheese, lentils, and pulses to fulfil their body’s protein requirement, one vegetarian option that is often overlooked but is promoted by most fitness centers is whey protein.
Benefits of whey protein
Whey protein contains alpha-lactalbumin, immunoglobins, bovine serum albumin, and beta-lactoglobulin. It is known for helping in losing weight and reducing cholesterol levels. A few studies have shown that if whey protein is used in daily diet it can reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases and also lower blood pressure. An Anticancer journal has reported that whey protein concentrate helps cancer treatment.
Types of whey protein
Different types of whey proteins are available in the market. Whey protein concentrate has low fats and carbohydrates and contains a minimum of 30% to a maximum of 90% whey protein depending upon the concentration you choose. Whey protein isolate is a processed protein that removes all lactose and fat and has at least 90% protein. The third form is whey protein hydros-late which is a pre-digested form of protein and is much easier to digest than the other types of whey protein.
How to prepare whey protein at home?
If you do not want to buy processed whey protein from the shelf, you can prepare it at home by following easy steps. To prepare whey protein at home you can take yogurt, buttermilk, or cottage cheese. Here we are doing it using curd but you can take any of the above-mentioned milk products and prepare it.
- Place a small strainer on an empty container.
- Cover it with a cheesecloth or muslin cloth or paper towel with double lining.
- Now pour the curd on the cloth and let the watery content strain through the strainer. To ensure that the curd does not go sour cover this container with a plastic cover and keep it in the refrigerator for a minimum of eight hours.
- Take the container out and remove the hardened material from the strainer. This hardened material is curd or cheese while the substance that is collected in the container is homemade whey protein.
The whey protein prepared in this way at home has all the proteins good for your health but it may taste a bit sour and bland. But you can add a pinch of black salt to spice up the taste. And it is much better than the supplements bought from the stores.