denatured protein; heat

[skinnyfat]

If you cook your protein powder, does it become denatured? What does that mean? You just shit it out?

 

[Stryc-9]

Yes, excessive heat (which may be harder to define than one would think) denatures whey protein...

this means the the protein molecules form unfolded or disordered polypeptide chains, which render the molecule less soluble and usually nonfunctional as far as digestion is concerned....

....so it doesn't matter how much protein you cram down your throat if it's not being digested....

mechanical stress during processing and the addition of additives can also denature protein so watch out for those "too good to be true" tubs of cheap protein.....you might be getting what you pay for!!

a good test to determine whether your protein powder is denatured:

Fill a glass with 6 oz of room temperature water.
Sprinkle a serving of protein on the surface of the water.
Let sit for 30 minutes.

If the powder floats and stays at the top of the glass, it's good stuff and non-denatured.....if most of it sinks to the bottom, then it's likey been highly denatured (and not easily absorbed by your stomach!!)

The question is: How much heat is too much???? I always add a scoop of protein powder to luke warm oatmeal....and I doubt this is hot enough to cause trouble....

...but boiling or frying, or baking the powder directly doesn't seem like a good idea...

 

[_jaap_]

.

i have always wated to know if denaturation is only an issue with whey prot. Does the same thing happen to casein for example?

I would hypothisis that with other proteins this would be less of an isue. We all cook our stakes dont we. (well excluding the funky cavemen )

 

[skinnyfat]

Maybe that's why real men like their steak rare.

 

[bigmanosu]

i add a scoop of protein to my oatmeal every morning for my first meal. but i dont let the oatmeal cool to a "luke warm" temperature. are you saying that i am denaturing this protein and that it is not doing anything for me???
please reply, i am extremely interested, as i do this every day

thanks
bigmanosu

 

[skinnyfat]

So does this mean you can eat cooked protein powder like vegetables? Hardly any calories?

 

[buksoon]

Fill a glass with 6 oz of room temperature water.
Sprinkle a serving of protein on the surface of the water.
Let sit for 30 minutes.

If the powder floats and stays at the top of the glass, it's good stuff and non-denatured.....if most of it sinks to the bottom, then it's likey been highly denatured (and not easily absorbed by your stomach!!)

The question is: How much heat is too much???? I always add a scoop of protein powder to luke warm oatmeal....and I doubt this is hot enough to cause trouble....

...but boiling or frying, or baking the powder directly doesn't seem like a good idea...

Awesome info, thanks! But now to repeat another poster's question: Is the denaturing only a danger with whey? How about casein? Or regular animal protein (not that I eat it, but the poster is right: folks DO cook steaks....)

I'm a veg, so I'm very paranoid about my protein (entirely from powders, bars, and ready-made drinks) not being usable.

I'm going to keep bumping this thread. It's very valuable info.

 

[Stryc-9]

I'm fairly certain that you need pretty extreme temperatures to denature whey protein (e.g., adding it to boiling water, or baking it in the oven, etc.,) But adding it to warm, or even hot oats, shouldn't be enough to do much harm...

I honestly don't know about other sorts of protein....but I would assume that the chemical reaction is applicable to any protein that is processed in a powdered form (casein, soy)....

my father is a bigshot pHd in chemistry (he's the one who told me about denaturation in the first place) so I can certainly ask him about other types of protein.....

...i'll get back to you....unless someone else already has this info....

 

[buksoon]

my father is a bigshot pHd in chemistry (he's the one who told me about denaturation in the first place) so I can certainly ask him about other types of protein.....

...i'll get back to you....unless someone else already has this info.... [/B]

Thanks, I would be sooooo grateful for any info! Like I said, I'm a vegetarian and this stuff is my only protein source. Some of it looks dubious, I mean--where has it been? How was it stored? How should I store it?? Etc.....