Pure Whey Protein Concentrate

Concentrate is the standard whey grade, and it's the right choice more often than you might think. These are the questions our naturopaths ask in store before suggesting a different grade.

A good fit if

• Dairy sits well with you. Milk, yoghurt and cheese cause you no trouble
• You want a simple, everyday protein top-up
• You want a powder that tastes and mixes like milk rather than water, including in oats, smoothies and baking
• You're topping up a fairly good diet rather than counting every gram of carbs and fat in a serve
• You're happy to read the nutrition panel, not just the front of the tub, to see what you've got

Check with us first if

• You're lactose intolerant. This is the whey grade with the most lactose, and no whey grade is certified lactose-free. Everyone's limit is different, and healthdirect notes most people can manage a small amount at a time.
• You have irritable bowel symptoms. Lactose is one trigger, and the gums, sweeteners and sugar alcohols in a flavoured powder are others. An unflavoured concentrate helps you work out which one it is.
• You have, or have had, kidney or liver disease. How much protein you should have in total is a medical decision for your doctor.
• You have a soy or egg allergy. Easy-mix powders often contain soy lecithin and some list egg, so read the allergen statement rather than assuming a dairy powder only contains dairy.
• You're tested under an anti-doping code. Check the batch-testing status of any protein powder before you use it.
• You're buying from an overseas website. Those products aren't regulated in Australia for quality or safety.
• You take prescription medicines. Check with your doctor, pharmacist or our naturopaths before starting.

• Unflavoured WPC80. Best known for: The grade itself with nothing added, and the closest thing on a shelf to the raw ingredient. Absorption: No different from any other concentrate. The protein per 100 g on the panel should be close to 80 g, because nothing is diluting it. Typical use: The simplest way to buy the grade, and the easiest label to check. Mixes into oats, yoghurt and baking without changing the flavour.
• Flavoured WPC80. Best known for: The mainstream tub: concentrate plus cocoa or flavours, sweeteners, salt and a gum or lecithin to help it mix. Absorption: Unchanged, but the additions dilute the powder, so protein per 100 g usually lands in the high 60s or low 70s even though the whey inside is still an 80 per cent concentrate. Typical use: Everyday use. Compare protein per serve and protein per 100 g, not the words on the front.
• Low-protein concentrates (WPC34, WPC35). Best known for: Food-manufacturing grades, where roughly half the powder is lactose. These turn up in bars, biscuits and dairy desserts. Absorption: The same protein, far less of it in each gram, and far more lactose with it. Typical use: Rarely sold as a sports powder on its own. Worth knowing about, because the ingredient line reads exactly like a WPC80.
• Concentrate-led whey blends. Best known for: Concentrate as the base, with isolate and sometimes hydrolysate added. The standard everyday blend tub. Absorption: Sits between the two grades, depending entirely on the ratio, which most labels don't disclose. Typical use: Ingredient order is the only clue you get. If concentrate is listed first, it's mostly concentrate.
• Grass-fed concentrate. Best known for: A claim about how the cows were fed rather than a filtration grade. Absorption: No different from ordinary concentrate of the same grade. Pasture feeding changes the milk fat, which, unlike in an isolate, is still present here. Typical use: Judge the tub on its protein content first, then on sourcing if that matters to you.
• Instantised concentrate. Best known for: Concentrate treated with lecithin so it mixes in a shaker instead of clumping. Absorption: Unchanged. The lecithin is usually from soy or sunflower, which matters if you avoid soy. Typical use: Almost all retail powders are instantised. Check the emulsifier on the allergen line.

Reference values. None. Whey protein concentrate is a dairy ingredient rather than a nutrient, so the NHMRC doesn't set a Nutrient Reference Value for it. Australia's protein reference values apply to your total daily protein from all foods, and our protein powder and whey protein pages cover how much protein a serve should give you.

Typical supplemental range. Australian concentrate labels usually list 22 to 25 g of protein in a 30 to 33 g scoop. The number to look for is protein per 100 g, because it tells you which grade you've actually got. A plain WPC80 sits near 80 g per 100 g, and a flavoured one in the high 60s to low 70s. Anything well below that is either a lower-protein concentrate or a heavily flavoured blend.

Upper level. There's no Upper Level of Intake for whey concentrate. In practice, what limits a single serve is how comfortable your gut feels, not any safety limit, and with this grade it's usually the lactose. Concentrate is 4 to 8 per cent lactose, so a 30 g serve has a little over 1 gram to about 2.5 grams.

Worth knowing. If a concentrate hasn't agreed with you before, try a smaller serve before you switch grades. healthdirect notes that most people who are lactose intolerant can manage a small amount of lactose at a time, so half a serve is an easy first step. What you need depends on your age, diet and health, so talk to one of our naturopaths.

Food first, where the diet allows it.

• Ricotta: a whey cheese, and the closest thing in the food aisle to concentrated whey protein (about 14 g of protein per half cup)
• Protein bars and protein biscuits: whey protein concentrate is one of the most common protein bases in them (usually 10 to 20 g of protein per bar, most of it whey)
• High-protein yoghurts and flavoured milk drinks: commonly 15 to 25 g per bottle or tub, from a mix of milk protein and added whey
• Protein-fortified breakfast cereals and dairy desserts: typically made with lower-protein concentrates rather than WPC80 (varies widely, so read the ingredient line for whey protein concentrate)
• Cow's milk: the source of all whey, and the reason lactose is in the powder at all; 1 cup (250 mL) supplies about 8 g of protein, roughly a fifth of it whey

If any of these sound like you, talk to one of our naturopaths or your doctor before you start.

• You're allergic to cow's milk protein. Concentrate is a milk protein, so it's not suitable.
• You're lactose intolerant. This is the highest-lactose whey grade, at 4 to 8 per cent of the powder, and it isn't a certified lactose-free product.
• You're allergic to soy or egg. Soy lecithin is a common mixing agent and some products declare egg, so read the allergen statement.
• You have, or have had, kidney or liver disease. Talk to your doctor about your total protein intake first.
• You're pregnant. A product labelled as a formulated supplementary sports food must say it's not suitable for pregnant women except under medical or dietetic supervision.
• Children and teenagers under 15. The same required statement applies to formulated supplementary sports foods.
• You have irritable bowel symptoms. Lactose, gums, sweeteners and sugar alcohols in flavoured powders are common triggers.
• You compete under an anti-doping code. Check the batch has been tested before you use it.
• You're buying from overseas websites. Those products aren't regulated in Australia for quality or safety.
• You're looking at low-protein concentrates (WPC34 and similar). Roughly half the powder is lactose, which matters if dairy sugar is the problem.
• If you take prescription medicines, check with your doctor, pharmacist or our naturopaths before you start.