Pure Whey Protein Concentrate

Concentrate is the default whey grade and the right answer more often than the shelf suggests, so here is the triage our naturopaths run before anyone gets talked up a grade.

A good fit if

• Dairy sits comfortably with you. Milk, yoghurt and cheese cause you no trouble
• Cost per gram of protein is the number you are actually optimising
• You want a powder that tastes and mixes like milk rather than like water, including in oats, smoothies and baking
• You are topping up an otherwise reasonable diet rather than counting every gram of carbohydrate and fat in a serve
• You are happy reading the nutrition panel rather than the front of the tub to work out what you bought

Check with us first if

• Lactose intolerance. This is the whey grade that carries the most lactose, and no whey grade is a certified lactose-free product. Thresholds are individual and healthdirect notes most people manage a small amount at a time.
• Irritable bowel symptoms. Lactose is one trigger here, and the gums, sweeteners and sugar alcohols in a flavoured powder are others. An unflavoured concentrate isolates the variable.
• Kidney or liver disease now or in the past. Total protein load is a clinical decision that belongs with your doctor, not a retail one.
• Soy or egg allergy. Instantised powders commonly contain soy lecithin and some products declare egg, so read the allergen statement rather than assuming a dairy powder contains only dairy.
• You are tested under an anti-doping code. Verify the batch-testing status of any protein powder before you use it.
• You are buying from an overseas website. Those products are not 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. The closest thing on a shelf to the raw ingredient specification. Absorption: No different from any other concentrate. The protein per 100 g on the panel should sit close to 80 g, because nothing is diluting it. Typical use: The cheapest way to buy the grade, and the easiest label to audit. 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 for mixing. Absorption: Unchanged, but the additions dilute the powder, so protein per 100 g typically lands in the high 60s or low 70s even though the whey inside it 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 are what turn up in bars, biscuits and dairy desserts. Absorption: Same protein, far less of it per gram, and far more lactose alongside it. Typical use: Rarely sold as a sports powder on its own. Worth knowing about because the ingredient line reads identically to a WPC80.
• Concentrate-led whey blends. Best known for: Concentrate as the base with isolate and sometimes hydrolysate added. The standard 'value' tub. Absorption: Sits between the two grades and depends entirely on the ratio, which most labels do not disclose. Typical use: Ingredient order is the only clue you get. If concentrate is listed first, it is mostly a concentrate at a blend price.
• Grass-fed concentrate. Best known for: A claim about how the cows were fed rather than a filtration grade. Absorption: No different from the same grade of ordinary concentrate. Pasture feeding changes the milk fat, which, unlike in an isolate, is actually still present here. Typical use: Carries a premium. Judge the tub on protein per gram and price first, then on sourcing if it matters to you.
• Instantised concentrate. Best known for: Concentrate treated with lecithin so it disperses in a shaker instead of clumping. Absorption: Unchanged. The lecithin is usually soy or sunflower derived, 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 manufactured dairy ingredient rather than a nutrient, so the NHMRC sets no Nutrient Reference Value for it. Australia's protein reference values apply to total daily protein from all foods, and how much protein a serve should carry sits on our protein powder and whey protein entries.

Typical supplemental range. Australian concentrate labels commonly declare 22 to 25 g of protein in a 30 to 33 g scoop. The number to read is protein per 100 g, because it tells you which grade you actually bought: a plain WPC80 sits near 80 g per 100 g, a flavoured one in the high 60s to low 70s, and anything materially below that is either a lower-protein concentrate or a heavily flavoured blend.

Upper level. No Upper Level of Intake applies to whey concentrate. In practice the ceiling on a single serve is bowel comfort rather than any toxicological limit, and with this grade the lactose is usually what sets it: 4 to 8 per cent of the powder, so a 30 g serve carries a little over a gram to two and a half grams.

Worth knowing. If a concentrate has disagreed with you before, the variable worth testing is serve size before you change grade. Healthdirect notes that most people who are lactose intolerant can manage a small amount of lactose at a time, and half a serve is a cheaper experiment than a tub of isolate. Your needs depend on your age, diet and health circumstances. 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

This list is the part of the page we will not shorten. If any of it applies to you, talk to one of our naturopaths or your doctor before starting.

• Cow's milk protein allergy. Concentrate is a milk protein and is not suitable.
• Lactose intolerance. This is the highest-lactose whey grade at 4 to 8 per cent of the powder; not a certified lactose-free product.
• Soy and egg allergy. Soy lecithin is a common instantising agent and some products declare egg; read the allergen statement.
• Kidney disease or liver disease, current or past. Discuss total protein load with your doctor first.
• Pregnancy. A product labelled a formulated supplementary sports food must state it is not suitable for pregnant women except under medical or dietetic supervision.
• Children and adolescents under 15. The same mandated statement applies to formulated supplementary sports foods.
• Irritable bowel symptoms. Lactose, gums, sweeteners and sugar alcohols in flavoured powders are common triggers.
• Competitive athletes under an anti-doping code. Verify batch testing before use.
• Products bought from overseas websites. Not regulated in Australia for quality or safety.
• 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 starting.