One sample contains 20 grams of Whey Protein Hydrolysate and is sufficient for one protein shake when mixed with 300 to 400 ml of water, milk or fruit juice. The natural flavour has a slightly bitter taste.


Optimal hydrolysis

Whey hydrolysate absorbs even faster than whey isolate, and whey concentrate and has an even stronger muscle building potential. A good whey hydrolysate hardly takes energy to digest and tones your muscles more quickly after an intensive workout.

Whey hydrolysate supplements come in a wide range of levels of hydrolysis (DH-value). Most whey protein hydrolysates in Europe have DH value of 4%. We consider this not to be an actual hydrolysate because in function it is almost similar to a regular whey protein supplement. For whey protein the optimal value of hydrolysation is around a DH value of 25.

An optimal hydrolysis comes down to the following:

• Intact proteins (right column in the chart below) must be converted to peptides as much as possible (center three columns).
• The proportion of directly absorbable di- and tri-peptides is as high as possible.

Nevertheless, the amount of free amino acids (left column) needs to remain relatively low. More elaboration further in the description.

Why a protein hydrolysate?

1 - Quick absorption

A protein hydrolysate is a protein that has been processed with enzymes. The enzymes have converted the protein to short chains of amino acids, known as peptides. The hydrolysis process is similar to what happens during the normal protein digestion in our diet.

Due to the enzymatic processing a protein hydrolizate can be more easily and rapidly absorbed than an intact protein. In a scenario of intense sports performance a quick absorption can be very beneficial. The recovery of the body in general, and the muscles in particular, can get going very quickly. In the mean time the body has to invest less energy in digestion.

2 - Increased insulin release

After the intake of carbohydrates (for example, fruit juice or bread), the body gives off insulin to absorb this food. When carbohydrates are combined with protein this effect is even stronger. Easily digestible carbohydrates in combination with a hydrolysate protein, however, result in the highest release of insulin. After strength training a high insulin level ensures a very strong muscle-building signal. Insulin is, in fact, the most powerful anabolic hormone produced by the human body. An even further increase of insulin can be achieved by using creatine and/or BCAA's on top of the carbohydrates and whey hydrolysate.

Overweight people have a reduced insulin sensitivity and should be careful with this insulin-boosting strategy. They are more inclined to build up fat tissue with an increased insulin level.

We estimate that healthy people with a body fat percentage of 15% or below can apply the muscle building effect of the hydrolysate/carbohydrate/creatine combo really well. For people with a fat content higher than 15% it's probably better to use just the hydrolysate protein or only add a small amount of carbohydrates.

3 - Energy saving by easy digestibility

The absorption of a hydrolyzed protein requiresa lot less energy from the body, because the protein has to digest to a lesser extent. When it comes to recovery after exertion such an energy saver is a good thing. More energy remains available for recovery, any muscle growth and other training adaptations.

4 - Energy saving through reduced immune response

Food digestion also requires energy because the immune system reacts to proteins. Proteins are seen by the body as unwanted foreign substances that enter the body. An extensively hydrolyzed protein, however, is hardly seen as foreign. The immune system does not respond with an immune reaction to the di- and tri-peptides.

A less strong immune reaction means once again energy savings, and the possibility to recovery faster after exertion.

The above applies even more to people who do not tolerate casein and whey proteins very well. With them, the immune response against the intact proteins is stronger than normal. Because a hydrolysate protein is a hypoallergenic food in a sense, this group of people is much less likely to suffer from the problems they experience with intact casein and whey proteins.

5 - Complete absorption

Lastly, people with a suboptimal functioning digestive system may benefit from the fact that a hydrolysate protein is 'predigested'. It will be a lot easier to recuperate after an intense training when you can fully absorb the protein.

Different levels of hydrolysis

The human digestive system breaks down proteins into very short chains of two and three amino acids. These di- and tripeptides are included in the cells of the intestinal wall and are only then converted to single amino acids. A hydrolysate, which needs to be absorbed as quickly as possible, consists under ideal circumstances only of di- and tripeptides. In practice, the production of a supplement containing only di- and tripeptides very difficult to achieve. That's because before all the longer chains are shortened to a length of a maximum of 2 or 3 amino acids a large portion has already been split into single amino acids. Loose amino acids are also absorbed quickly though, but the transport from the intestines to the cells of the intestinal wall is much more difficult. At a high intake of free amino acids the absorption is not complete and then it could cause flatulence or diarrhea.

Whey Protein Hydrolysate DH25 has a very high degree of hydrolysis (DH) and therefore a high proportion of di- and tripeptides of about 30%. Free form amino acids are almost absent. The majority of peptides besides di- and tripeptides have a length of 4 to 20 amino acids. Only about 14% of this hydrolysate protein consists of peptides containing more than than 20 amino acids.

Most protein hydrolysates in sports supplements have a hydrolysis grade of DH4 to DH12. These hydrolysates are absorbed much slower and more readily give an allergenic response. In addition, the stimulating effect on insulin secretion is partially lost.

Quality of the hydrolyzed protein

There are many different types of protein. Not all proteins are equally suitable for muscle building. The best known example of an unsuitable protein is collagen. Collagen (hydrolysate) contains an amino acid composition which is not suitable for muscle building, although useful for the development of connective tissues. The best protein for muscle building are whey protein, casein and egg white. Whey Protein Hydrolysate DH25 is made of whey protein. This is the protein with the highest content of essential and branched chain amino acids (EAA and BCAA). For muscle building, this is the optimal choice.

Protein hydrolysates criticism

A well-known American supplement critic has written an article in which he expresses fierce criticism of protein hydrolysates. He does this by mentioning a scientific study.

In this study the absorption of amino acids is compared with about 30 grams of intact casein protein and the same amount of casein hydrolysate. The study shows that the amino acids of the strongly hydrolyzed casein only get into the muscles of the test subjects in limited quantities. The amino acids are on the other hand mainly absorbed by the internal organs. The conclusion of the critic is therefore that the casein hydrolysate is a useless supplement for athletes.

What this 'guru' doesn't realize is that this study was conducted on people who did not exercise at all! The muscles of the subjects thus had no increased demand for amino acids. The protein hydrolysate used in the study was of the very quick type (similar to Whey Protein Hydrolysate DH25). When the body can not properly process the rapid supply of amino acids in the muscles it will absorb it in the tissues with the fastest amino acid metabolism. These are the internal organs. You could compare this scenario to the following: You give people a 'post-workout shake' (an after-the-workout shake) with a lot of fast absorbing carbohydrates. But you only give it to the people who don't exercise. What happens to the carbohydrates? Those are not absorbed by the muscles but the fat tissue instead.

Could you conclude from this example that a post-workout shake causes obesity? No of course not. The post-workout shake use after your workout (during and right after is fine too). Just as well you use a high-dose of protein hydrolysate also when you exercise (before, during and/or after).

By the way, you could use a strongly hydrolyzed protein in small doses (half a scoop) during the day. Due to the low dosage the concentration of amino acids will not rise too high for the non-exercising body.

View detailed specifications in .pdf format here.

# In accordance with legislation is the equivalent salt content (sodium chloride) calculated on the basis of the actual sodium content in the product. The sodium content is 280 mg per scoop. This product does not contain added salt.

Nutritional value

Quality tested annually by independent laboratory. View the laboratory analysis (.pdf)