By: Brian Mark, Transformation Specialist (AestheticNation.ca)
The food that we consume makes us who we are. When choosing what we're going to put into our bodies we must be conscious of how the food was created and how it found it's way in front of us.
As a professional athlete I know the importance of supplementing my diet with Whey Protein powder. I also know that choosing the wrong kind of whey protein powder can lead to a number of side effects (including protein farts).
The consequences are even worse if I'm in a sport that tests for drug usage; I can be tested positive for banned substances and steroids just because of the whey product.product that I consumed to help me with recovery.
Grass Fed Vs. Regular Whey
I've been a DYNAMIS athlete for the last 4 months. Evan and I have worked together on a couple lifestyle transformation projects and I've gotten closer and closer to him as we work together.
One thing that Evan talks about frequently is the idea that he wants to keep the products as filler-free as possible. As little ingredients as possible for the most amount of impact.
For that reason Evan chose a more costly route of providing New Zealand Whey Protein over grain-fed whey.
"The grass fed costs more money. But when we created our line we wanted it to be able to be taken by Olympic as well as drug-tested athletes so we focused on manufacturing products with the highest purity ingredients and free of banned substances."
"The hormones and steroids that are injected into North American cows can be found in trace amounts in the Banned Substance tests done on the whey protein. Even though the levels of steriods / hormones present in domestic whey is typically below the allowed threshold for the products to be considered "free of banned substances" we use New Zealand whey to remove this risk completely when manufacturing our products.
- Evan Ward, CEO & Founder of DYNAMIS
Essentially what that means is that the cows which produced the whey protein are grass fed, allowed to roam freely, and free of any hormone injections.
Contrast that to the way we raise our Canadian cattle which is a grain-fed process, they are injected with hormones to increase the size and thus the rate of return on the slaughter of the animal, which obviously would translate into the milk that produces the protein we drink.
Gross.. right.
"The risk to the athlete and the quality of the protein was the reason we had to go for New Zealand Whey." Evan explains.
Where Does Your Protein Powder Come From?
Whey protein is derived from cows milk. The milk separates into solids which is where much of the whey is found. The liquid is then filtered, pasteurized and proceed until you have protein powder.
The whey protein concentrates only provide 80% of the protein per serving though, and the other 20% comes from fats and carbohydrates.
Most cows, of the grain fed nature, are fed grains that provide little nutrition and are often tainted with fertilizers and pesticides.
Not to mention, the farmers are injecting these cows with hormones for the sake of pure profit. By injecting cow with hormones we keep the cost low and the return on investment is high!
There can be between 40-50lb of extra meat at slaughter.
What's It Costing Your Health?
I've been in the fitness game for 10 years now. At first I was able to drink and eat whatever I wanted and it was great.
At 21 years old while in Kelowna playing junior football I developed an intolerance to lactose.
All of a sudden everything milk-derived was out of the question including whey protein products. Whey protein products frequently bloated my stomach and caused digestive problems and I just avoided them all-together, until I found some vegan protein powders, and we all know how good those taste.
Evan Ward from DYNAMIS came along and encouraged me to try his New Zealand Whey compound. At this point I was sick of vegan proteins, so I figured why not.
What's the Difference?
New Zealand grass-fed cows graze on lush, green, natural pastures. Instead of being forced into tiny compact spaces for the sake of profit and producing the most amount of resources (milk, meat) they are allowed to roam freely.
"New Zealand have to be grass fed and unlike Canada and the US, they are not allowed to inject their cows with steroids or hormones."
New Zealand cows are not injected with hormones, and, their milk is much healthier and provides a hormone-free protein powder.
Let's think about the benefits of consuming a product that is derived from a healthy animal vs. a product coming from an animal raised in questionable conditions.
The first is that since the cows are so healthy and well-looked after, the quality of the protein will be much higher. The health benefits will be much greater, as Omega 3 Levels in grass-fed cows vs. grain fed cows can be up to 3 times higher. (2)
All in all the cows are being raised the way nature intended. Grazing and roaming freely. This creates a high quality natural resource which is worth it's weight in gold.
How Did it Impact Me?
I'm not joking -- I eat a quest bar and I'm struggling for the next 3 hours. The digestion of whey protein products is a serious struggle.
Any other protein powder that I have tried, other than vegan sources, has impacted my
lactose intolerance and caused boating and other intestinal issues.
Since I have started consuming grass-fed New Zealand Whey DYNAMIS I've found the protein powder that suits my lifestyle. I'm in the gym twice a day 6 days a week. I need to make sure my protein intake is high, and eating 220 grams of protein in chicken breast is beyond a struggle.
New Zealand Whey is the purest form of protein powder available on the market and DYNAMIS is the leading provider of this protein powder. There are two delicious flavors, White Chocolate and Black Forest Cake, that mix well with anything; oatmeal, shakes, yogurt, baking, you name it.
"In the end you get milk from a healthier cow that's been eating a cleaner diet, and, there is a complete absence of the hormones and steroids that is in North American whey." Evan explains.
In the end the decision is up to you though. Save on your bank account and sacrifice your health in the process by settling for a lower quality grain fed whey protein product, or choosing a high quality DYNAMIS New Zealand whey protein powder which is guaranteed hormone free and is friendly for those watching their lactose intake.
"Grass fed beef simply means that the cattle were allowed to forage and graze for their fresh foods. The emphasis is on creating as natural of a diet as possible." - USDA
"Antibiotics are routinely added as a growth stimulant. Growth hormones are also added to improve feed efficiency and improve rate of muscle development. Using growth hormones costs $1.50 and adds between 40 and 50lbs to the weight of a steer at slaughter, for a return of at least $25." - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
"Feeding cattle grain dramatically affects the health benefits of the beef. Meat from grass fed animals has two to four times omega 3s than grain fed animals." - tkranch.com/faq/grassfed-beef