Benefits of drinking whey protein shakes?

I dunno, but they taste good (in my opinion).

Well you won’t lose any wheyt.

Like Bruce Lee ascending the proverbial Kung Fu levels of excellence in the pagoda – in his yellow jumpsuit – athletes ascend a series of levels of understanding of the body.

One of those, an important one, is providing enough protein to make sure all those zillions of little torn muscle fibers have the proper nutrients to rebuild. Lots and lots of protein. Proteins are about 50% of the dry-weight of most cells.

Since many people are under the delusion that meat is bad for you, and since meat is traditionally the primary source for humans to ingest protein, there can be a great barrier to achieving desired gains.

Whey is thought to be a better form of supplemental protein than soy and some of the cheaper types. This understanding will surely be overturned as some point, if not already. “Whey” is not the point.

I can think of no direct stand alone benefits of drinking a whey protein shake. It can however serve as a very good supplement to someone who is working out hard, is focused on building muscle (vs. strictly loosing weight) and who is paying close attention to caloric intake (vs. say eating a half pound of peanut butter for dietary protein).

That is my simple understanding. I look forward to an updated one.

We clearly need protein in our diet, and whey protein is a perfectly good source. But when it comes to supplements and health claims for supplements of specific types, a good rule of thumb is to ask yourself how likely it is that natural selection would have pushed our evolution to make the particular thing such an important part of our daily needs.

For instance, why would humans have evolved to have a desperate need for Noni berries when they were not available to more than a tiny fraction of the human race. The answer is it’s highly unlikely we do need noni berries, and infinitely more likely some clever marketer needs to convince us we do so as to separate us from our money.

Whey protein is derived from a byproduct of cheese production. A few people with milk allergies can’t tolerate it, but most of milk allergies involve sensitivity to milk caseins and not whey. There have been a number of claims of health benefits made for whey protein, but these are in advance of solid double-blind testing and should be ignored. That said, for those not allergic to it, it seems to be a good source of important protein. If you are exercising heavily and don’t consume much meat protein, it is probably a decent alternative.

No one (except perhaps professional weightlifters and body builders) needs protein shakes. We in the West consume far too much protein as it is. We consume so much protein that kidney damage is almost universal by the time we’re 60. Furthermore, many people aren’t aware that protein which stays in the body longer than 24 hours is converted to sugar. That big protein shake you had yesterday will turn into the equivalent of a handful of chocolate bars today.

Thanks a mill for all of the replies. It’s been helpful. Admittedly, I was ignorant to the benefits or lack thereof (despite my attempt at research) so it’s much appreciated.
No protein shakes for me I think :)