Approximately 15 years ago, a new protein was introduced to sports nutrition and it has caused quite a stir since then. Most people can’t even pronounce the name of the protein, let alone understand what it is and how it differs from other proteins. Most protein powder marketers understand it so poorly that they mislabel their protein powders in an effort to convince people that their product contains this “magical” protein ingredient. What is this misunderstood, magical protein? It is called micellar (pronounced “my cellar”) casein. What is a micelle (pronounced “my sell”)? How does micellar casein differ from casein or caseinate?
Is it any better than casein or caseinate? Why would marketers mislabel their products to mislead the consumer in an effort to make consumers think that their protein powder contains micellar casein? I was the first person to sell or discuss micellar casein for sports nutrition in this country 15 years ago and still am one of the few suppliers of micellar casein in the world. I have grown tired of reading false information about micellar casein.
It’s time to set the record straight!
What Does Micelle Mean?
The word, “Micelle”, is a chemical term. The Merriam Webster Dictionary defines micelle as “A unit of structure built up from polymeric molecules”. What in the heck does that mean? A polymeric molecule is a long chain of monomeric molecules that are bonded together (still not sure what that means?) A monomer is simply one molecule, A polymer is many molecules all hooked together in a long chain (Now, after learning this, you too can sound like a chemistry genius!) A protein would fit that category. Amino acids are monomeric molecules. When they link together, they form a long chain. This chain is a protein molecule but it can also be termed a polymeric molecule. Polymers are usually so large that they aren’t soluble when dispersed in water, so they precipitate out like sand in the form of a curd. Sometimes, however, polymers will form an elaborate structure in order to stay suspended in the water. This elaborate structure is referred to in chemical terms as a “micelle”. The purpose of a micelle is to allow an extremely large polymer molecule to remain suspended in water indefinitely. It is important to note that not all polymers will form micelles in water. In fact, very few large polymers, including proteins, will form micelles in water. Large chains of fats, carbohydrates and proteins can form micelles.
What is Micellar Casein?
Milk contains two groups of proteins. The group of proteins that precipitate out as a curd when making cheese is known as the casein proteins. A literal translation of the word casein would be “cheese protein”. The group of proteins that remains in the liquid serum during cheese manufacture is known as whey proteins, or sometimes called serum proteins. The group of milk proteins we call casein are comprised of alpha casein, beta casein, gamma casein, delta casein, and kappa casein. In general, the five casein proteins are very large protein molecules. Whey proteins, on the other hand, are relatively small molecules. Because whey proteins are small molecules, they are more easily soluble in water and, therefore, do not need to form a special structure to stay suspended in milk. Whey proteins do not form micelles (note: so the next time you see a package or an advertisement that talks about micellar whey protein, you now know that the person who designed that product was not nutritionally knowledgeable and that there is no such thing as a whey protein micelle). Caseins, on the other hand, because they are so large, have to aggregate together to form a specific micelle structure in order to stay suspended in milk. Casein, in its micellar structure, is the natural structure of the casein proteins in milk. A casein micelle is composed of all five of the alpha, beta, gamma, delta, and kappa caseins. You can’t make a casein micelle without all of these casein proteins present! If one removes, or modifies, any one of the five caseins, the casein micelle is destroyed. (note: Have you seen labels claiming “micellar alpha and beta caseins”? What happened to the gamma, delta, and kappa caseins?) It has been claimed that casein is only a “part of a micelle”. In the micellar casein structure, casein is the only building block of the micelle. The only constituents of the micellar casein structure are the five casein proteins and any minerals that are part of the caseins.
How Does Micellar Casein Differ From Casein or Caseinates?
The natural, micellar structure of casein in milk has been known for decades. Government labs have taken electron microscope photographs of casein micelles. They look like little ball bearings. The problem, however, is that until 15 years ago, nobody could isolate casein from milk with the micelle structure intact. It is this unique structure which makes micellar casein so important in sports nutrition. For decades, what we usually called “casein” has been separated from skim milk using modified cheese curd processes. A curd is precipitated from milk. We call this curd casein … sometimes getting more elaborate with the name and we call it acid casein (to denote that acid was used to precipitate the curd from milk) or rennet casein (to denote that the cheese enzyme, rennet, was used to precipitate the curd from milk). Either one of these casein powders is totally insoluble in water and would actually look like sand if stirred into water. As was stated above, the purpose of a micelle is to stabilize large molecules against precipitating out of water as a curd. Any time a curd is formed, it means that the micelle structure has been destroyed. It is interesting to note, that once the micelle structure is destroyed, it cannot re-form. Nothing of the micelle structure is left once the casein is precipitated from milk as a curd. To make casein useable in food products, it is necessary to somehow make the casein soluble in water again via a chemical reaction with alkali. When casein has been reacted and made more water soluble, the chemical term to describe the new molecule is “caseinate”. In chemical terms, any time you see that “ate” ending, it means that an organic acid (all proteins are comprised of amino acids and are, therefore, organic acids themselves) has been pH adjusted with an alkali mineral to form a water soluble mineral salt of the acid. There is no known way that a caseinate can form a micelle structure once that micelle has been destroyed. Micellar casein is casein in its natural structure and caseins and/or caseinates are the non-natural, less bioactive forms. 15 years ago, the term “micellar casein” was born to try to differentiate the natural, bioactive form from the artificial, curd form of casein.
Why is Micellar Casein Important?
The main benefit of micellar casein is that the casein is in its natural structure. Our stomachs were designed to digest foods according to their natural structures. Casein is no exception. The digestive enzymes that the stomach uses to digest casein proteins fit into the casein micelle structures like a key. If the casein is in a different configuration from the natural structure, then the key doesn’t fit and digestion of the casein proteins proceeds along a different path. The benefits of casein digestion have been discussed for the past 15 years … absorbable calcium and phosphorous for bones and bioactive peptides that can be used as caso-morphins and stimulants of hormone production. These benefits are less likely to happen unless one is consuming micellar structure casein. The digestive enzymes that would produce absorbable di- and tri-peptide calcium and phosphorous pieces from casein or that would produce bioactive peptide pieces from micellar structure casein are not nearly as likely to fit into a traditional casein or caseinate structure. These enzymes were designed to fit into the casein micelle structure like a key and only then can the bioactive properties of casein be fully realized. Is micellar casein that much better than regular casein or caseinates? Judge for yourself! The best quality protein powders over the past 15 years have been based on micellar casein as a primary part of the protein blend. The most ardent consumers of protein powders will tell you that they achieve greater gains in lean tissue when they consume micellar casein products. And don’t forget, almost every benefit that you hear about casein … mineral absorption, bioactive peptides, better overall protein absorption/deposition … these benefits were all found for micellar casein! Not one study has shown that casein or caseinates will serve the same function when consumed as part of a normal diet. Plus, and this is very important for anyone wanting to put on more muscle, micellar casein is the only protein (that includes whey protein) that has ever been shown in a scientific study to be anti-catabolic (inhibits destruction of lean tissue) when consumed under normal practices! No study yet has shown that whey protein, casein or caseinate would provide the same anti-catabolic protection. How do I Know If My Protein Powder Contains Real Micellar Casein?
Almost every marketer of protein powders these days seems to have conceded that micellar casein is the best form of casein to use in sports nutrition. Just look at the advertising. In reality, however, most probably do not use real micellar casein. Many companies start out with the intention of including micellar casein in their protein powders, but once they discover that micellar casein is far more expensive than whey protein, regular casein or caseinates, they usually re-formulate. They decrease or take out the micellar casein, so that they can make more profit. Added to the problem is that there is only one organization in the entire world that is capable of making pure micellar casein. That means that micellar casein is more difficult to purchase than regular casein or caseinates and is available from very few suppliers. As a result, many companies have opted to engage in inventive label wording in an effort to mislead the consumer into thinking they have micellar casein in their product while actually not including micellar casein. The easiest way to tell if your protein powder contains real micellar casein is by reading the ingredients panel. If a protein powder does contain real micellar casein, the ingredients panel will read either “…, milk protein, …” or “…, micellar casein, …”. These are the only legal ingredient declarations. If your protein powder says either one, it’s OK.
The Ones Who Are Trying To Fool You
There are, on the other hand, numerous protein powder ingredients labels out today that include in their ingredients statements:
“Micellar Alpha and Beta Caseins and Caseinates, …”
The United States FDA has issued lengthy Federal Regulations concerning label requirements for food products. In those regulations is a requirement that each separate ingredient is to be differentiated from all of the other ingredients by a comma … the comma separation denotes one, individual ingredient. So, you now know that the company marketing a product bearing this ingredients label is claiming that “Micellar Alpha and Beta Caseins and Caseinates” is one ingredient because it is all contained within one comma. You also know that a casein micelle doesn’t form unless all of the casein fractions are present (alpha, beta, gamma, delta, and kappa), not just the alpha and beta fractions. You also know that caseinates do not form a micelle. There is no such chemical compound as “Micellar Alpha and Beta Caseins and Caseinates”! To use such a name on an ingredients panel is illegal and misleading to the consumer (you). Caseinates have a specific identity/description as laid out in the USDA section of the Code of Federal Regulations. All companies are legally required to list caseinate as a separate, defined ingredient in their ingredients statement. The ingredient labeling above is totally illegal! Why would anyone risk breaking the law by combining caseinates with micellar alpha and beta casein in an ingredients statement? The only conclusion that can be reached is that they are really not using micellar casein … but they want you to think that they are using micellar casein. Why go through the bother and the risk of putting their product into an illegally labeled package if they really are using micellar casein? A product with real micellar casein is so easily and clearly labeled. When you see a label ingredient declaration stating “Micellar Alpha and Beta Caseins and Caseinates”, consider what the company selling that product is trying to do. Are they trying to mislead or confuse you to take advantage of you? If so, what else are they not being truthful about? Is their product really what they claim it is? Most sports nutrition companies do not actually formulate or manufacture the products they market. They use what are known as “co-packers” for the manufacture of their products. Since the declaration of “Micellar Alpha and Beta Caseins and Caseinates” is so common on packages today, perhaps a co-packer out there is trying to fool their customers, the marketers, with such wording. Perhaps the marketing company isn’t aware that their product doesn’t contain real micellar casein. Does that excuse the marketing company? Is the company really that stupid that they do not know that their label declaration is illegal and that there is no such animal as “Micellar Alpha and Beta Caseins and Caseinates”? In that case, how technically knowledgeable are they? Are they really capable of formulating a good product for you if they don’t even understand simple biochemistry?
What Can You Do About It?
It is against Federal law to knowingly mislabel a food product with the intent of defrauding or confusing the consumer. If you’re as confused as I am about how anyone can market a protein powder containing “Micellar Alpha and Beta Caseins and Caseinates”, then you would have to agree that such a label violates Federal law. Why doesn’t someone take it upon themselves to start cleaning up the sports nutrition industry and start reporting those companies with such illegal labels to the authorities? At the very least, boycott those companies who make a habit out of false and misleading labels and advertising. Why would you want to support a company that thinks you’re too stupid to catch them at their misleading practices? Such practices are bad for all of sports nutrition and especially hurt those companies who are trying to make legitimately good, efficacious products for you, the consumers. Stand up for your rights as a consumer. Pay more attention to the products you eat and question how they are labeled.
Article by Phil Connolly co owner of CNP Professional and world renowed expert on protein.
