Compare whey and casein

We have written about what is whey protein and what is casein on their own pages. If you are not already familiar with what these two protein supplements are, we suggest that you take a look at these two pages first, and come back to this one.

Whey and casein have similarities and differences. The similarities are that both contain a wide spectrum of proteins with an amino acid profile that supports the body’s needs for maintaining, repairing, and building muscle after training. Both are low in fat and carbohydrate. Both are rich in calcium and other minerals. Casein is richer in calcium than whey. The primary difference between whey and casein is that whey is digested quickly and easily whereas casein takes a longer time for digestion. Quick digestion is an important characteristic of whey while slow digesting is an important characteristic of casein.

Whey and casein are two types of protein supplement with different characteristics. The two types go well hand in hand and using both give you more tools for optimizing your protein. Whey is optimal to take in proximity with your training and casein is optimal to take some time after training sessions when there are many hours in between meals or the meals are low in protein.

If you are up for it, you can take the tour of reading more about the benefits of whey or more about the benefits of casein, or you can head back to the About Protein page to get an overview.