What are the benefits of taking casein?
Science shows that muscle synthesis continues for up to 48 hours after training. This means that to get the full benefit of muscle growth from your training, it is a good idea to make sure that your protein need is continuously covered for 48 hours. Whey protein is ideal for taking right before, during, or right after your training where your muscles need a lot of protein quickly. After a day with a training session, casein is an ideal protein supplement to take before sleep to ensure a continuous release of protein during the night.
If, for instance, you have a training session in the evening on day 1 and don't have time to train on day 2 and 3, then the 48 hour time window for ongoing muscle synthesis will end on the evening of day 3. This means to optimize for muscle growth after your training, it is a good idea to think about your diet for days 2 and 3 and make sure you have enough protein intake to cover your body's needs. If any of your meals in the 48 hour window after a training session are low in protein, you can benefit from taking a supplement of casein with those meals. If you trained hard on day 1, you may consider taking casein on day 2 with your breakfast, lunch, dinner, and before bedtime. You may even consider taking casein on day 3 with your breakfast and lunch.
Some compounds in casein are called "milk derived bioactive peptides" and are proven to support stress reduction. Other compounds are shown to have a positive effect on mood and can have a mild to moderate effect towards reducing depression.
Casein and weight control
Casein has a benefit that whey does not have to the same extent. Because of the slow digestion of casein, casein gives you a feeling of fullness for several hours which makes it a good supplement to use for weight control. Take a serving of casein before a meal as a supplement to the meal and you will feel partly full; it will be a lot easier to eat less during the meal. Or add casein to a morning smoothie and you will feel full for a long time.
We should all have a healthy diet as our foundation, so we generally advise against replacing food with sports food supplements. With that said, occasionally on days where we for instance only have a few minutes for lunch, a serving of casein and some fruit will get you far and only takes a few minutes to consume. The 24 grams of protein you get in one serving of casein is the same as eating 4 large eggs.
Casein as a protein supplement can be useful in several ways. It provides a sustained release of protein for muscle growth during long periods between meals, like when you sleep at night, and it can be helpful for weight control by supplying a feeling of fullness that lasts for several hours.
Read more about comparing casein and whey protein or continue reading about how much calcium there is in casein.