Clear Protein Powder, also known as Clear Whey Isolate, is a form of whey protein that is highly purified, making it transparent when mixed with water. It's known for its light, refreshing taste compared to traditional protein supplements.
What type of protein is Clear Protein Powder?
In our previous post on types of whey protein, we covered three different versions:
Whey Protein Concentrate
The most common and cheapest form of whey protein: it's the least processed form and contains higher levels of fats, carbs, and lactose.
Whey Protein Isolate
This form undergoes further processing, removing most of the carbs, fats, and lactose, making it a purer protein source compared to whey concentrate.
Whey Protein Hydrolysate
(Also known as Hydrolyzed Whey Protein Isolate): This is whey protein that has been broken down into smaller pieces, making it easier for the body to absorb.
Clear Protein Powder, also known as Clear Whey Isolate, tends to fall under the third category - Whey Protein Hydrolysate.
But why isn't it called Clear Whey Hydrolysate?
That's because of two things:
- Hydrolysate is technically still a Whey Protein Isolate, and it's easier to pronounce.
- Not all hydrolysate is clear whey, and not all clear whey is hydrolysate: there are a few ways of making whey protein clear, and some may just be an ultra-purified version of Whey Protein Isolate.
To understand this, let's look at how Clear Whey is normally made.
The overall goal when we're making Clear Whey is to make the final powder dissolve very easily in water, and to avoid the milky taste. To do this, we mainly rely on breaking down the whey and filtering away all the excess fats and sugars, which also tend to give whey concentrate that milky, creamy flavor.
In other words, we need a combination of acidification and purification of whey protein.
Acidification
Acidification has been shown to reduce the natural flavors present in protein and make the drink clear. We are also able to heat-treat these acidified proteins to pasteurize them, making them last longer on our shelves but also making them taste more like nothing - this lets us add the flavors we want to the protein powder.
Acidification just means that we add powdered acid to whey protein isolate: We take isolated whey protein in liquid form and turn it into a powder using spray drying. Drinks containing Whey Isolate are actually all clear before heat-treatment, but only those with a relatively acidic pH stay clear afterwards. This is because the protein denatures, forming clumps that end up being visible in water and making it cloudy.
Basically, we have to heat-treat protein to make sure it stays good for a long time (by killing off any bacteria), but because of that normal protein is not clear.
The acidity actually causes a common problem among clear whey brands, which is astringency. This is the "dry-mouth" feeling you get after drinking wine or tea that makes you want to drink water afterwards. There are tons of reasons why this could happen, but in short we know that a combination of acid and whey protein results in a particularly strong version of this astringency - which kind of defeats the point of a refreshing clear drink if not dealt with properly.
Purification
Purification is normally through filtration, for which an example is Cross Flow Microfiltration.
Imagine a stream of water flowing across a flat, porous surface. As the water flows, the surface catches and holds onto larger particles, while letting the smaller particles and the liquid pass through.
In cross flow filtration the liquid you want to filter is moved sideways across the filter membrane, not just pushed straight through it. The filter has tiny holes that only let certain size particles pass through, and larger particles are too big to go through these holes, so they are left behind.
This method is really useful for filtering things without clogging the filter, and it's often used in water treatment, food and beverage production, and pharmaceutical manufacturing. In the case of whey protein, we sometimes want the big particles to be our Whey Concentrate, or we might want to filter for the smaller particles only.
Both of these processes are necessary when making clear whey with either Whey Protein Isolate or Hydrolysate, the only difference being that Hydrolysate is already acidified and broken down - in other words, it is an easier starting point to work with.
What does this mean for Clear Whey?
You'll see most products on the market have fruity flavors, like lemon, orange, or berry. This is because the acidified whey protein naturally tastes a bit sour, and so manufacturers tend to use stronger flavors to compensate for this - fruit is a perfect example of something that's both sour and delicious!
This also means that Clear Whey generally has higher protein content by mass - the same scoop of Whey Concentrate will have much lower protein, but this is often made up for by the fact that Clear Whey is much more expensive. Often, manufacturers will reduce the size of Clear Whey portions so that you still get the same amount of protein, but with a smaller scoop.
Clear Whey will also likely last longer on your shelf, because the acid and heat treatment makes the powder more stable and less likely to get contaminated by bacteria and other bad stuff that could grow in a less hostile environment.
What does this mean for you?
If you're still reading this, you're obviously quite interested in Clear Whey Isolate. It is exciting - if you're like me, you've been drinking milky protein for ages and may have gotten a bit sick of it.
Clear Whey Isolate is a great way to try something new, but what's even better is the fact that we're constantly coming up with new ways to improve the process, and the hope is that as we get better, the taste and quality of our products can increase correspondingly with the technology.
There's a wave of innovation coming, and we hope you'll love it.