NEW Product: AlphaJoe Advanced Protein (AAP)
AAP is not unlike AlphaJoe coffee booster, in that it’s a “simple” formulation I have been using and recommending for years. I mix the three key ingredients – whey, collagen, and colostrum – almost daily, as I feel they’re synergistic, with evidence to support immunity, muscle mass, joint and connective tissue, GI health, and skin, to name a few potential benefits of that formula.
Whey
I have been a consultant to several of the largest whey producers for over three decades, as well as supplement companies offering whey for its immune supporting general health supporting properties that are separate from, or in addition to, its protein content. 30+ years of researching whey, it still continues to surprise me with the potential benefits. Many companies and guru types have jumped on the whey bandwagon in recent years, but no one can accuse yours truly of that.
It should be noted not all whey is created equal, and careful and specific manufacturing processes are essential for maintaining the bio-activity of whey. I first wrote about the immune supporting properties of whey circa early 90’s, while others were focused on whey as a simple protein source for bodybuilders and other athletes. I spent a great deal of time in the Harvard and BU medical libraries (pre internet!) reading the studies on whey protein ‘back in the day’ as they say. A deep dive into the full benefits of whey, and the mechanisms why which it achieves it, is well beyond the scope of any single article, this one included. I’d highly recommend people take a deeper dive into my extensive articles and videos on whey protein found on this site for full details, but a very basic summary of whey from one of my earliest articles, circa 1996 in the pages of Life Extension Magazine:
“Cow’s milk contains about 6.25% protein. Of that, 80% is casein and the remaining 20% is whey. Traditionally, the term “whey protein” describes the milk proteins that remain after cheese is made from the casein in milk. Whey protein is comprised of four major protein fractions and six minor protein fractions, such as lactoferrin*. The major protein fractions in whey are beta-lactoglobulin, alpha-lactalbumin, bovine serum albumin, and immunoglobulins. Each of these components have important disease-fighting effects.”
Since that time, a considerable amount of data has been published supporting the potential benefits of whey on immunity, glutathione production, cancer prevention, and unexpected areas, such as mood, weight loss, gut health, and treatment of covid and management of long covid, to name a few. I would surly hope anyone who has followed my articles over the years is already well aware of the fact that whey protein is far more than simply a high-quality protein source for bodybuilders and other athletes! As I stated in a recent article:
… There’s still people out there, both medical professionals and non, who are unaware of the extensive data suggesting whey is a key health promoting food based supplement. For almost thirty years I have been researching the value of whey and its health promoting, immune supporting, disease preventing properties. In case anyone reading this thinks the use of whey as a medicinal food is a new finding, the use of whey protein for medicinal purposes has been prescribed since the time of Hippocrates. In fact, there are two ancient proverbs from the Italian city of Florence that say, “If you want to live a healthy and active life, drink whey,” and, “If everyone were raised on whey, doctors would be bankrupt.”
Bottom line, whey is a functional and medicinal food in my view that is also an exceptionally high quality protein source that will help maintain muscle as we age, especially when combined with resistance exercise.
Collagen
Collagen on the other hand is a terrible stand-alone protein source due its highly skewed amino acid profile, but has some unique benefits that are complementary and potentially synergistic with whey. In a nutshell, whey supports immunity through various mechanisms (e.g., glutathione production, various bio active subfractions such as lactoferrin, etc.) and muscle mass due to its amino acid profiles – leucine content, EEA content- and collagen supports connective tissue and skin in particular. Collagen is especially rich in the amino acid’s glycine and proline, and a recent study (1) that combined whey and collagen suggests benefits of that combination as post workout nutrition. However, the addition of collagen to AAP is not to optimize post workout nutrition per se as it is to support connective tissues, especially skin and glutathione production. Collagen is an excellent source of the amino acid glycine and the authors of this whey + collagen study summarized that; “…glycine has been shown to have a protective effect in muscle wasting, may play an important role in muscle regeneration and is required for the synthesis of creatine, heme, glutathione, purine, and collagen.”
Specific to glutathione (GSH), a deep dive of that topic is beyond the scope of this article and it’s covered extensively on this site, but GSH is a tripeptide made of glutamine, cysteine, and glycine, and is essential to immunity, aging, disease prevention, and so forth. Under normal circumstances, availability of glycine is not viewed as rate limiting to the production of GSH as cysteine is. However, recent evidence suggests under some circumstances such as aging, post workout, and various diseases, the demand for glycine may exceed supply and de-novo production and additional glycine may be of benefit in those populations as well as others.(2) The authors of the paper linked (#2) summarize some of the potential benefits of additional glycine:
“Supplemental glycine may have the potential for improving endothelial function, preventing cardiac hypertrophy, aiding control of metabolic syndrome, preventing the complications of diabetes, dampening inflammation, protecting the liver, and promoting effective sleep.”
It should be noted the data supporting the benefits of collagen for connective tissues (i.e., tendons and ligaments) has been weak or contradictory, but much more compelling for skin health and aging, specifically hydration and elasticity. (3) One study did find oral supplementation with collagen peptides combined with calf specific resistance exercises enhanced the function and reduced pain in Achilles tendinopathy. (4) In general, data supports collagen peptides as beneficial for pain and functionality. (5) While we must take anecdotal reports with skepticism, feedback from long time users of collagen – in particular collagen peptides – consistently report improvements in skin, hair, and nails. Reports of improvements in joint stiffness and pain far less consistent, which is in line with the data that exists. As always anecdotal evidence does not equal data, but if feedback is consistent over years or decades and there’s a plausible mechanism and suggestive data, I will add it to the total evidence putting it in the “it’s worth a try” category…
Colostrum.
Not unlike collagen, colostrum should have overlap and synergism with whey. Colostrum is a truly medicinal food in its own right. Colostrum and whey share some of the same beneficial compounds, such as lactoferrin and others, but also differ in what they offer. One issue to note about colostrum is steps in processing to maintain its sensitive bio-actives is even greater than it is for whey. While colostrum offers various potential benefits, not unlike whey, data for supporting gut and immune health is most compelling and useful as it applies to the AAP formula. For those with a technical/science background, the review linked is excellent. As a general introduction for those unfamiliar with colostrum:
“Bovine colostrum (BC) is the first milk produced after birth and is a rich natural source of macro- and micro-nutrients, immunoglobulins, and peptides with anti-microbial activity and growth factors. There is strong evidence that BC is important for the nutritional and immunological support, growth, and development of the new-born calf. It is produced by the milk industry and commercially sold to promote general health and immune support. There is also increasing evidence that BC may be of value for the treatment of a variety of medical conditions in children and adults and as a supplement for athletes to aid exercise performance and recovery.” (6)
For additional info of a non-technical nature, I did a vid comparing whey and colostrum HERE.
*= Note: I would add that lengthy scientific reviews about the long list of benefits of just one minor subfraction of whey, lactoferrin for example, will take up considerable space but are worth reading for those interested in the science of it, and my articles on lactoferrin started shortly after I started writing about whey, circa early/mid 90s. A recent review on lactoferrin entitled “The Lactoferrin Phenomenon—A Miracle Molecule” is a must read.
Conclusion.
It should be noted the above is just the proverbial tip of the iceberg as to the wide range of potential benefits from those three ingredients, and I’d expect AAP and the coffee booster to further compliment and support each other. AAP would be an excellent choice for bodybuilders and other athletes no doubt, but it’s target user is more geared toward the person looking to support whole body health and well-being. AAP, similar to AlphaJoe coffee booster, is a “simple” three ingredient formula that has extensive scientific support, a strong likelihood of synergism, and wide ranging benefits on health and well-being while having obvious utility to athletic populations.
Sources:
Whey general:
“The ‘Whey’ to good health: Whey protein and its beneficial effect on metabolism, gut microbiota and mental health”: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0924224422004794
Collagen:
Colostrum
Various studies of interest: https://www.colostrumresearch.org/research/study-papers
Will Brink is the owner of the Brinkzone Blog. Will has over 30 years experience as a respected author, columnist and consultant, to the supplement, fitness, bodybuilding, and weight loss industry and has been extensively published. Will graduated from Harvard University with a concentration in the natural sciences, and is a consultant to major supplement, dairy, and pharmaceutical companies.
His often ground breaking articles can be found in publications such as Lets Live, Muscle Media 2000, MuscleMag International, The Life Extension Magazine, Muscle n Fitness, Inside Karate, Exercise For Men Only, Body International, Power, Oxygen, Penthouse, Women’s World and The Townsend Letter For Doctors.
He’s also been published in peer reviewed journals.
Will is the author of the popular e-books, both accompanied by private members forum access , Bodybuilding Revealed & Fat Loss Revealed.
You can also buy Will’s other books on Amazon, Apple iBook, and Barnes and Noble.
Tags: colostrum gut health immune support lactoferrin new products Whey