MuscleTech Essential Series Platinum 100% Whey

MuscleTech is really going for the triple crown of whey protein powder with their new Essential Series. Platinum 100% Whey joins their Platinum 100% Iso-Whey and Platinum 100% Casein as the third protein powder in the series.

Isolate for Instant Growth

The primary source of protein in here is whey protein isolate, which is one the highest quality protein sources available.

Whey protein isolate is 90% or higher protein by volume, whereas protein concentrate is usually anywhere between 50-80% protein by volume. The type of whey protein is a big determining factor when it comes to price for a protein supplement.

Platinum 100% Whey’s label does list some protein concentrate in here so it’s not a complete protein isolate, but isolate is listed as the primary ingredient so the majority of protein will be whey protein isolate.

Bioactive Fractions

The nice thing about Platinum 100% Whey and the other protein powders in the Essential Series is that they all go through a filtration system that preserves growth fractions which are often removed from whey protein during the manufacturing process.

According to the official Essential Series website, here’s a breakdown of some of the bioactive fractions you can expect:

Bovine serum albumin – This fraction is a large-sized globular protein with a good profile of essential amino acids that are important for muscle growth support.

Alpha-lactalbumin – This fraction is a significant source of essential and branched chain amino acids, particularly the essential amino acid tryptophan.

Beta-lactoglobulin – High in essential and branched chain amino acids (BCAAs) that are important for muscle recovery after training, this fraction has been noted to support mineral and vitamin absorption.

Immunoglobulins – These fractions are rich in the amino acid glutamine, which can support muscle recovery in response to strenuous training.

What’s more, you’re also going to get 5.5 g of branch chain amino acids, and 4 g of glutamine and glutamine precursors. Each serving has 24 g of protein, 1.5 g of fat, and 2 g of sugar. There’s 130 calories total, which is about average for a whey protein like this.

Taste, Price and Mixability

As a self-proclaimed peanut butter lover, I went for the chocolate peanut butter cup flavor. The taste is excellent initially, but this flavor did have a weird aftertaste, kind of an artificial peanut butter taste. This was an ok flavor, but you might be better off with something like the milk chocolate supreme.

And since this is an isolate, it does mix just fine on its own in a shaker cup or even mixed with a spoon.

Most places are selling Platinum 100% Whey for about $50 for a 5 lb. container. This is a pretty good deal, and actually going to cost a few dollars less than something like a Gold Standard Whey from Optimum Nutrition which I would consider a comparable protein.

Power To the Platinum

You’re always going to pay a little bit more for a protein isolate, and I would say Platinum 100% Whey has a pretty decent and competitive price. It’s a great source of quick-digesting amino acids, and I do like that they preserved the bioactive fractions in here.