Protein is the most popular thing to supplement and there are now a huge amount of different type of protein shake on the market. Protein supplements should be used as part of your daily diet in the same way as foods such as fish and chicken, but because protein shakes are more convenient they can also be used in and around your workout, just before bed and at other times when cooking up a meal isn't convenient.

When buying protein supplements it is important to understand what you are paying for - this can broadly be broken down into three areas: quality of protein, quantity of protein and type of protein.

First of all the quality of protein. What makes a protein 'better' than another is generally it's amino acid profile and in this regard you cannot beat a whey protein shake when it comes to consuming protein for sports and muscle growth/recovery. Whey protein beats any other source of protein with it's incredibly high BCAA (branched chain amino acid) content and high bioavailability (how much your body can use) and this is why you tend to pay more for a whey-only protein supplement.

Next up is quantity of protein; how much protein you get in a given product. If two products both use whey protein only then if you're looking at value for money you should go for the product with a higher protein percentage (protein per 100g of product). We will make you aware though that in general the highest protein supplements taste the worst when compared to lower protein products - at Echo we tend to opt for a high quality product which also tastes good - anything over 70% protein will suffice for most people.

Finally the type of protein is very important as some protein sources are released into the body much faster than others, which means choosing a protein for post-workout (when you want FAST absorption) is different from choosing pre-bed protein, when you want SLOW absorption to "drip-feed" your body through the night. For slow release micellar casein is king, and for fast release whey protein is best. If you only want to buy one product and are willing to compromise then a protein blend containing both of these top quality protein sources would be a great choice.

If you still aren't sure which protein supplement to go for just get in touch and we will help out!