Now that you have protein, you are beginning to notice and feel the difference. You also know all the advantages of how quickly you can digest and absorb all the protein you require before, during, and after a workout. It says on the label to mix it with milk or water. The results must not be different, so should you drink your protein shake with milk or water?

Everybody, from newcomers to professional athletes, from those trying to lose weight to those trying to build, has this question in their head at some point. Your queries will be addressed in this article, along with an explanation of the advantages of both strategies.

What is Protein Powder?

Among the concentrated sources of protein are dietary supplements like protein powder. Depending on age, health, and level of physical activity, an individual should consume 0.8 to 2 grams of protein per kilogram of BW (body weight) each day. This equates to 56–140 g per day for a 70 kg person on average. The body depends heavily on proteins. They are crucial for preventing muscles from being burned for energy and for promoting muscle growth. They additionally assist in lowering cravings for sweets and hunger, both of which can aid in weight loss.

We’ll discuss combining protein with water and cow’s milk in this article. We’ll pay particular attention to whey proteins, which are also derived from milk and are therefore strongly recommended to be combined with this fluid. The overall ingredients profile and amino acid spectrum of whey protein are favorable. It is also the best protein choice for many people because of this. It is unusual for someone to want to combine plant-based proteins with cow’s milk after choosing other protein sources, such as those found in plants. They wouldn’t even attempt to combine it, for instance, with collagen that has an orange flavor.

Should You Have a Protein Shake With Milk Or Water?

Please excuse us if we start by saying it depends because we’re going to try to avoid taking a position here. Although there are numerous advantages to each approach, it really does depend on your goals.

Mixing your protein with milk will produce better results when you’re trying to gain mass and muscle. Water is the preferred method for lean builders, trimmers, and toners. It all boils down to nutrition since that is the main reason you are consuming protein shakes in the first place.

Differences Between Protein Powder Mixed With Water Or Milk

Taste

We can’t generally categorize things by better or worse taste. Due to our varied tastes, we all have different things that we enjoy. It also depends a lot on what flavour of protein you have. Personally, however, I find that protein mixed in cow’s or even plant milk tastes better than with water. However, go ahead if you prefer your protein with water.

Digestibility

The process by which nutrients are chemically broken down in the body is called digestion. Once these substances have passed through the intestinal wall, absorption has occurred. In terms of digestibility, the clear winner is protein with water, which your body will digest faster than it would with milk. In terms of digestion, we should mention people who are lactose intolerant and thus their body cannot digest milk sugars. Use only whey isolate or hydrolysate for them, and monitor how the body responds to them. Protein powder and water are the best combination to avoid the issues with milk at the same time. You could also combine it with lactose-free or plant-based milk as an alternative.

Energy Value

It may not surprise you that the caloric value of protein shake varies when mixed with different liquids. If you are trying to lose weight, for example, and it is a priority for you to save as many calories as possible, then protein shake with water will be the obvious choice. But remember that the protein will also be absorbed and digested more quickly. In case you mix it with milk, your calorie intake will increase, the digestion time will be longer and you may feel fuller for longer.

Absorption

Substances are absorbed when they cross the intestinal wall and enter the blood, where they are carried to their intended sites. From this point of view, the winner in terms of speed is therefore protein with water.

In the process of making whey protein, casein protein, the majority of the fat, and possibly even lactose are removed from the finished powder. This is particularly true for whey isolate and hydrolysate. If you were to mix whey protein with milk, you would get these components back to a lesser extent, which would then have a negative effect on their absorption.

Protein powder With Milk: Pros and Cons

When combining protein powder and milk, milk is unquestionably the better option if you’re trying to gain more muscle mass. It has more calories and nutrients, which raises the protein content and density of the food for no other reason than that.

200 ml of semi-skimmed milk, for instance, will add 100 calories, 8.6 g of carbohydrates, and 3.6 g of fat in addition to 7.2 g of protein. Milk will only increase the nutritional value of your shake, which already has a good nutritional profile.

Aside from this, the additional protein and amino acids in milk will also aid in more effectively stimulating protein synthesis than water.

Fortunately, we can use various types of milk to better achieve our objectives. The aforementioned example uses semi-skimmed milk, but whole milk would be a better option if you wanted to significantly increase the number of calories. A person on a calorie-restricted diet will benefit from skimmed milk because it contains fewer calories.

Your protein shake will contain more calcium if you consume it with milk, which will increase its nutritional value. 200ml of milk contains around 250mg of calcium, so your protein shake mixed with milk will provide you with around 28% of your daily calcium allowance.

Strong bones, blood clotting, an energy-producing metabolism, and healthy muscle function are all dependent on calcium, an essential mineral.

Hydration is another advantage of drinking your protein shake with milk.

Although you wouldn’t really drink a protein shake to hydrate, it’s still important to keep your hydration levels up throughout the day to support normal muscle function and prevent the performance decline brought on by dehydration.

The fact that milk is actually more hydrating than water may therefore come as a surprise to you! Milk replaces sodium that is lost through sweat while also assisting the body to retain fluid more effectively than water, according to numerous studies that have found this to be true. Milk also has a higher hydration index than water.

This obviously doesn’t mean that we should start drinking more milk than water, but when you really need to up your fluid intake and rehydrate yourself after a sweaty session, milk might be a good option.

Beyond the advantages of nutrition and hydration, consuming your protein shake with milk might also result in a nicer taste and texture because of the thickness and added sweetness.

Now that we’ve covered the benefits, it must be true that drinking your protein shake with milk has some drawbacks as well.

Well, milk can absorb a little more slowly than water, which might mean that the protein absorbs more slowly as a result.

While having a slow release of protein and amino acids isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it’s not the best option if you want a quick replenishment of protein.

Protein Powder With Water: Pros and Cons

The simplest, cheapest, and most practical replacement for milk in your protein shake would be water. Water won’t increase the protein or calories in your shake, as we’ve already established, but it has no nutritional value.

But ultimately, it comes down to preference.

Water would not affect the protein’s ability to be absorbed, whereas milk would, as we have already mentioned. A quick-release protein shake made from this would be perfect for replenishing quickly after a workout.

Additionally, consuming water along with your protein shake would result in you consuming more water overall. Since water is necessary for many bodily processes, even though your protein shake isn’t nutritionally enhanced, it will still have a number of positive effects.

Consequently, even though a shake made with water may not be as creamy or dense as one made with milk, it would unquestionably be a quicker and more practical option than bringing a carton of milk to the gym!

Summary

Do you need to drink milk or water with your protein shake, then? Beyond just taste, there are some significant differences between consuming protein with milk and water. If losing weight is your goal, water is the best option because it contains protein while having less fat and sugar than milk. For those looking to gain muscle mass, those fats and carbohydrates are important, and milk’s additional protein content will make them even more so.