Protein Supplement Guide

Do you need to take casein protein before bed? I see this question constantly coming up on forums around the web. So I’m going to give Protein Supplement Guide readers my take on the question!

A lot of weight training athletes use casein protein every night before bed. Casein protein has been proven in scientific studies to take up to 7 hours to absorb fully into the body. Casein creates a “gel” lining in the stomach which slows digestion. This makes it ideal for taking before bed where you’re just about to go around 8 hours without any incoming nutrition. There’s no doubt in my mind that casein protein is great for before bed use. But what can you do if you don’t want to use it before bed? Simple…

You can slow down the digestion of any food by adding fat. So you can mix your whey protein supplements with some healthy oils to slow down whey’s otherwise veryfast digestion. I suggest you take around 30-35g of whey protein with 5-10g of healy oils. These healthy oils can be something like Udo’s Ultimate Blend, or flax seed oils.

So let’s look at the pro’s and cons of whey protein + oils before bed:

Pros:

1. Get additional essential fatty acids before bed which can help in muscle recovery and regrowth
2. No need to buy an additional supplement
3. Mixes easily

Cons:

1. Can taste bad depending on flavor of protein powder
2. Can cost more than casein supplements
3. Would probably take around 3 hours to absorb (I have no had evidence on this)

So the choice is yours, but there’s another option out there. Personally, I’d buy the casein supplement. You only need to take it once per day, it costs the same as whey protein and it lasts for ages.