This is important, because research has found that only whey proteins in their natural, undenatured state have biological activity. Processing whey protein to remove the lactose and fats without losing the biological activity takes special care by the manufacturer. Most second-generation whey products are mixed with a whey isolate to bring up the protein content per serving. Whey isolates contain more than 90 percent protein content with minimal lactose and no fat. It may sound impressive, but there are serious drawbacks to this method.
Whey protein is a complex protein.
It is made up of many sub-fraction peptides that have their own unique effects on health. Though the protein content is increased, many of the most important sub-fractions are lost or greatly reduced. With the amazing array of new manufacturing and processing techniques used to make whey isolates, manufacturers can now make what appears to be optimal whey isolates for health and disease prevention. This was not possible to do on a large scale just a few years ago, but can be done today with modern filtering technique employed by a small number of companies. This allows for a truly tailored protein supplement, and the ability to add back in certain sub-fractions in amounts that can't be found in nature.