I have recently had many comments on various youtube vidoes I have posted concerning protein powder and cooking with it. There are various sites that will claim that by cooking with protein powder, the powder will lose some of its nutritional value.
I had read the research, but thought I would contact a protein powder company just to see their response.
Thank you for contacting us, but no worries on cooking with protein powder, because of the quality of the protein. You will still retain full nutritional value, and as far as slowing on the digestion process, it is minimal.
Whey protein powder contains virtually all non-denatured protein. However, exposing protein to extreme temperature (hot or cold) will denature the protein to a certain degree. For example, heating whey protein to temperatures above 140 degrees F (60 degrees C) results in denaturation. For this reason, cooking or baking with DP denatures the protein. In addition, repeated freezing and thawing of a protein solution can result in deanaturation, but simply exposing the powder to low temperatures does not cause denaturation. This does not mean that the amount of the protein is diminished. Denaturation can affect biological value (bioavilability) and may slow the digestion and absorption of the protein. Regardless, denatured protein still retains full nutritional value with regard to amino acid composition. And whey protein powder is a good source of all essential and non-essential amino acids; therefore, even if it is denatured, it is still a very high quality protein source. Also, all proteins are denatured when cooked (e.g., eggs, meat, soy, etc.). Hope this helps and we wish you all the best.
So there you have it. Hope this clears up the many questions you may have had about cooking with protein powder.
Curls and Whey 