Whey Perfection Special Series from Body and Fit review

Geschatte leestijd: 6 minuten Body en Fit introduces today the Whey Perfection ‘Special Series’. We received this new flagship among the protein shakes. How special is the Whey Perfection Special Series? You can read all about the new flagship of Body en Fit here.

Body en Fit Special Series

Do you know that feeling when your favorite band or artist goes mainstream? Great for the artist, but now you suddenly have to share them with all those new ‘fans’. I had it with hip-hop artists in the past, my daughter has it with death metal bands. The musical apple falls far from the tree. When I started serious strength training a long time ago, there were far fewer people using food supplements. This changed with online ordering. But even in those early days, a package from Body en Fit(shop) at your door meant that someone lived there who was seriously into strength training. If you saw someone in the gym with a Body en Fit shaker, you could still give a nod like motorcyclists greet each other. However, that changed when you started seeing those boxes and shakers everywhere. At yoga clubs, soccer clubs, and even bridge clubs, I saw people with shakers in their hands. Suddenly, my favorite rapper had become popular with people who don’t know what M.C. stands for. People who don’t talk about sets but about chia.

Body en Fit Special Series: for real athletes and diehards

Naturally, I understand that; business is business. Besides, it’s an irrational reaction to like something less because of increased popularity among others. Still, as a fan from the beginning, you always hope that your favorite artist returns to their roots. Preferably with a hardcore song that leads to horror, disapproval, and headache at the bridge club. In December, Body en Fit showed teaser videos indicating that the company has something special for fans of old songs. We don’t see cheerful hopping bunnies showing that superfoods are the solution to all problems in the world. No, we see serious fitness fans and athletes. We see references, like the high heels. Something only the real fans understand that the bikini fitness ladies are addressed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hz9QdmwGPac&feature=youtu.be

Whey Perfection Special Series

The question is, of course: What’s so special about the Whey Perfection ‘Special Series’? Last week, we received the new protein, a ‘Special Series’ T-shirt, and a futuristic shaker. Body en Fit itself mentions three characteristics of the new Whey Perfection:

• 50% whey isolate
• Free from artificial flavorings and sweeteners
• Supplemented with pieces of real chocolate, strawberry, or vanilla

The Whey combo

So, Whey Perfection Special Series contains 50% whey isolate, but the total amount of protein is of course important. Besides whey isolate, the Whey Perfection Special Series also contains whey concentrate and whey hydrolysate. That’s not a strange mix, but it’s also not self-evident. The difference between whey isolate and concentrate is purity. Isolate normally contains over 90% protein while concentrate usually comes in around 80%. Mixing these two doesn’t do much more than mixing two different grades of purity. Ultimately, as a buyer, you’re mainly interested in the total amount of protein in the pot.

In total, the new Whey Perfection contains 78.7 grams of protein.

Ratio of hydrolysate and concentrate unknown

Whey hydrolysate can be a processing of both types of whey, both concentrate and isolate. But casein can also be used as a source for hydrolyzed protein (like PeptoPro). Hydrolyzed proteins are proteins to which enzymes have been added. These enzymes should partially break down the long protein chains into smaller chains of two and three amino acids (di- and tripeptides). This process normally occurs by enzymes in the body. This processing leads to a faster absorption of the amino acids because part of the digestion process has already been initiated. This makes hydrolyzed protein an interesting but also more expensive form of protein. Given that only 50% whey isolate is mentioned in Whey Perfection Special Series, it’s not clear to what extent the remaining proteins are supplied from concentrate and hydrolysate. This is an important difference considering the mentioned properties and price of hydrolysate.

Hydrolysis degree

Also unknown is the extent to which the enzymes in the hydrolysate have done their work. This can be indicated by a degree of hydrolysis and is the most important property of a hydrolysate. In previous reviews, we have seen differences between a hydrolysis degree of 4% and a hydrolysis degree of 30%. Finally, it’s not known whether the hydrolysate comes from whey isolate or concentrate. Both can be used in practice as hydrolysate. There’s also a difference that one source contains about 90% whey and the other 80%. However, this is not very important, again because the total number of proteins you ultimately ingest is stated. Whether the remaining proteins mainly come from a 30% hydrolysate or only for a small part from a hydrolysate with a low degree of hydrolysis makes a big difference.

Natural flavor, odor, and colorants

All flavorings, odorants, and colorants in Whey Perfection Special Series are from a natural source. The mentioned Steviolglycosides on the packaging are a mixture of sweeteners from the stevia plant. These substances are 300 times sweeter than sugar. So much less is needed for the same effect. However, some people experience the taste differently, sometimes as bitter. Besides needing less stevia, these substances do not lead to an increase in blood sugar levels. Handy for people with (an increased risk of) diabetes and insulin resistance. For the strawberry flavor that I tried, 1% strawberry powder is added. In addition, beet powder is added for color.

Taste and use

Personally, I found the taste very good. Fine regarding sweetness. Now, I’m someone who adds a bit of coffee to their sugar, so it’s not strange if others have to get used to the stevia. I also found the strawberry flavor itself fine. As mentioned, I received the Whey Perfection with a Cyclone Shaker. In the special edition that brings bling back like Justin Timberlake brought sexy back. A golden, futuristic cup that wouldn’t be out of place with my favorite rapper. A handy thing. The rattling spirals always get lost, as do the plastic mixing filters. In the new cup, this is integrated into the cap. The protein also mixes well, as you would expect from whey (unlike, for example, casein). As expected, the shake with milk is just very tasty and creamy. With water, it’s a bit less creamy, but that’s why a milkshake is not called a watershake.

Whey Perfection vs Whey Perfection Special Series

It’s natural to compare Whey Perfection Special Series with the current Whey Perfection from Body en Fit. Here I must make a slight reservation because exact nutritional values can sometimes differ per flavor. A comparison (per 100 grams)

	Whey Perfection	Whey Perfection Special Series
Fat	5.8	3 .2
saturated	2.1	2.2
Carbohydrates	6.9	5.3
sugars	5.1	3.3
Proteins	79.4	78.7
Salt	0.46	0.66
Kcal	401	376

The importance of some values is of course personal. However, the protein content will be something every buyer looks at first. Not entirely unimportant either; the content with accompanying lab results. This is almost comparable between the two, although the ‘normal’ Whey Perfection scores slightly higher. In both cases, it’s a mix of isolate, concentrate, and hydrolysate. More striking are the differences in the amount of fats and carbohydrates and thus the number of calories. Whey Perfection Special Series contains fewer carbohydrates and fats and therefore also fewer calories. Another difference is the type of sweetener which in the Special Series is entirely from the stevia plant. This means a departure from the synthetic sweeteners sucralose and acesulfame-K in the current Whey Perfection.

Whey Perfection Special Series: Price

So, is there also a special price for you my friend? Difficult to determine. For a jar of 2270 grams, you pay 39.90 euros. That’s 5 euros more than for a jar of the current Whey Perfection. With the Special Series, you receive a free shake beaker, but there are also combination packages with the Golden Cyclone Shake Beaker and T-Shirt. For that extra 5 euros (2.20 per kilo, 14%), you get a slightly more ‘lean’ shake with more natural sweeteners and for an extra few euros a bling color for your shake beaker and a T-shirt (which fits nicely by the way). That might be worth it to distinguish yourself from the superfood fans.

Conclusion

The new Whey Perfection Special Series is in many ways just a fine protein. Regarding the total protein content, the taste, the lack of added sugars, and the use of natural flavorings, odorants, and colorants. For a truly analytical assessment, to assign a price to the different types of protein, more information would be needed. By that, I mainly mean the ratio between whey concentrate and hydrolysate and the properties of the latter.