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Originally Posted by zectbumo
Does Whey protein lose it's nutritional value when heated at high temperatures? I have read a few different opinions on this matter but does anyone know for sure?
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Some people/companies say not to cook whey as it will denature(hence the reasons why most people's protein bars are not baked, they are refridgerated/frozen).
From ON's site: ...excessive heat can reduce or destroy delicate peptides (i.e. microfractions) within a protein. For this reason, it is best to limit the exposure of 100% WHEY Protein to high heat
Others: "Let there be no mistake about it, heat damages protein. Especially whey protein. Heat processing ruptures and reforms protein molecules. It's called denaturing, and it makes digestion and absorption difficult."
But many nutrition experts say that it doesn't affect the protein content:
"even if whey is denatured by heat (a good bet), the worst case scenario is that is less water soluble, so it might take a bit longer to get into the small intestine. But of course, if its in something that you cooked, its probably stuck with other stuff anyway, so it would be slow even if it were soluble. Plus, you probably aren't concerned with 'fast nutrition' with the baked item."
By denaturing whey they mean you are destroying its tertiary structure and hence any microfractions in it. These fractions in whey may have some additional health benefits that will be lost if heated too high. The protein content however WILL NOT CHANGE. From a strictly macronutrient standpoint "denatured" whey is the same(from my understanding).
So to conclude: Denatured whey contains the same aount of protein and amminos. What you are loosing in heating is some of the other possible health benefits associated with whey
The most knowledgeable answered I've received on this subject is this: "Like everyone said, whey should be survive cooking just fine. If it is damaged, then it's really obvious (gets stringy and curdled, or becomes hard as a brick and tasteless in the oven). I've even had success with protein bars in the oven at 450-degrees F, with short cooking times (10-12 minutes). Perhaps the very edges are slightly damaged, but the majority is fine."
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