Recently a friend showed me an advert in a muscle magazine for a new super “hardcore” whey protein powder claiming to use ‘Nano-molecular hyper dispersion’ technology to supposedly make the whey more effective for building muscle size and strength. Supposedly it is exclusive and patent pending to the company and of course set to ‘take the market by storm’.
I’m always on the lookout for ways to get faster results from my training, and if replacing my current whey protein powder with one using “nanomolecular hyperdispersion technology” can help me get bigger and stronger, then I want to be first in line to see how it can help me pack on size.
As you might know from some of my previous articles, I don’t take any claims at face value and always like to do my own research to see if a particular product is worth using. So I decided to look into this so-called nanomolecular hyperdispersion technology to see if it was something I could take advantage of.
Here’s what I have translated from their marketing…
Basically, what happens is that the amino acid particles in whey are “micro-pulverized” to a range of 2 to 50 microns in size. In case you’re wondering, a micron is VERY small (1 inch = 25400 microns!). Anyway, this “micro-pulverization” produces amino acid particles that are a fraction of the size of the protein particles found in other whey protein supplements, supposedly leading to “ultrafast absorption.” This, in theory at least, is supposed to accelerate blood amino acid transport and uptake, leading to an increased rate of muscle growth.
That’s what the marketing hype says. But as I mentioned earlier, I’m very skeptical of these types of claims, no matter who is making them. But apparently, the product in question is “based on available published research.”
So, I decided to see if I could find it!
I spent hours on a Sunday afternoon trawling through the PubMed research database, and found no evidence or research (not even a rat study) to support these claims. PubMed was developed by the National Center for Biotechnology Information and provides access to research from biomedical studies. If there was evidence to show that “micro-pulverizing” or anything like it could make whey protein work better, it would be in the database somewhere. But it wasn’t. There was nothing at all.
I also looked through the latest sports nutrition conference proceedings, which usually have all the latest cutting-edge research on supplements. Again, I found nothing. I then called up my research contacts at the three biggest protein manufacturing houses in the world and they just laughed when I showed them the advert.
By using terms like “nano-molecular hyperdispersion” and “nano-particulation,” the company selling this “hardcore” whey protein is just piggybacking on the field of nanotechnology, giving the impression that their product is on the cutting edge of science.
That’s not to say that nanotechnology might not be used to help improve supplements in future. Big pharmaceutical companies are spending millions researching the role of nano-particles and the benefits of them for use as precise drug delivery systems, thereby improving the therapeutic potential of both established and new drugs. I am sure that one day supplements that use nanotechnology will become available, but it is unlikely to, before a big pharmaceutical company develops it first.
But for now, the bottom line is this… there is absolutely zero evidence to show that the nano-particulation of whey protein makes it work better than regular whey, neither is there any research to show it is even possible to manufacture. My recommendation is if anyone comes up with this kind of marketing junk, just ignore it, save your money and stick to your favourite muscle building products, which are based on quality research, such as whey protein powder, Creatine, glutamine, HMB, etc.
For information on whey protein powders that can support your strength and muscle goals, click here.
Research
Yih TC, Al-Fandi M. (2006). Engineered nanoparticles as precise drug delivery systems. Journal of Cellular Biochemistry, 15, 1184-1190
