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A DISCUSSION - CASEIN MICELLES - NATURE KNOWS BEST!
Milk is an extremely complex food that delivers a broad
spectrum of immune and nutrition factors to help babies
survive and grow. Milk is far more complex than once
thought, with over 100,000 different molecular
substances estimated. Science continues to gain fresh
insights into milk structures. One area in particular
has received recent attention-casein micelles.
The term "casein micelles" may seem confusing. But once
you learn why casein micelles are in human milk, and
their role in nutrition, they are easy to understand.
Casein micelles are another example of the brilliant
strategies Nature uses to solve difficult nutritional
problems. Whether you are an endurance athlete or
bodybuilder, the casein micelles in
Muscle Milk
can positively impact your metabolism and help you get
the most out of your total milk protein supplement.
CASEIN
In human milk, there are two main proteins: whey and
casein. Over millions of years, Nature evolved both
proteins to be taken together; each complementing and
boosting the effectiveness of the other. Whey is quickly
metabolized, while casein is more timed delayed. This
fast-and-slow protein release was cleverly designed by
Nature, and is just one reason
Muscle Milk
is maximally anabolic and anti-catabolic, providing a
high level of amino acid concentrations in the serum
amino acid pool.
Casein composes about 40% of the protein in human milk.
While much of this discussion may seem like detached
scientific mumbo jumbo, casein is actually a familiar
part of our life. The "milk moustache" after a cold glass
of milk is largely casein. And one reason milk is bright
white is because casein reflects light. Finally, the
curds from the Little Miss Muffet nursery rhyme are
casein. We have literally grown up on, and around,
casein.
CASEIN MICELLES
Caseins, of which there are four types, are found in
milk within a structure called a Micelle (my-sill).
Simply, a micelle is a dense clumping of various
nutrients into a molecular grouping. In a micelle, you
can find up to 21 amino acids that compose casein, and
powerful bioactive peptides. The cement that holds
micelles tighter are the minerals calcium and
phosphorus, and some citrate. In fact, close to
two-thirds of milk calcium is linked to the casein
micelle.
So, casein is a part of a micelle. The micelle also
contains minerals, amino acids, and bioactive peptides.
The term "micellear casein" refers to the overall
grouping of nutrients that casein is a part.
A micelle can be composed of hundreds, even thousands,
of smaller sub-micelles. Why would Nature clump all
these nutrients together? For the best reason of all,
and why Nature designs virtually everything about the
body-survival, and why we decided to include caseins in
their most complete, native, non-isolated form.
MICELLES-TRAVELLING NUTRIENTS
The casein micelle grouping is actually a transport
vehicle. In other words, micelles act as a moving van to
deliver these nutrients into the stomach, still bound
together in this group. The reason for grouping reveals
Nature's genius.
The micelle package contains minerals that are not well
broken down in the stomach, especially in infants.
That's the problem. Nature's solution is to keep the
casein micelle intact so stomach acids have a better
chance to help make the minerals more usable. This
process also allows for larger peptides to be absorbed
intact for improved protein absorption.
THAT'S WHY…
…casein releases its proteins, peptides and amino acids
slowly - because it's part of a slow releasing micelle
group. And that's also why slow releasing casein
micelles are the perfect anabolic partner to whey. Whey
for fast amino acid release and casein for slower amino
acid release and elevated serum amino acid pools.
CASEINATES
Commercial casein does not dissolve into water
especially well. Since water is the predominant
intra-cellular medium, caseinates are produced-to be
more soluble in water. Caseinates are produced by
dissolving casein so it is more water soluble. The most
typical forms are calcium, potassium and sodium.
Sometimes, as in the case of
Muscle Milk,
caseinates are made even more water soluble by special
processing.
Muscle Milk
uses select caseinates to make it more mixable in water
or milk, while at the same time, presenting them in
their native forms to assure and enhance
bioavailability. Once again, nature, not man, was the
cleverest formulator.
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