Supplement Review: Sci-Mx: Ultra Whey Protein

Supplement Review: Sci-Mx: Ultra Whey Protein:

Throughout the year, the team at Ethan Lowry Health & Fitness will be reviewing a number of different supplements across a range of different physiques, sports and lifting techniques. These reviews aim to be free from bias on all aspects of criteria and so no one brand or company will be given preferential judgement. They will be honest and fair for all. So let us begin with our first review.

Sci-Mx: Ultra Whey Protein

Brand: Sci-Mx Nutrition
Type of Product: Whey Protein shake
Flavour Reviewed: Chocolate
Claimed Use: Lean mass gain and rapid recovery of muscle fibres.

Cost: 

• £35.99 RRP for a 908g tub = 20 servings = £1.80 per serving.
• £71.99 RRP for a 2.28kg tub = 51 servings = £1.40 per serving.

   


Serving Size: 2 Level Scoops = 45g of powder with 250ml of water or milk.

What does your 45g include:

• 32g of Hydro-XFD90 Whey Complex:
• This complex includes a 3-part protein content:
• Whey Protein Concentrate
• Whey Protein Isolate
• Hydrolysed Whey Protein
• A BCAA Profile of:
• Leucine: 2.5g
• Isoleucine: 1.5g
• Valine: 1.4g
• Glutamine:
• Glutamine Peptides: 4.5g
• Glutamic Acid: 5.2g

Other notable ingredients include:

• Lactose
• Gluten
• May contain traces of egg and soy.
• Guar gum and Xanthan gum (Stabilisers).

Lets break it down.

Protein source:

This particular supplement has a 3-part protein content: Whey concentrate, isolate and hydrolysed whey. All 3 have their drawbacks and benefits but used in combination with each other we have found a brilliant source of nutritious protein.

Whey Concentrate: 

On average this particular type of whey contains 80% protein. This type of whey is the least processed form of protein and so contains the most nutritious qualities of the three. That is therefore the reason why this particular brand contains lactose. But with the lactose comes many other important enzymes and nutrients essential for processes within the body and to aid in digestion. Whey concentrate is also the source of most of the fat in this supplement.

Whey Isolate: 

Isolate contains, on average, a 90-95% protein content. "Great!" you say. "More protein!" Superficially this would look beneficial. But, the only reason this particular type of whey has more protein per 100g is because other ingredients have been removed. i.e. lactose, fat etc. You may then wonder what the problem with this is. To remove lactose and fat from the whey, it must undergo further processing. During this period, enzyme structures and protein structures can become denatured which causes the whey protein to lose its biological value. Biological value is basically how easy the body can absorb the foodstuffs it have ingested. So it may have a higher protein content but this does not necessarily mean that all of that protein will be digested and absorbed as efficiently. Also, because of the extra stage of processing involved, Whey Isolate is often more expensive than its Whey Concentrate counterpart.

Hydrolysed Whey Protein:

Hydrolysed Whey protein is often dictated to be the gold standard, superior to both Whey Concentrate and Whey Isolate. Typically however, there is usually no telling where the actually source of the whey used comes from. Hydrolysed Whey protein involves a process called hydrolysing. Hydrolysing involves breaking the proteins amino acid chains into smaller chains. The smaller the chain, the easier it is to absorb. The easier it is to absorb, the faster it enters the bloodstream. The faster it enters the bloodstream, the faster it reaches the muscles. However, because hydrolysing involves an extra stage of processing, it is possible to cause further denaturing of proteins and enzymes.

Processing Vs. Cold-Processing:

As you'll have read already each stage of processing puts the proteins and enzymes at risk of becoming denatured and losing their biological value, meaning the supplement is less effective. This though, can be limited through cold processing. Normal processing involves heat and it is the excessive heat that causes the denaturing of the proteins.

If the same process is performed below 40 degrees Celsius,
 it limits the denaturation side effect.

Branched Chain Amino Acid (BCAA) Profile:

Leucine: 2.5g
Isoleucine: 1.5g
Valine: 1.4g

Leucine plays an important role in muscle protein synthesis, while Isoleucine induces glucose uptake into cells. Studies still have to show Valines  role as a BCAA supplement. The addition of Isoleucine allows for the optimal absorption of the glucose that is contained within Sci-Mx Ultra Whey. The Leucine content however is distinctly average, but, as a rule, more is always better when it comes to Leucine. 

Glutamine Profile:

Total Glutamine related content: 9.7g
Actual Glutamine: 4.5g
Glutamic Acid: 5.2g

Glutamine has been shown to encourage protein synthesis and prevent muscle breakdown after a workout. Excellent studies are available on its effect on persons who have chronic diseases or immunodeficient diseases: diabetes, MS, HIV etc. Fewer studies are available for the healthy athlete regarding protein synthesis but there are many documenting the catabolic effect of exercise.

Glutamic Acid is the pre-requisite to glutamine and so needs to undergo enzymatic reactions with glutamate ammonium ligase within the body to eventually form glutamine. 

On the surface Sci-Mx Ultra Whey has an optimal dosage of glutamine but technically this is not true. That being said 99% of the population will be able to synthesise glutamine quite readily from the gutamic acid and so should not be an issue.

Taste:

For a shake that has a very small amount of sugar per serving, the reviewed chocolate shake is extremely tasty! To compare it to something else, it tastes similar to drinking chocolate. The test subject who performed this review reported an even nicer taste when mixed with milk instead of water.

Effectiveness:

The test subject of this review was a male of 13 stone 4lbs. With no other alteration to his diet or training style he incorporated this shake into his lifestyle for a period of a month. Although limited lean mass gains were noted, the client did notice a slight decrease of body fat. The client also reported a significantly reduced DOMS effect in the aftermath of strenuous exercise. Regarding personal use, this individual gave this supplement score of 8.0/10.

Value for Money:

The price per RRP would be typically on the dear side of average for a whey protein shake. That being said the user must remember the quality of the product he/she is taking here. We have a 3-part quality protein source with added glutamine and BCAAs. This is in effect a high spec why protein shake and so in regards to price it is very much average.

Flavours and Tub Sizes Available:

Sci-Mx offer a variety of six different flavours. In recent years there has been a significant increase in flavours available for companies to incorporate into their products. Albeit Sci-Mx's chosen flavours are the most common, the choice of flavours is distinctly average:

• Banana 
• Chocolate Mint
• Chocolate
• Vanilla
• Strawberry
• Mochachino

There are only two choices of size of tube upon purchase: 908g or 2.28kg but this is common ground when buying whey protein supplements.

Testing:

All Sci-Mx products are tested to prevent any banned substances from being included or contaminating and products.

To summarise our supplement reviews we provide a summary table at the end of the review:

Below is a link to view the product on amazon:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sci-MX-Nutrition-Ultragen-Chocolate-Protein/dp/B0013G3JO4/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1395873572&sr=8-1-fkmr0&keywords=sci-mx+ultra+whey+protein


Thanks for reading,

Ethan