If there's anything that most people can agree on, it's their shared love for coffee. If you're active on social media, you must be well-aware of a new trend that's surfaced on the internet: adding protein powder to your coffee.
As it happens most of the time, thousands of users have hopped onto this trend. In fact, when you're scrolling through social media, you're bound to come across videos of people enjoying their coffee loaded with collagen powder or some type of protein powder. So it brings us to the question that's probably plaguing your mind as well as ours - is 'Proffee' (as its known on social media) or protein coffee actually helpful or is it just another social media fad?
Why do people add protein to their coffee?
It would be really easy to say that it's because "everyone is doing it" but is that reason enough? No, it isn't. Most people use protein supplements on a regular basis. In fact, for people who are want to lose weight are prescribed to consume more protein as a part of their diet. This is because in order to process proteins, your body needs to burn more calories than it does for any carbs or fats.
Weight loss, athletics and protein deficiency
Protein supplements help people lose weight without experiencing a loss of energy. When you consume your day's protein during dinner, your body processes it at night. There's no residual calories that are burned the next day. In contrast to that, when you add protein to your diet throughout the day, it allows your body to constantly generate energy and burn calories.
It's quite common for athletes and people who workout regularly to use high-protein shakes or powders as a part of their diet. It's a well-known fact that protein increases your stamina and boosts athletic performance.
Some people don't get enough protein in their diet. It's true that meat, fish, poultry, and dairy products are protein-rich foods. However, vegans and vegetarians may lean towards protein supplements to get the amino acids that they need for proper bodily function. Protein deficiency is a problem that is largely faced by people who follow plant-based diets.
You consume enough protein if you're having animal-derived protein or consuming enough protein-heavy foods like tofu, quinoa, seeds and nuts. Otherwise, adding protein powder could be a smart addition to your diet, or your flavoured coffee.
That leads us to another question: are there any benefits to adding protein powder in your coffee instead of your food, water or smoothies?
Mixing coffee and Protein powder
We've already gone over the benefits of protein supplements in your diet. The health benefits of coffee, as well as the caffeine it contains is also well-known.
Caffeine present in coffee powder gives you a short term energy boost and it prevents you from feeling tired. It contains antioxidants which is known to lower the risk of degenerative neurological diseases like Alzheimer's. According to studies, consuming coffee may also reduce the risks of type 2 diabetes, heart diseases etc.
Instant coffee is also known to help with athletic performance and endurance and is consumed before exercise. It has the same benefits that people expect when using protein supplements. Protein supplements are supposed to be alkaline, which balances out the acidity in coffee. However, there is no concrete evidence that adding protein powder to coffee has any benefits other than their individual contributions.
However, if you're keen on mixing your coffee with protein powder, here's how you can do it.
Protein powder comes in many forms. The most popular types of protein powder are whey protein and casein protein (both come from cheese), soy protein (a more 'complete' plant protein), and collagen protein. Simply adding protein powder to your coffee or smoothie is quite simple. You might face problems after the protein powder has been added.
Not all protein powders are water-soluble. Whey protein is more likely to dissolve easily, but other types of protein like collagen will form clumps in your coffee. The best way to combine your protein powder with coffee is to blend it together. Blending it will make sure that the two mix well. People who are on low-carb keto diets often add unsalted butter or ghee to make bulletproof coffee.
Bottom line: Coffee infused with protein powder boosts your workout regime, helps in weight loss and really makes up for any protein deficiencies that you might have in your diet.
