Does Cooking Protein Powder Affect Its Potency?

Tom wrote in with the above question, after seeing the protein-packed breakfast cookie recipe which includes whey protein powder. This is actually something I am asked rather often, so it’s a good candidate for a post.

In short, no, cooking doesn’t affect your body’s use of protein, whether it’s whey powder added to cookies, or cooking raw beef into a tasty burger. It is true that heat and acid can cause proteins to denature, which means that they lose their 3-dimensional shape. A cooked egg white that becomes opaque and solid is an example. When milk is treated with acid, the protein casein curdles into a solid and the whey separates, still liquid. You see this whenever you open a yogurt and there’s some liquid on top. This process is used all the time in making cheese and other dairy foods.

Denaturing proteins through acid or heat (as in cooking) does not alter the way your body uses them. In fact, once you consume protein from any food, it is largely denatured by stomach acid, and then digestive enzymes go to work cutting it into smaller and smaller pieces so it can be absorbed. You body doesn’t particularly care what shape the protein is, because it will take it apart anyway, and absorb the small pieces and amino acids.

Some nutrients are degraded during cooking or processing. Vitamin C is reduced in cooking, riboflavin can be reduced by light exposure. But protein isn’t one of them.

Thanks to Tom for the great question. I’d love to answer your questions, too, so submit them to AskGeorgie.com.