Quickly, we’ll let you know that we picked Optimum Nutrition Casein Protein as our best casein protein.
Is your worst part of the day when you look in the mirror when you wake up and you look small?
Yeah I’m with you.
Unless you eat a whole chicken right before you go to bed, this is not the easiest to avoid.
I’m sure you’ve heard of its star studded sibling, whey protein, but it is actually casein protein that can resolve your problem.
For an ultimate guide of casein protein, check it out here!
These are the Best Casein Protein Supplements we reviewed:
- Optimum Nutrition Casein Protein
- Dymatize Elite Casein Protein Powder
- Naked Casein Protein
- Kaged Muscle Kasein Protein
- BulkSupplements Casein Protein Powder
What is it?
For those of you who don’t know, casein protein makes up about 80% of the protein found in cow milk. Whey protein also takes up the other 20%. You can commonly find it in products like cheese, yogurt, and even ice cream.
Casein protein is actually the portion of whole milk that is thick and insoluble. Due to it being thick and insoluble, it is absorbed at a slower rate.
When you eat casein protein, it forms a “gel” in your stomach that stays there for hours. That “gel” releases amino acids into your body for up to 7 hours.
Casein protein is perfect for when your body is inactive, such as sleep. While you sleep, your body breaks down your muscle for nutrients to survive. By consuming casein protein before you sleep, it will instead feed off of that. It will prevent muscle breakdown in your body and instead promote protein synthesis.
Casein protein can basically save your gains.
Benefits:
Casein protein can offer you a wide range of benefits like:
Digestion
While you sleep, your body needs nutrients to survive. By eating casein protein, it can feed off of this protein instead of your body. Because it has such a long life in your stomach, it can also make you feel less hungry. Casein protein is harder to digest and it takes your body a while, so this could prevent you from feeling hungry as often.
Metabolic Rate
While you sleep, your body is still trying to breakdown and digest the casein protein and is somewhat staying active. This can lead to an increase in your metabolic rate while you sleep.
Muscle Growth
Casein protein might also help increase the rate of your muscle growth. This is often said to be the result of the amino acid, Leucine, it contains.
Casein protein also promotes muscle synthesis while you sleep too. By feeding protein to your body while you sleep, it can be a game changer in increasing your gains.
Peptides in Casein
AlphaS-1
AlphaS-1 is a protein found within casein protein that can lead to many health benefits too!
AlphaS-1 can help you achieve better sleep because of its anxiolytic effect. The anxiolytic effect, which reduces anxiety, helps people with higher stress levels. It can also decrease the stress in some people when taken at a controlled amount daily.
c12 Peptide
The c12 peptide is another peptide and component found within the casein protein. The c12 peptide can reduce your blood pressure in pre-hypertensive subjects in controlled usage. Pre-hypertensive subjects are people who are at a higher risk of high blood pressure in the future. The c12 peptide is able to do this because it contains the properties of an ACE inhibitor, which are medicines used to treat high blood pressure.
Whey or Casein?
Casein protein is a strong and reliable supplement to add to your diet. That being said, we recommend you take it in addition to whey protein.
Casein protein is a great supplement to take right before you go to sleep and your body will be inactive for hours. Whey protein is great post-workout because of its fast absorption rate. By combining both of these together in this manner, can provide you with the best results.
DON’T take both casein and whey protein together however. Casein and whey protein have opposite effects and will counteract against each other. The casein protein will slow down the fast absorption that whey is known for.
We recommend you try one scoop of casein protein with water for your first time.
Should I take casein protein supplements?
This answer generally comes down to your preference. There is no doubt that casein protein can be valuable and help you grow and maintain your muscle. The question is if you have the extra money lying around to spend on another supplement.
If so, then we fully recommend you try casein protein for yourself. If not, then we recommend you try and get a natural casein protein intake from products, like yogurt or cheese.
Top 5 Best Casein Proteins
#1. Optimum Nutrition Casein Protein Powder
I’m sure you’ve heard of Optimum Nutrition before. They are an undeniable powerhouse in the supplement industry and if you’ve heard of them you most likely know the standard they hold. They set the bar for the rest of the supplement industry with their performance, ingredients, and taste.
Their famed golden standard certainly makes no exception for their casein protein. This protein is made out of 100% casein protein with no artificial or unnecessary fillers. It offers a powerful balance of 5g of branched chain amino acids, a low fat and carbohydrate level, and a good balance of glutamine and glutamic acid. All necessary ingredients for a strong casein protein supplement. One scoop also accounts for 60% of your daily calcium intake!
As with most Optimum Nutrition supplements, it is also very well received and enjoyed among their loyal fanbase and others. Their protein powder blends smoothly with water and they offer a number of delicious flavors to choose from.
One thing we weren’t thrilled about with this casein protein is that it contains artificial sweeteners and additives. This means that it is not pure casein protein, but still the strongest option. We did find it to be one of our favorite and best tasting casein protein powder.
We picked this as the best option because it is 100% casein protein, it is very functional, it tastes great, and it is held to the golden standard of ingredients from Optimum Nutrition.
- Pros
- Known brand
- Great ingredients
- Mixes well
- No fillers
- Many great tasting flavors
- Cons
- Artificial sweeteners and additives
Find it on Amazon
#2. Dymatize Elite Casein Protein Powder
The Dymatize Elite Micellar Casein Protein is a strong second place for our best casein protein. Although it just falls short of what the Optimum Nutrition Casein Protein possesses, it is still a great option.
One scoop offers 25 grams of 100% micellar casein protein, which is the type of casein protein commonly found in supplements. It also offers 5 grams of branched chain amino acids, 2.3 grams of L-Leucine, and low levels of fats and carbohydrates.
Not much more you can ask for in your casein protein.
One stand out feature of this casein protein is its price compared to others. It is a more affordable option compared to the others due to its large serving size. It also blends very well with water and one scoop will account for 50% of your daily calcium intake. It also contains no banned substances and is gluten free.
You will find artificial sweeteners and flavorings in this casein protein though, for a better taste.
We picked this as our second best pick because it is a strong casein protein supplement, that is more affordable, but contains artificial sweeteners and flavorings.
- Pros
- Great ingredients
- More affordable
- Gluten free
- Mixes well
- Cons
- Artificial sweeteners & flavorings
Find it on Amazon
#3. Naked Casein Protein
Their name is pretty self explanatory. Naked.
Naked Casein comes in as our third pick because of its impressive level of purity.
It stands up to its name by offering 100% casein protein and absolutely nothing else.
It has no sweeteners, no emulsifiers, and no additives.
They even go the extra mile to ensure its purity by using no growth hormones in their cows and only using grass fed cows.
Of course, this level of purity and no additives comes at a cost for us. Compared to other casein proteins, Naked Casein can taste chalky and might be a little hard to get down at times. At times it can feel more like a chore that you have to do rather than an enjoyable shake. On top of that, the powder also doesn’t blend well with liquids due to its lack of emulsifiers.
This US made casein protein is clearly a great option for the enthusiasts who want the cleanest possible casein protein supplement. They without a doubt stand up to their name, by offering naked casein protein.
If that doesn’t sound like yourself, then you might want to try one of the other casein proteins on the list.
- Pros
- 100% Casein protein
- No additives
- Cons
- Can taste chalky
- Might not mix well
Find it on Amazon
#4. Kaged Muscle Kasein Protein
Kaged Muscle Kasein Protein comes in as an interesting 4th because of its unique, yet effective ingredient blend.
To start off, each scoop contains 24g of protein, 4.75g of branched chain amino acids, 5g of essential amino acids, 10g of conditionally essential amino acids, and 5g of glutamine and glutamic acid.
A great blend amount and blend of everything you really want.
It contains 100% micellar casein protein and interestingly contains coconut oil powder. The coconut oil powder serves to react with the supplement to slow the casein protein breakdown, allowing the benefits to last longer.
It contains no artificial sweeteners or flavorings, but actually doesn’t sacrifice the taste. In fact, we recommend the vanilla with some almond milk for what tastes like a great milkshake!
What we did see though was with this protein it can sometimes have a clumpy consistency when blended and sometimes won’t mix well.
The Kaged Muscle Casein Protein came in at 4th because it has a great ingredient list and no artificial sweeteners or flavorings, but the flavoring can be selective for some and it might tend not to mix as well as others.
- Pros
- Great blend of ingredients
- Coconut oil powder
- No artificial sweeteners & flavorings
- Cons
- Flavors aren’t for everyone
- Might not mix well
Find it on Amazon
#5. BulkSupplements Casein Protein Powder
BulkSupplements is a brand that seems to be growing and increasing in popularity pretty fast and for a reason. They are a supplement company that produces clean FDA approved supplements in bulk size quantities. This casein protein in particular can be ordered from quantities ranging from 100 grams to as large as 11 pounds.
They are a great option if you are looking to build lean muscle mass for cheap. Most people shop at stores like Costco, to buy in bulk and save money so why not the same for your supplements.
They like to keep their supplements clean too, by containing only casein protein and soy lecithin for emulsification. If youre looking for the best low carb casein protein, this can be it.
We did find that the actual protein tastes chalky and sometimes difficult to mix due to lack of any additives. It just felt like another form of calories you force feed yourself when you are bulking. You know you need it, so just try and suck it down as quick as you can.
If you’re willing to pay that price for a bulk quantity of clean casein protein that is great for lean muscle building, then this can be a great option for you.
- Pros
- Clean casein protein
- Bulk quantity
- Great for lean muscle building
- Cons
- Might taste chalky
- Can be difficult to mix
Find it on Amazon
What to take away
As you’ve seen casein protein is a strong and beneficial supplement to add. It has many benefits for muscle growth exclusive to casein protein. In the end, we ended up picking the Optimum Nutrition casein protein powder as our number one pick. We liked it the best because it offers a great balance of everything. Great ingredients, taste, functionality, and more! The other options on the list also shined in their own categories too, like purity. It’s just up to you on whether you want to try pure casein protein or more functional casein protein supplements.
