I think even "Little Miss Muppet" in the old and famous nursery song knows why, because she has emphasized "eating her curds and whey" (I hope you have recalled the song by now). First of all let me give you a wider picture of what whey protein is and what are the benefits of taking it.

Whey protein is a high quality protein powder from cow’s milk. Milk has two proteins: Casein and Whey Protein. Whey protein is more soluble than casein and also has a higher quality rating. It is often referred to as the "Gold Standard" of protein as it is the most nutritious protein available. Whey protein concentrate has anywhere between 28 to 89 percent protein. Although whey has lower protein content than casein, whey protein is highly bio-available, meaning, that it is very efficiently absorbed by the body. For this reason, whey has the highest biological value of any known protein.

Whey protein is harvested during the process of turning milk into cheese, and is then processed into either whey concentrate or whey protein isolate. Some whey protein concentrates contain much higher amounts of immunoglobulins, giving it its immune-boosting quality. This protein is typically a mixture of beta-lactoglobulin, bovine serum albumin, immunoglobulins and alpha-lactoglobulin; each of this protein fractions have important disease-fighting effect; in example, whey protein may help prevent Prostate Cancer.

A new study showed that whey protein may play a role in prostate cancer prevention. Researchers found that when they treated human prostate cells in the laboratory with whey protein, the levels of an antioxidant called glutathione rose dramatically. Antioxidants like glutathione are thought to fight cancer-causing free radicals. These free radicals are formed when oxygen interacts with certain molecules in the body. Their chief danger comes from the damage they can do when they react with cells -- called oxidative stress. Cells may function poorly or die if this occurs. Antioxidants defend the body against this free radical damage.

"The buildup of free radicals is associated with the onset of many chronic illnesses, such as heart disease and cancer," says researcher Joshua Bomser, Assistant Professor of Food Science and Technology at Ohio State University, in a news release. "And human prostate tissue is particularly susceptible to oxidative stress." In this study, researchers treated human prostate cells with concentrations of whey protein for 48 hours in the laboratory and then measured the levels of glutathione in the cells. The results showed that whey protein increased glutathione levels by at least 60 percent. Researchers say whey protein contains the amino acid cysteine, which is a key ingredient for producing glutathione in the body. By increasing the body’s production of glutathione, they suggest that whey protein may aid in prostate cancer prevention, but more research on this is needed in humans rather than test tubes.

In diseases like cancer, there’s usually a reduction in the body’s overall capacity to deal with oxidative stress, what is needed is a compound that can selectively deplete the cancer cells of their glutathione, while increasing, or at least maintaining, the levels of glutathione in healthy cells. This is exactly what whey protein appears to do. It was found out that cancer cells subjected to whey proteins were depleted of their glutathione, and their growth was inhibited, while normal cells had an increase in GSH and increased cellular growth. Selective depletion of tumor GSH may in fact render cancer cells more vulnerable to the action of chemotherapy and eventually protect normal tissue against the deleterious effects of chemotherapy.

Keeping antioxidant levels elevated through diet and supplementation may prevent the development of chronic diseases. Diet supplementation with whey protein is not difficult to achieve; today we have ProSure Powder (from ABBOTT Laboratories). Nine scoops of the powder in 250 ml water will supply your diet with whey protein concentrate plus a dose of your omega-three fatty acid together with other important macro and micro-nutrients.