Whey to Better Health: Protein Helps Lower Cholesterol and Triglycerides

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Whey protein supplementation, especially when combined with exercise, can effectively lower low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, total cholesterol and triglycerides in adults. These benefits are particularly apparent among those who are healthy, have overweight/obesity and are under 50 years old, though its impact on other cardiometabolic markers is limited.

“A key component of non-pharmacological treatments to improve cardiometabolic profile is dietary manipulation,” wrote a team of investigators led by Konstantinos Prokopidis, a Ph.D. candidate in musculoskeletal biology at the Institute of Life Course and Medical Sciences at the University of Liverpool. “High dietary fiber intake and caloric restriction have been proposed as dietary strategies to reduce cardiometabolic disease risk, as mediated by improvements in diet quality and reductions in excess body fat respectively. Moreover, a decrease in consumption of saturated fatty acids and higher intake of polyunsaturated fatty acids (i.e., omega-3) may represent alternative nutritional modifications to improve cardiometabolic health in some populations.”

As cardiometabolic diseases continue to be a growing public health concern, whey protein supplementation has emerged as a potential intervention to improve cardiometabolic markers such as cholesterol levels and insulin resistance. Although protein is mainly known for building muscles, it also affects things like body weight, feeling full, thinking clearly and heart health.

Whey protein, a high-quality protein from cheese production, has special compounds called bioactive peptides that may improve blood sugar and heart health. Studies show that whey protein can help control blood sugar after meals and boost hormones that improve insulin function, particularly in people with type 2 diabetes. Meta-analyses also suggest that whey protein can lower blood pressure, improve cholesterol and help manage other health markers in people with obesity or high blood pressure.

A systematic review and meta-analysis of 21 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) was conducted by searching multiple databases — such as PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane Library and Web of Science — focusing on the effects of whey protein supplementation compared with placebo or carbohydrate controls on various cardiometabolic markers, including cholesterol, triglycerides and blood pressure.

RCTs were eligible for inclusion if they enrolled adult patients, had an intervention group receiving whey protein supplementation for four or more weeks, and had a control group receiving either a placebo or a carbohydrate-based control. For the studies that required an additional intervention, such as exercise or adjunctive micronutrients, the placebo cohort was required to employ the same intervention.

Supplementation with whey protein demonstrated no significant impact on high-density lipoprotein cholesterol or blood pressure but effectively reduced LDL cholesterol and total cholesterol, especially when combined with exercise. Long-term supplementation (≥12 weeks) also reduced triglyceride levels, while changes in insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) were not clinically significant.

Whey protein supplementation appeared to especially benefit cardiometabolic health in healthy adults with overweight/obesity under 50, with the most pronounced effects observed when combined with exercise.

Investigators said the strengths of the study included the thorough analysis and use of consistent clinical data, making the RCTs easier to compare. However, the differences in exercise routines across studies limited the findings, making the results harder to interpret and highlighting the need for standard exercise protocols in future research. They stressed the importance of considering how merely increasing protein intake might affect health markers, separate from the specific effects of whey protein.

Additionally, many studies lacked a protein control group, which could affect the results. Plus, the review didn’t compare whey protein with other proteins, even though plant- and animal-based proteins may impact heart and metabolic health differently.

“Future studies are warranted to explore the efficacy of whey protein supplementation in combination with exercise to modulate cardiometabolic markers at the population level,” investigators concluded.