I grabbed a Dannon Light & Fit Yogurt out of my fridge and tossed in 6-7 whole blueberries and two spoons of whey protein powder. This particular yogurt has no High Fructose Corn Syrup while most brands are loaded with it. The blueberries are a super-food and are loaded with antioxidants.

The whey protein is what I really want to tell you about. I buy mine in bulk from a local vitamin store and it is very inexpensive considering all the health benefits of eating whey.

In 2003 a study appeared in the Journal of Natural BioChemistry examining the health benefits of whey protein. The results of that study are truly amazing.

Whey protein has long been used by body builders to increase muscle mass. It is considered to be the very, very best type of protein you can consume to pack on muscle mass. I bet most of these body builders didn't realize that whey also has a host of other benefits in the human body.

The first thing to know about whey is that its? amino acid content is nearly identical to that of skeletal muscle in the human body. Whey is the most rapidly absorbed type of protein and moves out of your stomach almost immediately. When this rush of amino acids hits the bloodstream, your body goes into a frenzy of muscle building activity. This process continues for about two hours. Therefore, according to the study a constant intake of whey protein all through out the day will cause your body to build muscle non-stop! Most people desire more muscle than fat?this is one way to help that process.

The second thing to know about whey is that it is a natural by-product of making cheese. Thus, it is very high in calcium. Now, besides building and keeping healthy bones calcium has another major benefit. The study found that in diets lacking calcium, the body creates calcitrophic hormones which tell your body to increase fat storage. These hormones are making you fat!

By consuming a high calcium diet you can prevent your body from releasing these calcitrophic hormones and therefore greatly decrease the amount of fat that gets stored. Consuming increased amounts of whey protein will cause you to lose weight.

As if this weren't enough to convince you, whey protein also contains high concentrations of immunoglobulin (IgA) which is essential for your body to fight off infections. More research is being done currently but the strong indication is that increased IgA can help your body prevent infections. So far, whey protein has been shown to have strong anti-microbial effects in animal tissue cultures.

And finally, whey protein contains high concentrations of lactoferrin which is a powerful antioxidant. Antioxidants protect body tissues from damage by free radicals and are the key component in anti-aging and disease prevention. Lactoferrin also does a very good job of preventing bacterial infections.

As you can plainly see, whey protein is a powerful supplement to enhance your overall health. More muscle, less fat, stronger immunity and a good dose of antioxidants are the health benefits you will experience with this supplement that can be mixed in with almost any type of food.