Virtually all supplementation enthusiasts seek to optimize the effects of whey. They keep a close eye on their diet and find out the best time to take their shaker. Many also ask whether they can prepare their shakers in advance.
Do I need to use freshly dissolved whey to enjoy its benefits? As we've often stressed, supplementation shouldn't be a source of constraint, but rather a source of pleasure.
You can prepare your shaker in advance. However, you need to be careful. As a protein powder derived from milk, whey becomes a favorable medium for the proliferation of bacteria once in solution.
Your whey shakers cannot therefore be stored for several days. This is all the more true if you've opted for a whey without additives. As these products are also preservative-free, they do not contain any ingredients that slow down the growth of bacteria.
Preparing shakers in advance: a good idea?
It's not particularly common to prepare your prot' shaker in advance, since the preparation itself requires very little time. Most sportsmen and women prepare their shakers at the gym after training, or when they return home afterwards.
However, there's nothing to stop you taking ready-to-eat shakers with you. This practice will have little impact on whey's properties. Rest assured! It will not alter the amino acids present in your shaker. Nor will it affect the speed of protein assimilation.
Nevertheless, you'll need to ensure that the shakers you've prepared are stored properly. They should be kept in a cool place to preserve the proteins, but above all to avoid the proliferation of bacteria. As a reminder, whey is a protein powder derived from milk (mechanically filtered). Like dairy products, this dietary supplement becomes a sensitive product once in solution.
The whey-water or whey-milk mixture provides a particularly nutritious environment for microorganisms. Pathogens can thrive in this environment. If no precautions are taken, or if shakers are kept for too long, whey can lead to serious digestive problems or even food poisoning.
How long can you keep a shaker in the fridge?
You can therefore prepare your whey "shake" in advance, under certain conditions. However, you need to consider how long you can keep your whey in the fridge. Can a day in the fridge make a whey shake hazardous to your health?
Although no scientist has yet seriously studied the question, we can say from experience that a shaker can be kept for 12 hours in the fridge.
For example, you can prepare a shaker the day before and consume it early the next morning or at breakfast. Avoid consuming a shaker that has been left in the open air for a long time (more than 2/3 hours).
This is all the more true if you have opted for a whey without additives. These additives include preservatives. These components extend the shelf life of protein powder once in solution, by preventing the proliferation of bacteria. Nevertheless, they can be hazardous to your health.
You also need to be particularly careful if you adopt one of the whey-based recipes you find on the internet. In most cases, they call for the addition of a carbohydrate source such as oat powder, for example.
These ingredients, like unrefined wholegrain sugar, don't just give a more gourmet taste. They make the nutritional intake more complete and promote optimal recovery after weight training or endurance training.
However, the presence of carbohydrates in this high-protein drink makes it even more nutritious for potential bacterial growth. The dietary supplement can spoil within a few hours, especially in hot weather.
You should therefore take this factor into consideration to safeguard your health and prevent any digestive problems(what are the digestive problems with whey?). While food poisoning is rare, gastrointestinal problems can be more common, depending on the brand and the storage conditions of reconstituted shakers.
Finally, take a look at our recipes for high-calorie shakers for mass gain or our article on the famous protein-spirulina shaker.
