Harmful effects of Ion Exchange Whey.

This process involves separating proteins on the basis of their electrical charge. Hydrochloric acid and sodium hydroxide are the chemical reagents normally used to achieve this. The electrical charge on the proteins attaches them to resins in the reaction vessel. Obviously, these reagents damage pH-sensitive fractions and denature some amino acids. It becomes clear that we can say goodbye to glycomacropeptides, the immunoglobulins, lactoferrin, the growth factors, and a big percentage of the alpha-lactalbumin content. Cysteine and methionine will also be denatured (lost).

If some fractions have been eliminated or reduced, the resultant shift in the balance will mean that other fractions represent a higher percentage of the material. Beta-lactoglobulin, a reasonably stable fraction, can account for up to 75% of the fractions present in ion-exchange material.

Is there a problem with this? Yes, beta-lactoglobulin can cause severe allergic reactions in humans. This fraction, not found in human milk, has even been responsible for the deaths of several individuals over the past ten years.

Another damaging factor with this type of processing is that it is known to form lysinoalanine, a bonded amino acid compound that results in losses of the following amino acids:

Cysteine (73-77%)
Threonine (35-45%)
Serine (18-30%)
Lysine (19-20%)

High amounts of lysinoalanine can be found in ion-exchange whey and may produce adverse effects on growth, protein digestibility, protein quality, and mineral bioavailability and digestibility.

Why did this material ever become popular? Heavy marketing from the dairy companies is the answer, but then you have to ask yourself why they developed it in the first place. Before ion-exchange came along, ultrafiltration was the only practical operation. However, a French patent on this process meant that all companies had to pay to use it. This expensive inconvenience led them to look for alternatives.

When the ion-exchange process was developed, it provided these companies with a lot more freedom. Even when micro-filtration came along, the ion-exchange process still remained popular, as the set-up cost is around one-fifth that of microfiltration.

So the development of ion-exchange whey had little to do with any benefit to the consumer. Long after several nutrition companies became aware of the disadvantages of ion-exchange whey, dairy companies kept on promoting it, as they sat on a mountain of this material.