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Introduction: Bodybuilders and gym rats are looking for the newest and best way on how to lose weight and how to build muscle .
For the most part, people only know the basics, such as using preworkouts and drinking whey protein to help build muscle .
One of the newer discoveries that scientists, bodybuilders, and even actors are studying is casein protein .
Casein protein is a supplement that breaks down slower than whey protein and is used mainly right before going to sleep, which is almost completely opposite of what whey protein is used for .
This research article is going to look into the lighting of a newly trending question: What is casein? How does is affect muscle growth? Does it have any other benefits besides just being used for exercising and building muscle? This is a significant study that could lead to healthy options towards losing weight and building muscle .
For bodybuilders, this could be a quicker and cleaner way of adding muscle mass .
For the person who likes to keep in shape, and lift weights everyday, this could be the new thing that they are looking for to help complement his or her workouts .
This could also help scientists with further knowledge on how to tweak the average person’s diet to help live a healthier lifestyle .
Literature Review:
Casein Protein
Casein protein is a bi-product from collecting curds from milk .
The liquid portion that is left is the whey protein .
80% of the protein that makes up milk is casein protein .
Also, about 45% of breast milk protein is made of casein protein .
Casein protein is a

Garzia 3 slow reacting protein (Wein 2) .
Besides providing simply protein, casein provides a good sources of carbohydrates, phosphorus, calcium, and amino acids (Norton 3) .
Implementing casein into a person’s diet can help create a positive nitrogen balance in his or her body system .
This is very important to an individual who is trying to make improvements to his or her body, whether it is strength or muscle because having a positive nitrogen balance has protein synthesis outweighing protein breakdown in the body (Norton 2) .
T hese points that were brought up in these sources are important fundamentals to create background information on what casein is and how, when applied correctly and efficiently, casein can provide exponentially phenomenal results .
On top of that, these two sources are a great example of being a credible source .
Each source cites about 5 other sources and the one article written by Dr .
Debra Wein is from the NSCA, which is a huge association within the health promotion field .
Layne Norton is a professional bodybuilder, and in and of itself, a bodybuilder knows a successful diet that will create results to increase muscle capacity and strength .
Casein Diet
At the Maastricht University in Wageningan, Netherlands, a study was conducted on a sample group to study how casein, with the application of slight exercise, caused the body and its systems to react to the change in diet .
This study was conducted over a period of 36-hours and it consisted of 24 participants: 12 males and 12 females .
These participants were collected from a pool of 30, and the final 24 were picked to fit the

Garzia 4 following fields: nonsmokers, average health, no allergies to cow milk, consistent weight throughout the past 3 months, and any other health possibilities that might potentially taint results .
In a random crossover design, the group was divided into two so that each group could consume two different diets .
One diet consisted of 25%, 20%, and 55% of energy from protein, fat, and carbohydrates .
The other group had a diet consisting of 10%, 35%, and 55% of energy from protein, fat, and carbohydrates (Hochstenbach-Waelen 1) .
These similar diets were given to the groups to consume 3 days prior to, and up to, the actual study, where the two groups were put into respiration chambers .
From here, data was collected from the subjects .
Data recorded included: standard metabolic rate, resting metabolic rate, total energy expenditure, appetite suppression, energy balance, etc .
Overall results showed that group with the 25% casein diet had negative fat balance, higher sleeping metabolic rate, and satiety was higher by 33% (Hochstenbach-
Waelen 4) .
This experiment shows great advancements and results in the correlation between protein intake and overall metabolic status .
Maastricht University gains sizeable amounts of credibility with this research, being known for creating studies and finding open-ended answers to real world problems, such as obesity .
If that is not pertinent enough, this will help my case showing how casein intake affects the metabolism in not only the average person, but how it can supplement the body of athlete, or just an active person who attends the gym on a daily basis .
Casein Supplementation

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A sample of 13 male athletes, varying from the age of 18 to 19 years old, were put under the microscope by the Institute of Exercise Biology and Physiotherapy, Center of
Behavioral and Health Sciences at the University of Tartu .
Two trainings were conducted, both 8-week resistance workouts, which focused on the improvement of body mass, body composition, and 1-repetition maxes on flat bench press and squats .
To see how casein supplementation affected these groups, participants of the study took 2 different servings of casein, totaling in 70 grams of protein, where 82% of the protein was casein .
The first serving of casein was in the morning right before training, and then the second serving was applied 5-hours after the training .
Using a baseline test of 1-repetition max for both bench press and squats before the 8-week training, the study concluded that 1-rep maxes increased about 10% in both fields .
To add on to these results, fat-free mass increased in the participants of the study .
This is an important addition to my research to show casein, in supplemental form, can compliment strength building, as well as body composition in men (Burk 5) .
In another study, using NCAA Division III women basketball athletes, casein was used to see how it affected resistance training in a span of 8-weeks .
Research done prior to this experiment showed that benefits of protein timing include: muscle-maintenance and hypertrophy, improved exercise recovery, improved body composition, and enhanced immune function (Wilborn 1) .
Subjects were urged to not participate in exercising 48-hours prior to the baseline test, and to fast for 12-hours leading up to the baseline test, to optimize data analysis and reduce the margin of error .
Two different baselines were conducted to collect data before

Garzia 6 the experiment .
The first was to test cardio of the basketball players, and then the second base line test measured the women’s strength .
The training resulted in four days of strength training, and three days of conditioning, including sprints, agility, and jumping exercises, for the 8-week training .
The results of the experiment showed the basketball players decreased body fat overall, and increased muscle composition .
This source is vital information that studies female athletes .
To avoid bias and support evidence for both genders, I researched into both male and female athletes, males and females ranging in age from 18-55 years of age, to broaden the results to hit multiple spectrums .
Methods:
To assist in answering my research question of how casein exactly affects muscle growth, I plan on going to the Rowan Rec Center, and having those who partake in the free weight room to fill out a survey answering a few questions on casein .
I would attempt to reach a large range of students, and potentially even members that are not part of Rowan University, that still attend the gym at the Rowan Rec Center .
I will be looking for students who are freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors, both male and female .
I will use 50 surveys to conduct my research to represent active college students .
My surveys will be handed out throughout a span of two weeks, or if time permitting that the surveys get answered earlier .
To reach a more diverse group, I will go to the gym at different times of the day .
Morning, afternoon, and at night are the three main times that

Garzia 7 the survey will be handed out, but also the time frames will also include the most busy times of the gym .
In this particular case, at 6 p .
m .
and also at 9 p .
m .
the gym is the most packed that it ever is during any part of the day, knowing from personal experience .
Also, to be most time manageable, data will be collected during Mondays through
Thursdays, as most students take active participation in drinking and partying on the weekend, leaving the gym a baron wasteland during the weekend .
Being a part of the Rowan Rec Center staff, I have an advantage that most people at the gym do not .
Knowing the staff, I could ask the fitness area assistant, during times that do not intrude in his or her work, to ask those who are exiting the gym to answer my survey, as they are leaving the gym .
To keep the survey simplistic, I will use yes or no questions pertaining to casein, and then ask the participants of the study who answer yes, to maybe go in depth with a short answer or two that describes his or her experience with casein protein .
For example, if they answer, “Yes, I have used casein protein as a supplement,” I would proceed to ask a question such as follows: “If yes, did you experience positive feedback?
This includes increased appetite, aside from simply muscle growth .
” The intentions of executing the survey this way is to collect information, knowing that may be flaws, such as collecting information from studies that have not taken casein protein .
Results:
Out of the original 50 surveys, only 28 of the participants could be used for collecting data .
To expand and get healthy and credible results, I made sure I collected

Garzia 8 enough surveys until 50 participants had used casein supplements .
For the most part, participants, that were able to collect data from, were males in ranging from 19-22, being sophomores and juniors .
Only 7 participants were females, all of them being upperclassmen .
Participants by gender and year
Year Men
Freshman
Sophomore
3
16
Junior
Senior
20
4
Most Common Answers to the Survey
Women
0
0
5
2
Question Most Common
Response
2 Servings How many servings did you take a day?
At what time Before Bed period did you take Post-Workout your serving(s)?
Most Common
Male Response
2 Servings
Before Bed
Post-Workout
Most Common
Female Response
1 Serving
Meal Replacement
Post-Workout
Results show that for the most part, participants use casein protein as a supplement as a post-workout, which is the most common way of using casein .
For men,

Garzia 9 they use one more serving than the women did on average, and to add to that men would take both servings together .
Rather than having one serving post-workout and one before bed, the two most common responses, men would have both servings at one time .
Women would only take an average of one scoop; when taking two, women reported to also to take them both at once .
The follow up questions were the more diverse answers, and showed that almost every person who participated had in depth knowledge of weight lifting, dieting, and information on supplements .
When responding to what feedback participants received from taking casein, responses varied from “unsure”, “noticeable gains of muscle mass”, up to in depth tracking of body composition .
One participant tracked his weight, body composition, and noticed that he event had an increased appetite .
With this question generally noticed muscle growth was a common answer .
There were some results that were intriguing .
Although uncommon, 6 participants said that they used casein protein shakes as a meal replacement, 4 of them being women .
On top of that, participants stated they would mix casein protein with whey protein, splitting servings in half and using them at a later time .
Mainly juniors stated that when they took their servings of casein, that the majority of the time they took it before going to bed .
Discussion:
Although there were no groundbreaking results, with previous research added on to this survey, data analysis proves that casein protein improves muscle growth and is

Garzia 10 very beneficial if used in proper timing .
Using a short answer, follow up questions helped eliminate bias from participants in the study .
It helped prevent spoon-feeding the answers to them, and nullifies my sub-categorized questions .
Participants noticed increased appetite, but I was not able to prove any other sort of benefits besides researching for myself .
This study was done with margins of error .
If given another chance, I would have changed the participants around .
I would have continued to ask women to participate in the survey, rather than merely collecting the first 50 surveys .
Overall, finding research that I am merely scraping the surface of, I feel my results answered the questions I had; however, I was hoping to have more interesting or learn a different approach to casein protein than I already know .

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Reference List
Burk, Andres, et al .
"Time-Divided Ingestion Pattern Of Casein-Based Protein
Supplement Stimulates An Increase In Fat-Free Body Mass During Resistance
Training In Young Untrained Men .
" Nutrition Research 29 .
6 (2009): 405-413 .
Academic Search Premier .
Web .
25 Nov .
2014 .
Hochstenbach-Waelen, Ananda .
"Comparison of 2 Diets with Either 25% or 10% of
Energy as Casein on Energy Expenditure, Substrate Balance, and Appetite
Profile .
" Comparison of 2 Diets with Either 25% or 10% of Energy as Casein on
Energy Expenditure, Substrate Balance, and Appetite Profile .
The American
Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 23 Dec .
2008 .
Web .
29 Apr .
2014 .
Norton, Layne .
"The Case For Casein: Your Expert Guide To The Protein With Staying
Power .
" The Case for Casein .
BodyBuilding, 23 Aug .
2011 .
Web .
29 Apr .
2014 .
Wein, Debra .
"Whey Protein vs Casein Protein and Optimal Recovery .
" NSCA .
NSCA, 1
Dec .
2013 .
Web .
25 Oct .
2014 .
Wilborn, Colin D .
, et al .
"The Effects Of Pre- And Post-Exercise Whey Vs .
Casein
Protein Consumption On Body Composition And Performance Measures In
Collegiate Female Athletes .
" Journal Of Sports Science & Medicine 12 .
1 (2013):
74-79 .
Academic Search Premier .
Web .
28 Nov .
2014 .

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Casein Study Survey
Gender:____________________________________
Grade:______________________________________
1 .
Have you ever used casein protein as a supplement? Y / N
2 .
If Yes, what feedback did you receive from taking a casein supplement?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
3 .
How many servings did you take a day?
1 Serving 2 Servings 3 Servings or More
4 .
At what time period did you take your serving(s)?
Pre-Workout Post-Workout Before Bed
Meal Replacement Other:__________________________________
5 .
If you answered no to using casein protein as a supplement, what do you know about casein protein?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________