Research

Mixed

Supplementing endurance training with whey protein hydrolysate before and whey protein plus carbohydrate after exercise significantly increases mitochondrial protein content (specifically Cytochrome C) compared to isocaloric carbohydrate-only supplementation, without altering VO2max or performance.

If you are a trained runner, adding whey protein hydrolysate before and after your runs (0.3g/kg) along with carbs after (1g/kg) may help your muscles build more mitochondrial proteins compared to just drinking carbs. However, do not expect this to make you run faster or improve your VO2max any more than drinking carbs alone would. It is a recovery tool, not a performance enhancer.

GoodQualifiesHIGH confidence
Intake of whey PRO hydrolysate before and whey PRO hydrolysate plus CHO after each exercise session during a six-week endurance training period may augment training effects on specific mitochondrial proteins compared to intake of iso-caloric CHO but does not alter VO2max or 6K TT performance.
Mette Halskov Hansen et al. · Research Square · 2020

Why this rating

Randomized controlled trial with matched pairs, but small sample size (n=12 per group) and short duration (6 weeks).

Source

Supplement With Whey Protein Hydrolysate in Contrast to Carbohydrate Supports Mitochondrial Adaptations in Trained Runners

Mette Halskov Hansen et al. · Research Square · 2020

DOI 10.21203/rs.3.rs-36706/v1

rct · n=24
Read the paper
DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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