I realize cottage cheese is seen by most here as "the" thing to eat before bedtime, but I was wondering how much better or worse plain nonfat yogurt is? Reason is I tend to gravitate towards yogurt more cause I can throw a double handful of granola or toasted oats in and have an extremely filling snack to pack to class. Cottage cheese seems not to lend itself to mixers quite so much.

So, what's the verdict? Would plain yogurt (or with a bit of fruit or oats) in the same quantity as the CC be a bad idea before bed or as an alternative when i'm tired of cottage cheese?

I thin the reason why people eat CC before bead is becuase it has ceasin(sp?) in it which is a slow burning protein source that'll kast you the enitre night in order for your body not to go into a catabolic state and use your muscle as energy.

I cut off my carb intake after 6 and only eat protein and fat meals. Like a chicken breast and almonds or peanuts 30 minutes before bed.

How's the nutritional value of yogurt, is it loaded in sugar?

-Avo

Plain yogurt is pretty low in sugar comparitively. Problem is, most people don't eat plain yogurt. They either eat flavored yogurt which has noticably more sugar or add in things like granola or fresh fruit, which is still a big carbohydrate addition.

I agree that minimizing carbohydrate intake during the evening, especially before bed, is generally a good idea.

Personally, I can't stand cottage cheese so I'm opting to just supplement with micellar casein before bed instead.

I do believe there is a difference in the quality of protein you get from cottage cheese as compared to yogurt. This link explains it much better and there is a table about halfway down that compares several types of protein.

http://www.johnberardi.com/articles/supplementation/prosuper.htm (http://)

Here is the key paragraph:
"Scientific means have been developed to measure protein quality. The most discussed measure is that of the protein's biological value (BV). The BV of certain proteins is calculated by measuring the percentage of protein consumed and absorbed but not excreted. This gives an indication of how much of the protein that is consumed actually remains within the body to promote protein synthesis. This value is then compared with a "test protein" like egg protein and the value given is as a percentage BV relative to egg protein. Since egg has a high BV, proteins are represented relative to egg. A BV of 70% or above is considered good quality."

And the table rates cottage cheese as having 84 BV while yogurt is only 68 BV.

Then it also discusses:
"The second measure of protein quality is the protein-digestibility amino acid score (PCDAAS). This measure determines the indispensable amino acid content of the protein in question. These values are then compared to the known amino acid requirements in humans. Then, comparing the amino acid content of the protein with the human requirement for the indispensable amino acids, it is evident whether or not there are adequate amounts of each amino. The amino acid that is lowest in the protein is then termed the limiting amino acid because an amino acid is only as good as its weakest link. This value is then given to the protein of interest. I know this seems complex but here is an example. If only the amino acid lysine is very low in wheat protein relative to the known human needs for lysine, then lysine is the limiting amino acid. Since the adult requirement for lysine is 19mg lysine per 1g of protein, and wheat may only contain 8mg lysine per 1g of protein, the PCDAA of wheat protein is 8 divided by 19 or 42%. A PCDAAS of 1.00 or 100% is good quality. Any lower, and the protein must be combined with another source that may contain sufficient quantity of the low amino acid."

And cottage cheese has a PCDAA of 1.00 while yogurt's PCDAA is unknown.


With all of that said, I don't see a legitimate problem with switching it up from time to time. Personally, I mix my CC with fat free yogurt every night because I'm not a fan of CC plain.

CC - 14g protein 4g carbs
Plain yogurt - 12g protein 19g carbs

Yogurt - insulin spike (even though it is low GI)
CC - most likely reduced insulin response

I'd save the yogurt (especially with granola or oats) for around your workouts (-1hr to +4 hrs). If you don't like CC I'd eat any other whole food protein+fat before bed (basically not a whey shake).

However, I guess if you are going to eat oats or other moderate-high GI food before bed, you might as well eat yogurt instead of CC.

Personally, I mix my CC with fat free yogurt every night because I'm not a fan of CC plain.

I used to do this, and I don't see a probalem with it, especially at higher BF% and if you don't go overboard with the yogurt. Now, if I am traveling and can't by low-sodium CC, I water down the CC with carb countdown milk instead (+add Davinci syrup and/or a bit of sugar free pudding).

For a few g or carbs the sugar free pudings are great - pistashio (sp) is my favorate.

I do believe there is a difference in the quality of protein you get from cottage cheese as compared to yogurt. This link explains it much better and there is a table about halfway down that compares several types of protein.

http://www.johnberardi.com/articles/supplementation/prosuper.htm (http://)

Here is the key paragraph:
"Scientific means have been developed to measure protein quality. The most discussed measure is that of the protein's biological value (BV). The BV of certain proteins is calculated by measuring the percentage of protein consumed and absorbed but not excreted. This gives an indication of how much of the protein that is consumed actually remains within the body to promote protein synthesis. This value is then compared with a "test protein" like egg protein and the value given is as a percentage BV relative to egg protein. Since egg has a high BV, proteins are represented relative to egg. A BV of 70% or above is considered good quality."

And the table rates cottage cheese as having 84 BV while yogurt is only 68 BV.

Then it also discusses:
"The second measure of protein quality is the protein-digestibility amino acid score (PCDAAS). This measure determines the indispensable amino acid content of the protein in question. These values are then compared to the known amino acid requirements in humans. Then, comparing the amino acid content of the protein with the human requirement for the indispensable amino acids, it is evident whether or not there are adequate amounts of each amino. The amino acid that is lowest in the protein is then termed the limiting amino acid because an amino acid is only as good as its weakest link. This value is then given to the protein of interest. I know this seems complex but here is an example. If only the amino acid lysine is very low in wheat protein relative to the known human needs for lysine, then lysine is the limiting amino acid. Since the adult requirement for lysine is 19mg lysine per 1g of protein, and wheat may only contain 8mg lysine per 1g of protein, the PCDAA of wheat protein is 8 divided by 19 or 42%. A PCDAAS of 1.00 or 100% is good quality. Any lower, and the protein must be combined with another source that may contain sufficient quantity of the low amino acid."

And cottage cheese has a PCDAA of 1.00 while yogurt's PCDAA is unknown.


With all of that said, I don't see a legitimate problem with switching it up from time to time. Personally, I mix my CC with fat free yogurt every night because I'm not a fan of CC plain.

From that description, it sounds like bioavailability is basically the same thing as "relative potency," a pharmacological term. Relative potency is basically irrelevent, assuming you know what the differing potencies are. In other words, if egg protein has a very high bioavailability, than a person would need to eat fewer grams of egg protein than say, whey protein. That doesn't mean that egg protein is any better, it just means that you would need to consume less of it than other proteins with a lower bioavailability.

From that description, it sounds like bioavailability is basically the same thing as "relative potency," a pharmacological term. Relative potency is basically irrelevent, assuming you know what the differing potencies are. In other words, if egg protein has a very high bioavailability, than a person would need to eat fewer grams of egg protein than say, whey protein. That doesn't mean that egg protein is any better, it just means that you would need to consume less of it than other proteins with a lower bioavailability.

True (I was thinking that when I posted it but wasn't sure), so with his original question then, yogurt would be alright as a replacement, but he'd have to account for the fact that he won't absorb as much of the protein so he'd have to eat relatively more yogurt to get the same amount of usable protein as cottage cheese.

The BV of certain proteins is calculated by measuring the percentage of protein consumed and absorbed but not excreted. This gives an indication of how much of the protein that is consumed actually remains within the body to promote protein synthesis.


Upon reading this again I'm not sure if I was correct in my previous post. The key phrase being "absorbed but NOT excreted." I am confused how protein could be NOT excreted, yet also not be used to promote protein synthesis. What does this "unavailable" protein do in the body then?

It's like saying that a carbohydrate causes zero insulin response. Don't macronutrients have certain intrinsic effects?

Upon reading this again I'm not sure if I was correct in my previous post. The key phrase being "absorbed but NOT excreted." I am confused how protein could be NOT excreted, yet also not be used to promote protein synthesis. What does this "unavailable" protein do in the body then?

It's like saying that a carbohydrate causes zero insulin response. Don't macronutrients have certain intrinsic effects?

From what I understand the paragraph to be saying, I think some of the protein you eat doesn't get used by the body and it just goes through you as waste. Why? I don't know. The protein that is used isn't excreted because it is does protein synthesis (I know that's not really a verb) and it stays in the body.

I guess that makes sense though, since all it is saying is that some of what you eat becomes a part of your muscles and that, and the rest of it is just crap. Although I haven't researched carbs at all, I wouldn't be surprised if only a certain precentage of some carbs cause the insulin response while the rest just go through for the ride.