Citrulline vs Whey Protein for performance
Short answer: For performance, users rate them about the same: 100% report improvement with Citrulline (31 reports) and 100% with Whey Protein (51 reports).
Citrulline has 51 meta-analyses and 258 randomized trials on PubMed; Whey Protein has 97 and 691.
Based on 157 reports about Citrulline and 305 about Whey Protein. Not medical advice.
| Citrulline Supplement | Whey Protein Supplement | |
|---|---|---|
| Users say it helped | 84%helped58 reports · medium confidence | 83%helped128 reports · high confidence |
| Verdict | Mostly positive | Mostly positive |
| Research | AResearch: Strong | AResearch: Strong |
| Meta-analyses / RCTs | 51 / 258 | 97 / 691 |
| Mainly used for | ||
| Performance % reporting improvement | 100% (31) | 100% (51) |
| Recovery % reporting improvement | 100% (2) | 100% (31) |
| Libido % reporting improvement | 90% (20) | — |
| Heart & lipids % reporting improvement | 100% (14) | — |
| Digestion % reporting improvement | — | 0% (8) |
| Common side effects | erectile dysfunction, tooth erosion, tooth enamel, gerd | stomach issues, acne, constipation, throat tightness |
| Typical dose reported | 1 g | 30 g / 2x daily |
Supplementation of some but not all micronutrients may benefit cardiometabolic health. This study highlights the importance of micronutrient diversity and the balance of benefits and risks to promote and maintain cardiovascular health in diverse populations. (Antioxidant Supplementation in the Prevention and Treatment of Cardiovascular Diseases; CRD42022315165).
J Am Coll Cardiol, 2022 ↗“try all the standard vasodilators - citrulline and agmatine helped me a lot.”
Analysis revealed that chronic and without professional guidance use of whey protein supplementation may cause some adverse effects specially on kidney and liver function. Presented data support a need for future studies co-relating the use of different types of whey protein with and without exercise to better see the impact on human physical health.
Appl Physiol Nutr Metab, 2021 ↗“Coffee with cream, has to be a cream or fake creamer with a whey protein, doesn't. It gives me a gentle but potent energy boost with no headache and no jitters.”
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Percentages come from first-hand user reports and are not clinical outcomes. Talk to a doctor before starting, stopping or combining anything. How we rate