Picking Protein Powder – Here Is Why I Recommend This One

When picking a protein powder, there are a few things to consider. First, what are you hoping to gain from drinking protein powder? The most common use is for muscle and strength growth, but we'll also talk about whether it can aid in weight loss. Something to be reminded of, is that drinking protein powder won't magically do anything on its own. You could drink a protein shake every day and never put on an ounce of muscle if you aren't doing the other things that matter for growth. I discuss that topic and more in an in-depth article titled Consider This Before Wasting More Money on Supplements.  You may want to read it before spending money on any supplements. If, however, you're someone who already exercises fairly regularly and has reasonable expectations when it comes to supplements (specifically protein powder in this instance), then continue reading. Adding a little protein powder into your diet to aid you in hitting your daily protein goal can be helpful, but choosing which one to use can be a little confusing. In this article, I'll help you narrow down what I believe are some of the best protein powders on the market, both from a cost and performance standpoint. Before we dive in, I'll show you my overall protein powder pick in case you aren't interested in reading the entire article and are looking for a quick answer. If you stick around, you'll understand why this powder gets my overall pick, and you'll know how to sift through which protein powders are the best going forward. My overall top pick for 2023 is Now Sports Whey Protein Isolate.

NARROWING DOWN THE BEST PROTEIN POWDERS

The first thing we need to do is narrow down the playing field. There are so many options to choose from when it comes to protein powder, but only a few are worth your money. Right off the bat, we can eliminate several options. I will also provide a vegan and lactose-free one at the end if that's more your style, but for several reasons, a Whey protein of some sort is the best place to start in most cases. When picking a protein powder that will provide the most optimal muscle growth, we must first consider what makes muscles grow in the first place. When you do resistance training, your muscles "break down" for lack of a better term. If you eat some protein, your body will break that protein down into amino acids. Amino acids are considered "the building blocks of proteins". There are 20 amino acids total, 9 of which, are considered "essential". Our bodies do not produce these 9 essential amino acids on their own. Therefore, we must get them by ingesting them. These essential amino acids play a crucial role in muscle growth and recovery. Sources of protein that have all 9 amino acids are considered complete proteins and are ideal for muscle growth. You can still get all 9 amino acids by eating (or drinking) a combination of incomplete protein sources that contain the amino acids the other is lacking. Meat, eggs, and dairy are examples of complete protein sources. Most plant-based proteins are incomplete, but not all of them. A few examples of complete plant-based proteins are buckwheat, quinoa, and soy. The digestibility of each protein source also plays a role in muscle growth. The more digestible the protein source, the more the body will use it for muscle repair and growth, also known as protein synthesis. Another thing worth mentioning is that the most important of the 9 essential amino acids is leucine.

So, which protein powders have a good amount of all 9 essential amino acids, have the highest leucine concentration, are the most digestible, and are reasonably priced? Let's find out.

WHICH PROTEIN POWDERS HAVE A GOOD AMOUNT OF ALL 9 ESSENTIAL AMINO ACIDS?

 Whey protein, Casein protein, and Soy protein all have the 9 essential amino acids necessary for muscle growth. Many plant-based proteins are lacking in this area, but you can find ones that blend multiple plant protein sources, still providing a good amount of each of the 9 essential amino acids.

Narrowing down the best protein powder out of the options mentioned so far, based on amino acid content alone would be difficult since they each have the 9 essential amino acids. After considering the next factor, however, you will see why whey protein is the most favorable protein source, even more so than many protein-rich foods.

WHICH PROTEIN POWDERS HAVE THE HIGHEST CONCENTRATION OF LEUCINE?

Whey protein is the king of leucine. As mentioned, leucine is the most important of the 9 amino acids. Three grams of leucine is required for protein synthesis to occur. This usually comes out to around 29g of whey protein powder. This is something worth considering when choosing a protein powder. The typical 25g of protein per serving will usually be enough as long as you get the last .30 grams of leucine from another source. If you're concerned, you could add 1/7 of a scoop more protein into your drink. At this point, if you are already convinced that whey protein is the "whey" to go, and you are ready to type "whey protein powder" into your Amazon search bar, what you may quickly discover is that there is more than one kind of whey protein out there and not just different name brands. There are three different types of whey protein. There's whey concentrate, isolate and hydrolysate, or hydrolyzed whey. So, we've answered the question "Why whey?" now the question is "Which whey?" Well, we have two main factors left to consider. Which protein is the most digestible, and which is the most reasonably priced for what you get? There are a few other things to consider based on your specific needs and circumstances, but we'll get to those in a bit. First, let's see which protein comes out on top in the next area of consideration.  

WHICH PROTEIN POWDERS ARE THE MOST DIGESTIBLE?

At this point, it probably won't surprise you to know that whey protein is by far the most quickly digested protein powder on the market. Out of the three types of whey though, hydrolyzed digests the fastest, followed closely by isolate. Whey concentrate digests the slowest out of the three, but it still digests well compared to other protein powders. Is a hydrolyzed whey protein the way to go then? Let's look at a few other factors first, and then you can make a well-informed decision for yourself. 

WHICH PROTEIN POWDERS ARE THE MOST REASONABLY PRICED?

The answer to this question may not be as straightforward as you would think. The question isn't "Which protein powders are the cheapest?" The old adage, "You get what you pay for" is often true, and it's no different when talking about supplements. On the other hand, the highest priced item isn't automatically the best quality or the best for your particular needs either. There's no reason to pay more than you have to. The first thing you may quickly recognize is that while hydrolysates are the most digestible, they're typically also the most expensive. Isolates are usually the next most expensive, and then lastly, concentrates as the chart above suggests. It's basically a good, better, best. What makes them different from one another though, and is the price difference reasonable? Furthermore, how do you pick between two brands of the same type of protein? Does it even matter? Ultimately, if you are choosing a whey protein, you're starting in the right place, but once again, depending on your specific goals, dietary needs, and preferences, there could be a few more details that make a difference for you when choosing which powder will be best. Besides the fact that hydrolyzed whey is the most digestible, the higher price is also due to the extra level of filtration it goes through. This filtration process creates a leaner protein source, removing many other ingredients like fats, carbs, sugar, etc. This means theoretically, concentrates will either have more calories or fewer grams of protein, or maybe even both. While isolates should fall somewhere in between concentrates and hydrolysates, they oftentimes seem to be very similar to hydrolysates in both calorie count and protein content. So, besides the slight edge in digestibility that hydrolyzed whey has over whey isolates, there isn't much of a noticeable difference. Another thing that gets removed or lessened during the filtration process is lactose. Both isolates and hydrolyzed whey typically contain less than 1% lactose. If you have a lactose intolerance, the extra cost of an isolate or hydrolysate will be worthwhile and should keep you from experiencing any issues. If you have extreme lactose intolerance, you may want to look for a good plant-based option but isolates and hydrolysates are both usually fine, even for those with an intolerance due to the extra filtration process they go through. In general, concentrates will be clumpier and tougher to mix, whereas isolates and hydrolysates have been what is called "instantized" and can be mixed with a spoon leaving very little to no clumps. Concentrates will usually taste the best, whereas hydrolysates will often taste the worst due to the extra filtration and less of the stuff that makes it taste good. Isolates are often in the middle as far as taste is concerned.

When you get right down to it, the price gap between a concentrate and an isolate seems reasonable, especially if your goal is to get as much lean protein as possible. Usually, if someone is using a protein powder, it's because they're struggling to get enough protein, while not going over on calories. In that case, an isolate or hydrolysate will be your best option. If you're trying to lose weight, getting enough protein can be helpful for several reasons. I talk about the benefits that protein has when it comes to weight loss in an article called Here Is Why Your Metabolism Is Slow and How You Can Speed It Up. In general though, it would typically be best to eat your calories and not drink them when trying to specifically lose weight. If you decide to use a protein powder, however, the fewer calories for the amount of protein you are getting, the better! If you are simply struggling to get enough calories and protein to support the muscle growth you are going for, then it will probably be worth saving the extra bucks by going with a concentrate or a blend, which I'll discuss shortly. While the jump in price from a concentrate to an isolate seems worthwhile if you are going for a leaner protein source or if you have a lactose intolerance, the jump from an isolate to a hydrolyzed option may not be worth it depending on the price difference. 

There is one last important factor we will look at to help determine whether the price is reasonable. Usually, people look at the price per serving when choosing a powder. Price-per-serving does matter, but you have to take all the other factors we discussed into consideration as well. Not only that, but the quality of the protein itself needs to be considered. The first step in checking the quality is to ensure that the company producing the protein powder is NSF or GMP-certified. A quick Google search will answer that question for you. The next quality test is to look at the grams per scoop in relation to the amount of protein per serving. On every label next to the serving size, you'll see the number of grams that 1 serving or scoop equals. The closer that number is to the amount of protein per serving, the higher the protein quality is. In other words, a powder that has 25g of protein per serving with a scoop that is 35g or less would be a good protein. When the gap in protein per serving to grams per scoop is more than 10 grams apart, the quality isn't as good, and the price should reflect that even if it says it's an isolate or hydrolyzed. If a powder claims to be an isolate or hydrolyzed but isn't as good of quality, it could be because it's actually a blend. If you look on the label under ingredients, you can look for "proprietary blend" or "protein blend." It may be a combination of different protein sources. The issue is although it may be labeled as an isolate or hydrolyzed, you have no clue what percentage of the protein is isolate or hydrolyzed. Again, it just needs to pass the quality test I mentioned above, but if it doesn't, now you know why and can avoid spending more money on something whose label may be misleading. If the protein is purer, then the price may be higher per serving, which is to be expected. I also mentioned above that a blend could be a good option. Just because it's a blend doesn't mean it can't still mostly be an isolate or hydrolyzed. You just need to look at the quality and also make sure the calorie amount fits in with your goals. The lactose content within a blend could also be higher, which is worth noting.

The real question is "Am I paying an appropriate price for the quality of protein I'm getting?" Think of it in terms of foods. Ground beef is usually around 6.8 cents per gram of protein, whereas top sirloin is closer to 8.6 cents per gram. We expect to pay extra for the higher quality. Here's a gauge I've developed to help you determine how much you should expect to pay for your protein powder depending on the quality you are going for, and how you can keep an eye out for good deals going forward. As you look it over, consider the price per gram of protein compared to other foods. People often think of protein powder as too expensive to afford, but you have to consider the amount of protein you are buying upfront. If you bought the equivalent amount of protein in eggs up front, the cost of most protein powders would be cheaper per gram of protein!

Hopefully this chart helps shed some light on the fact that protein powder isn't as expensive as you might have thought once you break it down by cost per gram of protein! Keep in mind, that each of these items will vary in price based on many different factors. In general, protein powder is priced competitively though. Now, it's fair to mention that protein from food sources will be packed full of other nutrients and vitamins, so don't get any ideas about saving a few dollars by simply drinking all of your protein from now on! It's a good idea to get between 60-80% of your daily protein from food sources and then use protein powder supplementally in your diet. Not only will your muscles benefit from supplementing with a protein powder, but so will your wallet! It's also just a more convenient option at times.

You already saw my top protein powder pick, but I will list a few others below, as well as my top plant-based option. When considering a plant-based option, I use all the same metrics that I talked about in this article already. I'll also mention that most protein powders have artificial sweeteners. I'm not going to go into the discussion on artificial sweeteners here, but if that's an issue for you, two of the options I'll be recommending have no sweeteners of any kind. One is a whey protein. The other is the plant-based one. If you go with any of these five options, you will get everything you could want in a protein powder while also paying an extremely reasonable price! Check out my top five recommendations below.