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More and more people are cutting animal products where they can for their health and the environment. For fitness buffs or folks who like to add a little protein boost to their smoothies, that means switching over from a dairy-based protein like whey or casein to plant-based proteins. senile dementia
Studies show plant-based proteins are mostly comparable to whey or casein when it comes to helping you build muscle. Like all supplements, it's important to pick a vegan protein powder that's derived from high-quality ingredients, has a clean, unadulterated formula, and, of course, tastes good.
Below are the five best we've tested, as well as insight into how plan-based protein stacks up to whey and casein and insight from our medical reviewer about how to spot third-party evaluated powders and why it's important to look into the supplements you consume.
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Best overall: TB12 Plant-Based Protein - See at TB12
Best tasting: Aloha Organic Protein Powder - See at Amazon
Best for training athletes: Vega Sport Protein Powder Premium - See at Amazon
Best meal replacement: Garden of Life Raw Organic Meal - See at Amazon
Best for weight loss: Isopure Plant-Based Protein - See at Amazon
Though it's a little pricey, TB12 Plant-Based Protein tastes great, mixes well, is sugar-free, and offers a great macronutrient profile with plenty of protein.
Tom Brady's diet has become sporting folklore and launched an entire brand: The TB12 Method. This includes a TB12, which is not only our top overall pick but also the best pea protein powder.
For starters, this plant-based protein powder is tasty, even with just water, which is a very important factor if you're going to be drinking protein powder daily. Also, the macronutrient profile of this one is solid with one scoop of this powder delivering 110 calories, 20 grams of protein, 2 grams of carbs, 2 grams of fat, and 0 grams of added sugar. It also contains all of the essential branch chain amino acids, which are essentially the building blocks of protein, to help your body recover and form muscle.
We also love that the unflavored option has only one ingredient: pea protein.
Note that while the chocolate and vanilla both taste delicious, they do contain the additives of guar gum (for texture) and natural sweeteners of stevia and monk fruit. Our nutritionists say these aren't unhealthy, perse, but can cause digestive issues for some people. A healthier option is to use the single-ingredient unflavored variety and add your own cocoa powder at home.
Though it's lower in protein and higher in carbs, Aloha Organic Protein Powder is the best-tasting vegan protein powder we've found.
Once you've choked down enough protein powders, like I did for testing this article, you start to really value formulas that taste good. When I tried the Aloha Organic Protein Powder, I actually let out an audible "Wow, that's good."
It was more complex than just chocolate, with the flavors of nutmeg, cinnamon, and cocoa. I drank this on its own and tried it mixed with oatmeal, both of which were great.
The downside for some may be that this protein powder not only requires two scoops for the serving size, but that amount packs only 18 grams of protein and 11 grams of carbs, which is on the high end for most protein powders.
Still, the nutritional profile is great. We love that this is a certified organic plant-based protein powder. And you can pronounce every ingredient that's in this powder, and it's free of GMOs, dairy, gluten, and sugar alcohols (which can cause stomach distress). The protein is a blend of hemp, pea, brown rice, and pumpkin seed protein, which studies show makes for the best essential amino acid profile.
The real issue is the cost: For $30 (or $27 if you subscribe and save), you only get 15 servings, which comes out to $2 per serving. That's expensive if you use protein powder regularly. Still, this is a great option if you're just looking to supplement some of the time.
Vega Sport Plant-Based Protein Powder is the best tasting, most effective plant-based powder you can find, with a wide array of flavors and whopping 30 grams of protein.
With 30 grams of protein per serving and a complete BCAA profile, Vega Sport protein powder is formulated to help athletes and active folks recover from tough workouts. When I tested, it tasted great and gave me the protein I needed to hit my 200-gram daily goal.
The ingredients are premium, too. The protein blend is made up of four sources — pea, pumpkin seed, organic sunflower seed, and alfalfa protein — and it contains ingredients such as tart cherries to potentially aid recovery and probiotics for enhanced gut health.
When I followed the instructions to combine the powder with 12 oz water or milk, I found this protein to be a little too watery for my liking. Of course, you can add less water, but even then, it didn't have the same frothy and creamy texture of the TB12 or Aloha protein.
However, we love that Vega Sport protein powder is NSF certified, meaning it's independently tested for quality and safety. This way, you know the company is confident in its product and you're not ingesting any BS fillers or dangerous chemicals.
Garden of Life's Raw Organic Meal is a hearty meal replacement powder that offers 20g of protein per serving, is made with peas, sprouts, and legumes, and packs probiotics for improved digestion.
If you're looking for a vegan protein powder to have in lieu of a meal replacement, we love Garden of Life's Raw Organic Meal as it's certified by Consumer Labs to have a safe and accurate formula and packs 20g of protein per serving.
The only catch is one scoop is just 130 calories, which is less than half of what a healthy meal should deliver. However, you can use this powder in a smoothie or combine with a higher-calorie oat milk to beef up the energy delivery.
The organic, plant-based protein powder delivers 1.5 billion CFU of live probiotics and 13 digestive enzymes, has 5g of fiber per serving, and less than 1g of sugar per scoop. The vegan protein is also derived from over a dozen different plant-based sources like pea, sprouted brown rice, and quinoa, which helps diversify its nutritional offering.
Garden of Life offers its organic plant-based protein powder in either chocolate, vanilla, lightly sweet, or vanilla chai and while the flavors aren't terrible, they do leave a little to be desired — all the more reason to use the powder in a smoothie.
Isopure Plant-Based Protein gives you 110 calories and 20 grams of protein and is relatively cost-effective.
Isopure's Plant-Based Protein stands out due to its taste and texture but also that it offers 20 grams of vegan protein at just over 100 calories. For bodybuilders or folks who follow a strict calorie diet, this means you're not ingesting unwanted fat, carbs, or calories.
I also like that Ispoure's organic pea and brown rice protein combo is easy on the stomach. It's one of the cheapest powders on our list, too.
My only major gripe with this powder is that you only get 20 servings in one canister, which means some people will need to restock twice a month. It comes in just four flavors — chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, and unflavored — which is fine if you typically add your protein to a smoothie but can get dull if you're a water-and-blender-bottle type person like me.
Plant proteins have long gotten a bad rap compared to animal proteins. For the average person, protein from plants — beans, soy, legumes, quinoa — is not only sufficient for keeping your systems running, but is much, much healthier for your body than animal proteins.
And when it comes to building muscle mass, plant protein actually works nearly as well as animal-based proteins — better, in some cases. While most studies, including a 2020 study in Nutrients, show whey protein continues to reign supreme when it comes to stimulating muscle protein synthesis (MPS) — that is, the rebuilding of your muscle fibers after a workout to be stronger and thicker — that same 2020 study found that soy actually prompted MPS better than casein.
What's more, a small 2019 study in the journal Sports found that whey and pea protein had comparable effects on men's body composition, muscle thickness, and strength and lifting performance after eight weeks of training.
Additionally, plant-based protein powders are often a blend of multiple sources (e.g., pea, brown rice, pumpkin seed), which a 2018 study in Amino Acids shows gives vegan protein powders a comparable essential amino acid profile to that of animal-based proteins.
In speaking with Erika Villalobos-Morsink during the fact check of this guide, she paused when recommending the consumption of vegan protein powders with the exception of Aloha's Organic Protein Powder.
Her reasoning is that anything that's not been evaluated by a reliable third party like the Clean Label Project shouldn't be considered entirely safe for consumption (and may have harmful heavy metals present in greater amounts than its protein counterpart).
This advice is also relevant when shopping for both standard whey protein powders and natural protein powders. A third-party program like the Clean Label Project or Consumer Lab provides added insight into what you're consuming, as well.
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