FAQ What Protein Powder Do You Suggest?

We get some variation of this question from clients all the time, so we figured why not share it with all of you!

Now, before we launch into our answers, let’s address the question of whether you would benefit from using protein powders to begin with.

We can’t really answer that question, because we aren’t you. We are all so different, especially when it comes to our dietary needs. We do want to empower you to make a decision that feels best to you. So, do some educating, label reading and experimenting to see how you feel.

First off, what the heck is protein anyway?

How about a scientific explanation that not only makes sense, but will actually matter to you? A protein is a living chain made up of molecules called amino acids. These living chains can only do their specific jobs by forming the correct sequence of amino acids, then folding into just the right shape with the correct vitamin and mineral co-factors (helpers). This gives them the spark they need to do all kinds of life chemistry. They are fundamental to all life on earth because of their enzymatic nature, which allows them to catalyze biochemistry so it can happen at the speed of life. Without these enzyme catalysts, some of the chemical reactions that make us tick would take billions of years to occur if left to their own devices. This means life as we know it couldn’t exist without them.

The proteins that make up your body are the resulting print out of the genes that you are actively expressing in each moment through your epigenetics. Everything you think, the resulting way that you feel, every action you take and the decisions you make decide which genes are turned on and which are suppressed. You are the conductor of this molecular symphony of your life. What kind of music are you playing?

Let this video blow your mind a little! That’s happening in your cells right now!

There are 20 amino acids (the building blocks) that make up your cell’s proteins. While your liver can manufacture all but 9 of them, which you must get through your gullet (esophagus), it much prefers to get them pre-assembled. Many amino acids are the rate limiting factor in important biochemical pathways, meaning our body needs an abundant supply to function optimally. The supplement industry has exploded in this area, and for good reason. Modern industrialized food culture (no longer just American) sucks. So many people overeat and end up malnourished. What the heck? Pass the breakfast cereal…

When our body is in building and repair mode, it needs even more amino acids than normal. They are one of the main building blocks of our tissues, which are constantly being replaced and rebuilt. Therefore, any kind of physical activity increases our requirement for amino acids. So does any amount of damage to the body.

How does the body get damaged? Let’s count the ways:

• Internal organic toxins: biological waste that can’t get out.
• External organic toxins like toxic mold, plant poisons and heavy metals.
• Inorganic toxins: foreign stuff that just ain’t natural
• Injury.
• Malnutrition.
• Sedentarism.
• Not breathing.
• Unresolved trauma.
• Any other excessive stressors, physical, mental, or emotional.
• Too many ways to list here, but you get the idea…

Does this mean you need protein powder?

No, of course not, you can just eat more protein rich foods. Protein powder is really just a convenience thing and, ideally, doesn’t effectively replace eating balanced meals with fresh whole foods. It can be a good supplement for muscle building or recovering from an illness, imbalance or nutrient deficiency, but it’s not the only way.

Does this mean you shouldn’t eat protein powders?

No, of course not, they allow you to add easily digestible amino acids to your daily regimen. We aren’t about shoulds and absolutes. Again, we don’t think it would be healthy to replace most of your dietary protein with a protein powder, since we are made to eat whole foods. However, that doesn’t make them bad or mean you wouldn’t benefit from using them as a supplement or occasional meal replacement.

Some people find it helpful to supplement their diet with some kind of protein powder. Some people don’t. Also, it’s not just for body builders, vegetarians and vegans. It’s up to you to play with your food and work on cultivating intuition and instincts you can trust.

One of the things we do in our Closing Your Nurture Gap Online Course is empower you to decode your specific protein (and other nutritional) needs, looking at it in the context of your particular body and lifestyle. We do find that most clients aren’t eating enough high-quality protein throughout the day. By “high quality,” we mean NOT factory farmed meat or anything highly processed, even vegetarian “health food” protein products like TVP (textured vegetable protein) and extruded gluten (seitan). So, it’s important to get enough, and you’ll need to tinker with what exactly that looks like for you.

What do you guys do?

We get this question a lot. Again, it’s all individualized, but we don’t mind sharing. Here we each discuss how and why we use protein powders, so you can begin to get a feeling for how each person’s approach to this question is unique to their life experience, which is of course why there is no one right answer for everyone.

Skya here: I feel like protein powder helps me meet my presumed, as well as perceived, protein needs. I’m extremely active, including a lot of strength training. I was never really able to keep on significant muscle mass until I made a solid effort to eat more protein (and food in general!). I get most of my protein from food, and consume some kind of animal protein (fowl, fish, eggs, dairy) with almost every meal. Since I eat such a large volume of non-starchy vegetables (meaning lots of fiber and nutrients), and I eat really slow, I often get full before I can eat enough protein. Because of this, I consume grass-fed cow whey, gelatin, collagen hydrolysate (non-gelling gelatin), nutritional yeast and hemp seeds, as supplemental protein sources (not all at once!). I use whey protein for muscle building and recovery. I love adding collagen to my coconut milk herbal tea lattés to make it a balanced drinkable snack! Eating protein rich foods as part of my diet, throughout the day, works best for my body, with my current level of activity.

Traci here: I am also very active and not as muscled up as Skya, but pretty darn strong. Like Skya, most of my protein is from fresh food. I also acknowledge the protein in seeds and vegetables (he does, too). I feel terrible when I don’t get enough protein in general, and animal protein specifically. I do very poorly on even a very balanced vegetarian diet. I notice that I digest animal protein, non-starchy veggies, roots and pumpkins the easiest and struggle with nuts and legumes. I straight up do not tolerate gluten, dairy and many common sugars. That leaves me tolerating very few protein powders because whey protein is out as a pea protein and I don’t like the rice protein grit or metals risk. Anything with sugar is out (that’s a lot). I don’t eat fake stuff or crap either, which rules out the crap they sell at most mainstream gyms and supplement sections of stores. So, my faves are PaleoPro Protein Powder, Zint grass fed organic gelatin and collagen (online), as well as straight up organic hemp seeds (and nutritional yeast, too). I use the unflavored (add my own) paleo one before heavier workouts and when I know I need to eat, but am not hungry, such as on a high cortisol morning or a super-hot day. I bake with gelatin (e.g. our lemon pie) and sometimes add collagen to broths or soups to boost protein.

Can you suggest the best vegan protein powder?

We get the vegan protein powder question a lot and it’s frustrating because…

1) so many have loads of carbs and not much protein;

2) pea protein is hard to digest and can make you gassy as heck;

2) rice is gritty and the stuff from China, even organic, is often contaminated with heavy metals;

3) they often have sugar, refined oil, fake vitamins and other “natural” questionable; and

4) hemp is amazing if you keep it fresh and unoxidized, but even plain unsweetened hemp protein powder can have a poor carb to protein ratio, I believe because most of them are actually de-fatted and contain the husk in addition to the seed, which can make them gritty and harder to digest.

Our solution? Whole hemp seeds, organic, from Costco. It’s really simple. You can just throw them in a smoothie. I like to blend them really well in some coconut milk, and then throw in a little zucchini, fruit of some kind, coconut milk, ginger, cinnamon, salt, and vanilla. That feels like a good meal. You could also make gazpacho and purée them into that. You can taste them, but I really don’t mind the taste of hemp seeds.

Beyond branding: your guide to choosing protein powders that don’t suck.

A common text message we get from clients is a photo of a protein powder and the question, “Is this one good?” If we give you fish, you eat for a day. If we teach you to fish, you eat for a lifetime (unless you’re vegetarian, but please just roll with the metaphor anyway). So, the next time you go fishing for protein powder, whether your current eating style is omnivore, vegetarian or vegan, here’s a quick checklist. You don’t want just any ol’ thang becoming part of your cellular matrix!

Read the label and see if you can ascertain the following:

1. Is it organic? Does it have anything fake, like weird chemicals?
2. Is there refined sugar (or any sugar) in it? Often, it’s best to add just fruit, pure stevia or your own high-quality sweetener.
3. Is there refined oil, like canola or soy, in it?
4. Does it have stimulants in it that might affect your adrenals or trigger anxiety? Look out for “energy” or “sport” claims here.
5. If it’s made from animal products (whey, collagen, gelatin, beef or egg protein), were the little critters raised in a toxic and cruel factory farm, or were they pastured/grass-fed and organic (or at least one of these)?
6. Is there anything else weird or questionable in it? Research ingredients you don’t understand!
7. Does it have rice protein made in China? It could have heavy metals, which cause neurological damage, hormone imbalance, mood disorders, weight problems, organ damage, fatigue and chronic pain, to name a few.
8. Does it have hard to digest protein, like pea protein or soy protein? Notice how you feel (and fart) hours after you eat it. Bloating, gas and feeling tired after you eat it are good clues.
9. Does it have pointless and maybe even irritating filler ingredients like gums?
10. While some protein powders use real flavoring like cocoa powder and vanilla extract, know that “natural ___ flavor,” like “vanilla” means it was synthesized from a plant like corn and not from a petrochemical. Your call if you are okay with this. We prefer to buy unflavored and add our own flavors, like real vanilla extract, organic fair trade cocoa, cinnamon and other spices. We even like essential oils like mints, citrus oils, cinnamon and cardamom.
11. How much protein per serving? (We like 18-24 grams.) How many carbs per serving? (We like this to be under 15g and even lower if we are blending it with fruit and other carbohydrates.) We consider a protein powder nutritionally balanced when it keeps your blood sugar even keeled and gives you enough protein to support building and repair, which you might feel more in the form of stable energy over many hours as well as a disappearance of hunger between meals.
12. Does it have any ingredient that makes you feel bad or that you might have a sensitivity to, like dairy, cane sugar, beet sugar, soy, gluten, peanuts, cacao, eggs, etc? Again, this is very particular to you and your body.
13. Is it pleasurable to eat? How is the texture? Is it gritty? This is often an issue with rice protein, but some folks really don’t mind it.
14. Does it taste good or at least taste neutral enough that you can blend it into a yummy tasting drink? Remember, pleasure matters for optimal health!

And the winners are…

The top protein powders we recommend, that meet most or all of the above criteria, are as follows (Note: there are a gazillion on the market, so we are not saying there are no other awesome ones out there):

Here are our top picks in each category (you don’t have to fit in any one category):

Vegan: Organic shelled hemp seeds! Also called hemp hearts. They contain all of the essential amino acids in an easy to digest plant form. 

Vegetarian: Whey protein concentrate or isolate from either goats or grass-fed cows. If you have a dairy allergy, you may do okay with goat whey protein. If you are just sensitive to casein (the big white proteins in milk) or lactose (the sugar), then whey isolate from either animals should be fine because of how purified it is. Concentrate won’t be as purified but retains more of its whole food magic for those who aren’t as sensitive. We like Terra’s Goat Whey and Promix Grass-Fed Whey (unflavored). Note that most goat dairy on the market are NOT organic, but still pass our quality standards because goats aren’t popular enough to raise in factory farms.

Omnivore: PaleoPro and Ancient Nutrition Bone Broth Protein or just plain beef collagen (Zint).