Foods Sports Nutrition, Whey Protein Isolate, 25 g With BCAAs, Unflavored Powder, 5-Pound

This is a superb whey protein! With clean ingredients and no weird taste it makes it very versatile and can be used in drinks and even in baking! The texture is a fine powder and it mixes well into beverages without getting clumpy! As someone that cares about what goes into my body, I certainly appreciate the cleanliness of this product! Safe for those on vegan diets. With it helping you feel fuller longer It makes very good supplement to lose weight and build lean muscle. And at its price point, you can’t beat it!

I'm no expert but I feel like this is one of the better Whey proteins out there. No added junk, just pure whey. Others have reviewed the nutrition merits so I'll go into consumption. When taking this I recommend only 1 cup of water per scoop. If you add more water I think it tastes worse. When I first started taking this I didn't like the taste and needed to add a spoon of my hot chocolate mix to it for taste. Now I actually really like the taste of it with nothing added. If you didn't know Whey is actually the protein from milk. It doesn't taste like milk but you get maybe a hint of that taste. I can't really describe it. Another trick I use is if you mix 1 cup of fruit punch and 1 scoop of Whey you get something that tastes like a delicious berry smoothie. This will also give you a 1:1 carb / protein ratio in itself. If I'm not working out at home I take one of these drinks with me so I can take it immediately after my workout or hockey game. Now just some tips I've picked up since you're looking to get Whey - muscle bulked up. (keep in mind I'm on that route but I'm not all muscle yet) Carbs are you energy - I recommend getting your carbs in the morning, before your workout so you have enough energy to get through it, and post workout to help restore energy. Half of a PB&J sandwich is my go to energy carb right now. White bread gets absorbed and converted to energy very fast and it works well for me. Carbs are needed to get the protein where it needs to go so don't go cutting them out completely. Update - Sounds odd but don't neglect fat - you want about half as many grams of fat or less (preferably unsaturated) as you do protein. You will suffer if you don't have any fat in your diet. Sunflower seeds, nuts, peanut butter, avocados all have some fat you can use. I'm trying for somewhere around a 2:1:.5 to 1:1:.3 grams of carbs:protein:fat per pound daily. When to take your Whey? There's some debate on whether to take Whey pre-workout or post-workout. Some say both. I used to go post but I recently switched to taking it pre-workout when I take my carbs (simple carbs around 45 minutes before workout) - logic being the protein will already be in your system for muscle repair. I haven't practiced it enough to say which way is best though. I also take a scoop in the morning. If you go for the daily recommended 1 gram per pound you'll be taking it throughout the day. Burning Fat: I'm a fairly skinny guy - however I've always had fat over my lower abs. I want abs so that had to go. I've lost almost all of that fat and here's how I did it. To lose weight you simply need to burn more calories then you take in. First, small meals / I make half sandwiches instead of whole ones now - when you go out to eat take home some of your meal in a doggie bag rather than forcing it all down. I only eat when I'm hungry, wait for your hunger pangs and fight them a little. If you're preoccupied with other things you can ignore hunger pangs easier. If they get too bad go make make yourself a small meal. If you fight hunger pangs for too long your energy levels will drop so go eat some carbs and it will pick them right back up. I'd take a multivitamin to make sure you're getting everything you need. Do this and watch fat go away - it doesn't take long, I can see / feel a difference in my stomach every day. When I do have a cheat day - sometimes the stomach wins or peer pressure and you just want to eat - the extra fat added on my belly is noticeable - but don't fret, you can burn it off in a day or two. Doing the above routine I lost a lot of fat eating a small bowl of cereal in the morning and a homemade hamburger for dinner. So honestly I don't think what you eat matters so much as waiting for and resisting the hunger pangs a bit. The end goal is to just burn more calories then you take in - so simply taking in less is an easy way to do that. Eating healthy: Recently I started eating healthier. It's a lot easier then you think. Vegetables, low fat meats, egg whites. Spend some time in the produce section of the grocery store and you'll find a lot of good, quick finger food you may have not considered before. My lunches are mostly all vegetables now. Cherry tomato's, broccoli, mushrooms, baby carrots, lettuce. All things you can just grab out of your fridge and snack on. Hard boil some eggs, put them in a bag in your fridge and you'll have egg whites whenever you want. Tuna, mackerel, sardines, frozen tilapia fillets (microwave for 1:30 or so) for fish protein. Skinless chicken breasts or whatever - marinate them in Italian dressing - sprinkle some Weber Gourmet Burger seasoning on right before cooking - cover in tin foil and pop in the oven at 350 degrees for around 40 minutes - delicious. I cook extra to refrigerate and microwave later. Not as good as out of the oven but still good. I've never been much of a chef - just picking up stuff along the way. If you have other healthy foods you like please share. I'm always looking to add to my menu. Workouts: Why the heck is this last? Hah, I'll just say I've been doing the p90x routine, I'm on week 5 and loving it. I find it helps to have something guide you rather than just going to the gym and doing whatever you feel like. When you're working out you get exhausted and don't want to think so I would find a good complete routine that switches things up, allows rest days, keeps you motivated, and is easy to follow. Of course take that with a grain of salt, as I said I don't have huge muscles yet - this is just what I've learned so far.

I ONLY buy all-natural protein (NO Aspartame/Acesulfame-k/Sucralose, NO chemicals or artificial colors/flavors/colors)! And anyone consuming protein is presumed to be inherently health-conscience, so why would anyone consider ANY protein powder with this crap in it? That is beyond me. There are 1,000 flavors (double-chocolate chip cookie dough, triple espresso fudge cake, cake batter, blue lemon truffle punch, etc...) I mean seriously? Are there millions of morbidly obese body builders out there who need their protein shake to taste like their favorite candy-bars and screw their health in the process?? Anyway, I'll get off my soapbox, but for the rest of you who don't want cancer or brain-tumors and actually care about what they shove into their bodies, then look no further than this protein powder! Ok, I've spent many days doing the research to see if I can de-throne my current protein king powder ("Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard 100% Natural Whey Protein Powder") which I absolutely love! But wanted to see if there was something better or just as good for cheaper. Enter this product. Now, this review is to compare these two highly rated kings! These 2 powders are the best of the best when it comes to All Natural. To help with the analysis, please refer to the attached diagram. So, the bottom line is that for $1.00... NOW=39g protein, ON=30.9g protein. So, with NOW, you get 26% more protein for the same buck! Hows that for a "dollar menu" analysis. They are both highly rated and are both EXCELLENT choices... however, the difference is the ON has sugar (yes, natural sugar!) and has natural flavoring, so of course humans like sweet things so it gets the edge on taste (10/10 in my book... I literally love it just as much as a milkshake and it isn't that sweet, just enough to be lightly evident but not unhealthy). Now, the reviews for this NOW said it tasted horrible and bitter and I was really afraid to buy it but due to the $ per gram of protein and appearing an even healthier choice compared to the ON, I thought I'd try it. Let me tell you, it is totally awesome! Now, not as awesome as the sugar sweetened ON, but for having nothing in it but 100% protein (no sweetner/flavors) it is totally OK!!! Now... let me preface these "taste" statements with one thing... I ALWAYS use milk in my protein shakes (16 oz milk - fat-free / 1% / 2% / whole) with 2 scoops protein, blend 20-seconds, drink. I thought I'd have to mix half/half of NOW/ON but I really don't. The NOW tastes just neutral, like I'm just drinking milk (which I love) but the same or even a little better than just plain milk. Now, given that NOW has no sugar/flavoring, it is a "more" natural choice compared to the ON.. and on top of that, has 26% more protein per $1.00 spent... I'm totally sold! If I'm in the mood I can flavor it with vanilla, honey, chocolate, peanut butter, bananna. Or, it tastes neutral enough to where I don't feel I have to drown the flavor out with any of those things... because at least with milk, it tastes great just by itself!! Plus, the NOW has the added benefit of being flavor-neutral for usage in recipes (w/o inadvertantly adding sweet/flavored(vanilla/chocolate) flavor to your favorite recipes. Another fringe benefit worth noting is that the NOW is still a 5.0 lb jug. It is not trying to sneakily down-size to 4.8lb (like the ON)... this is how manufacturers do it slowly so you're still paying the same $50/tub but the tub is now a wee-bit smaller... evil, evil, I say. Anyway, both of these are my absolute favorite proteins, but taking a deep-dive into the nitty gritty details... there has emerged one-clear winner to rule all of the natural proteins out there (IMHO). Thanks for reading and I hope this helps you (I took out 3 hours on my day off to put this review together for you!). Let me know if this was helpful to you or if you have any questions. thanks!

Let's hit all the aspects: mixing, taste, and effectiveness. MIXING: This protein mixes very easily in my blender bottle. It is a little tougher to mix in a regular cup or glass just because you can't be vigorous enough with a knife or spoon without making a mess! If you don't have a blender bottle, I say pick one up immediately. TASTE: As others have noticed, taste is a little different. I would just call it natural. Another user noted that it tasted like powdered milk. This is definitely true. It isn't so much "sour" or "rotten" as some stated. However, it's all natural with no artificial sweeteners or other junk to cover it up. What did you expect?! On top of that, it's a dried product isolated from milk (the water left over from cheese production actually). If you've ever smelled cheese being made, then you should expect this flavor. Anyway, mix a half scoop with peanut butter and a chocolate powder of your choice and boom, delicious. I personally mix with milk and ovaltine (the original European formula is sugar free: Ovaltine Malt Beverage Mix 400g - Pack of 2 Jars ). So I say order some ovaltine to go with it if you can't handle it and maybe add some peanut butter. You can use less of the powder with the added protein of peanut butter and make the tub last even longer. EFFECTIVENESS: So far, so good. I will update if I have any issues. OVERALL: All natural whey protein.. it's exactly what it sounds like. The taste isn't fantastic, but can easily be masked by any flavors you like. The quality seems to be very high. I am switching over from ON products, which do taste incredible, but I couldn't be happier with my purchase. If you're putting this stuff in your body on a regular basis, then go all natural and get some quality peanut butter and cocoa powder from your local farmers market. You'll be glad you did!

I really like this protein doesn’t have a bunch of unnecessary ingredients and is just what I wanted, a bland tasting drink that doesn’t switch in sweetness as time goes on like I’ve experienced with flavored protein. My ONLY complaint is that the pictures show 25 g of protein but it’s really 24 which is negligible in nutrition standards but I value honesty. Breaks down good too compared to other non hydrolyzed protein.

There are two major proteins in the supplement world; *Whey* and *Casein*. We will talk about whey. Whey protein comes in 4 major forms: concentrate, isolate, hydrolysate and native whey. *Concentrates*: The lowest quality of all the whey protein forms. Around 30%-90% protein by weight, but generally 80%+. Concentrates have a significant amount of fat, cholesterol and carbs in the form of lactose. Most protein blends have a significant amount of concentrate and it’s fairly cheap. Whey concentrates are typically more complete and generally has more bioactive components. *Isolates*: Isolates are processed to remove the fat and lactose. Around 90%+ protein by weight. The purest protein source. While highly pure, many of the bioactive components are broken down during processing. Very high quality. Perfect for lactose intolerant individuals as there is no lactose. More expensive. Also perfect for those who want strictly protein and not additional carbs. *Hydrolysates*: Predigested (long chains of amino acids that are broken down into single aminos). Because of this process, it is assumed that digestion would be absorbed quicker. Mainly in bodybuilding supplements for this reason. However some studies have shown that because protein is already quickly absorbed in its original form, predigested hydrolysates does not necessarily lead to faster absorption. (Power O, Hallihan A, Jakeman P. Human insulinotropic response to oral ingestion of native and hydrolyzed whey protein. Amino Acids. 2009.) *Native Whey*: Considered the purest form of whey. Native whey is extracted from skim milk and is not a byproduct of cheese production. I used to add whey concentrate based protein powder to my shakes as my morning and evening protein shakes and always ended up with terrible gas! And sometimes I had to take the browns to the superbowl too early in the season. Little did I know that being lactose intolerant was the cause for the whey not cool bodily affects. First, I started to take lactase to combat this, but soon discovered protein isolate. What a godsend. I enjoy NOW Foods Whey Protein Isolate because not only are they lactose free, they are unflavored as well. Which means I can throw a scoop into my favorite drink without affecting the flavor. Another reason why I trust this product is because this protein was not part of the amino acid spiking scandal that many protein supplement companies were and still a part of. Many popular supplement companies have been adding taurine, glycine, glutamine and creatine to protein powders to raise the protein (dietary) levels of their protein powders even though they are not nearly as beneficial as real food based protein. This is allowed due to the FDA’s loose definition of protein. While legal, companies manipulate consumers by counting nitrogen based bonds from acids (glycine, glutamine, creatine, or in taurines case; an acid in the amino family) and add it to the ‘protein count’ thus effectively misleading consumers to think that the 24g of protein they see on the nutrition label is derived from whey, but in fact, 5g+ grams are from one of these acids, but still count as a ‘protein’ because they are a part of the amino family. All for the sake of trying to pinch a few pennies. There is a class action lawsuit against Body Fortress, GNC and a few others because of this. I hope you Google it for yourselves and educate yourselves. So people out there, remember, NEVER buy protein that has added one of these ingredients to its formula. Stay away from special “proprietary blends” of protein and always stick to the purest form (isolate that is unflavored, unsweetened, with nothing added, especially artificial sweeteners like sucralose, aspartame and other unnecessary ingredients. If you want the cleanest, purest protein for your buck! Always check the labels for added ingredients!

OK, seeing these other reviews on the high quality of this protein, I wont bother talking about that aspect of the product. I don't know about how good it is or how much muscle it builds, but since you all have enough reviews by bodybuilders and trainers to let you in on that, I'll just chime in on the part where I can best contribute; its taste or lack thereof. For those of you with very picky palates, or if you have a difficult time taking supplements and powders, like I USED to, you will finally find a home with this product. In fact, I tried about 30 brands, and I hated each one (except MGN 100% protein isolate). This one is truly amazing in that even my notorious taste buds could barely notice it was in the milk AT ALL!! It truly shocked me. So if you have a super picky palate (you know who you are) forget anything that isn't 100% whey protein ISOLATE. The other stuff, even if its called "Gold" or "Diamond" or "Platinum" standard, is nonetheless gritty and chalky to people who are sensitive to its presence in milk or juice. This brand, in particular, is fantastic in that it is tasteless for all intense and purposes. It instantly blends into the milk, no need for a blender. I couldn't believe how fast it dissolved into the milk, without me needing to stir the spoon very much. Now, that said, as I have previously stated, I'm a picky eater, and so even with this perfect protein, I do notice a little grittiness unless I pass it thru a superfine mesh strainer which takes out minute amounts of clumped up or undissolved protein. Mind you, the mesh catches almost nothing at all, compared to the clumped up globs of most other NON-isolate proteins which are mostly made of protein concentrate. Once passed thru the mesh, the resulting milkshake is as smooth and silky as if grandma had just churned it herself out on the back porch. Moreover, this particular unflavored powder allows you all the benefit of the protein, but without interfering at all with any flavors you want to add- thus allowing for endless variety. Or if you are a purest, then just put it in your milk, and if you taste it's presence to a degree that bothers you at all, then apply to a nearby culinary school, or Ben and Jerry's tasting lab because you, my friend, must truly have one of the world's most virtuoso sets of regally snobby taste buds. Trust me, I too have picky buds (my personal nightmare) and this brand's protein leaves them quite happily undisturbed.

I’ve used other whey isolates without issue, and I have other vitamins in my cupboard from Now that I’m happy with, but this whey isolates protein powder felt like poison. I am an experienced supplement user. My first time taking them, I make sure everything else I consume that day is within my normal routine so I can tell if a reaction is from the product. I bought this protein powder because it was a little more reasonable of a price and it had clear third party testing labels because that consumer reports article about heavy metals in some brands had me a bit spooked. I also was looking specifically for an unsweetened powder so my choices there are limited. Yesterday morning was my first time trying it so I thought I’d play it safe and just do half a scoop for my first time to Mae sure if there was any issue it could be minimized by the smaller dose. I mixed it exactly how I’ve done with previous whey isolate powders without issue - in my decaf coffee with soy milk and sipped on it over a couple hours. By noon, I was curled on the floor in the fetal position, writhing in such intense pain from gas and bloating that every time I stood up I immediately went clammy and felt both nauseous and like I was going to faint. Dear reader, that was the rest of my day. Laid up, in so much pain that any shift of position had me crying out in startling pain. I spent the evening drinking ginger tea with a heating pad on my belly. I’m writing this about noon the next day and still have a painful bubble trapped deep in my belly that is maybe somewhat smaller, but still preventing me to freely move about my day, and this is just from a half serving. The main takeaway from this experience: don’t try to save a couple bucks. Not all whey isolate is made the same.

思ったより匂いがきつかったが飲めないことでもない。 溶けにくいのはどのプロテインでも一緒ですね。

Best RAW protein powder with minimum ingredients unlike others with tons of extra waste ingredients

Excellent product with no artificial sweetener or unwanted additives. Perfect for the optimum result. However, shipment takes ages to reach you!

Good

Taste well with low fat milk and is easy on the stomach. Have been using since two weeks and so far it’s been good.