I've just selected my protein powder after reading the hell out of this subreddit & various articles. Thought I'd share my findings here, possibly edit per yalls' suggestions.
Common powder protein sources: hemp, yellow peas, rice, soy. There are various other sources - quinoa, amaranth, spirulina, artichoke, cranberries, chia, etc - which I won't get too into here.
On that note, let's talk about soy. I've seen a lot of claims that soy (esp. in excess) can harm your health, particularly regarding hormones. I've also seen soy-champions claiming it's bad rep and misinformation. My take? Don't get soy protein. Why? Because you're vegan, you're probably already getting plenty of soy elsewhere (tofu & tempeh obviously, but other sources which would surprise you). Ie, you probably already have plenty of it in your diet, and it's a soy excess which is the concern. There are plenty of vegan powders to choose from - so let's start eliminating.
Next - there's a major concern with heavy metals found in vegan protein powders . Seems to be particularly w/ rice proteins (correct me if I'm wrong). Consequently, Natural News did testing on tons of products to compare safety. Click that link, browse a source, but you'll need to enter your email for a listserve to get the charts & results. I'd recommend it, they're pretty detailed. The gist is here.
The powders I chose were mostly from Amazon reviews, has to be an "A" or higher in the lab, and common recommendations from this subreddit. I also selected non-GMO, and mostly organic. They included SunWarrior, PlantFusion, and many others (incl. Vega); I eliminated all but PlantFusion & SunWarrior due to price. I also added Now Foods Pea, because it's so damn cheap. So here we go, recommendations in order. And note, I selected "unflavored" in all of these because I seriously don't care about flavor - so you'll want to read reviews if you do. Also, they're all cheaper on Amazon than their respective websites - buy from Amazon.
Common powder protein sources: hemp, yellow peas, rice, soy. There are various other sources - quinoa, amaranth, spirulina, artichoke, cranberries, chia, etc - which I won't get too into here.
- Soy: [Pros] High protein. Complete protein(?). High isoflavones. [Cons] Possible health concerns, more later.
- Rice: [Pros] High protein. [Cons] Incomplete protein.
- Peas: [Pros] High protein. Fat & cholesterol free. [Cons] Incomplete protein.
- Hemp: [Pros] Cleanest and least processed of the bunch. Omega-3 & -6. [Cons] Less protein. High fat & calories.
On that note, let's talk about soy. I've seen a lot of claims that soy (esp. in excess) can harm your health, particularly regarding hormones. I've also seen soy-champions claiming it's bad rep and misinformation. My take? Don't get soy protein. Why? Because you're vegan, you're probably already getting plenty of soy elsewhere (tofu & tempeh obviously, but other sources which would surprise you). Ie, you probably already have plenty of it in your diet, and it's a soy excess which is the concern. There are plenty of vegan powders to choose from - so let's start eliminating.
Next - there's a major concern with heavy metals found in vegan protein powders . Seems to be particularly w/ rice proteins (correct me if I'm wrong). Consequently, Natural News did testing on tons of products to compare safety. Click that link, browse a source, but you'll need to enter your email for a listserve to get the charts & results. I'd recommend it, they're pretty detailed. The gist is here.
The powders I chose were mostly from Amazon reviews, has to be an "A" or higher in the lab, and common recommendations from this subreddit. I also selected non-GMO, and mostly organic. They included SunWarrior, PlantFusion, and many others (incl. Vega); I eliminated all but PlantFusion & SunWarrior due to price. I also added Now Foods Pea, because it's so damn cheap. So here we go, recommendations in order. And note, I selected "unflavored" in all of these because I seriously don't care about flavor - so you'll want to read reviews if you do. Also, they're all cheaper on Amazon than their respective websites - buy from Amazon.
- Sunwarrior Warrior Blend Protein
- Protein / serving: 20g
- Ingredients: Proprietary Protein Blend (Raw Organic Pea Protein, Raw Cranberry Protein, Raw Organic Hemp Seed Protein), Medium Chain Triglycerides from Coconut
- Price: $18.91 / pounds
- 4/5-star, 896 customer reviews
- Highly recommended from this subreddit
- PlantFusion Diet Supplement
- Protein / serving: 22g
- Ingredients: Quinoa, Amaranth, Yellow Peas, Artichoke
- 4.1/5-star, 1,373 customer reviews
- Price: $22.94 / Pound
- Now Foods Pea Protein
- Protein / serving: 24g
- Ingredients: Yellow Peas
- 3.8/5-star, 883 customer reviews
- Price: $9.63 / Pound
- Rarely recommended, barely passed the lab results (A, instead of A+++), single-ingredient. But it's so damn cheap! If you're on a budget, get this one.