Unless you buy natural whey protein, its almost certain that any protein powders you buy will be loaded with artificial sweeteners, flavors, and colors. Natural whey protein powders have none of these artificial sweeteners or other synthetic ingredients. They are made from naturally occurring ingredients found in nature.
Many people who use protein powders, namely athletes and body builders, don't care what's in the protein powders they consume. Just as long as they see the results they want to get, they're fine with it.
But a growing number of people are looking for natural whey protein, protein free of artificial sweeteners, which are suspected to cause cancer and have other ill side effects. Although the safety artificial sweeteners is up for debate, using natural whey made with natural ingredients is definitely a healthier way to get your daily protein.
Normal protein powders are sweetened with the artificial sweeteners aspartame, sucralose, and/or acesulfame K along with high fructose corn syrup and sugar. Natural whey protein powders are sweetened with the stevia, a natural sweetener that's been used for years in Japan and other countries, and fructose, a natural sugar found in fruits.
Are natural whey protein powders higher in calories?
People might wonder if natural whey protein powders are higher in carbs and calories since they don't use the no-calorie artificial sweeteners aspartame and sucralose. The good news is, in almost all cases, they are not higher in calorie content. The sweetener most natural whey protein powders use, Stevia, contains no calories, just like artificial sweeteners.
But as was pointed out before, stevia is all natural, derived from the stevia plant. So though no artificial sweeteners are used in natural whey protein powders, the calorie content still remains relatively low when compared to regular protein powders.
Many natural whey protein powders contain a trivial amount of fructose. This raises the carb content by 1 to 2 grams, or 4 to 8 calories. For example, Optimum Nutrition's Gold Standard regular protein powders have about 3 net carbs and 120 calories per serving depending on the flavor.
Optimum Nutrition's Gold Standard natural whey protein powders have 5 net carbs and 130 calories. Unless you're a professional body-builder, this tiny raise is nothing to worry about.
Why should you consider switching to natural whey protein powders?
The safety of artificial sweeteners is spotty at best. Aspartame and its side effects have been questioned ever since it was approved for human consumption in the USA. Sucralose is no different. Switching to natural sweeteners, like those found in natural whey protein powders, is a way to improve your health.
If you switch to natural protein powders, you're not going lose any of the amino acid and nutritional values found in regular protein powders, values important to athletes. Natural protein powders still contain all the branch chain amino acids, essential amino acids, and glutamine regular protein powders do.
Finally, switching to natural whey protein powders is the tasty, post-workout recovery-oriented thing to do. Other natural protein source, like hemp protein, isn't absorbed by the body as quickly as it needs to for optimal post-workout recovery, and it tastes terrible! Soy can taste just as good natural whey protein powders, but, like hemp, it isn't absorbed quite as fast as the natural whey protein powders are.
Please be sure to read my review of some of the natural whey protein powders available on the market. It will help you choose the right natural whey protein for your lifestyle and wallet.
These pictures show the Natural Protein I'm currently using.
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