As a dad nearing his 40s and trying to get healthy for his kids, I've put a lot of research into protein powders as I want to make sure that whatever I choose will be safe to take every day, for the long term.
It shouldn't come as a surprise that most of the big brands are filled with artificial sweeteners, flavours, gums and fillers, none of which are good for your body when consumed too often. But even amongst the "clean" brands, there are important differences. Many use "natural flavours" to enhance their taste, which is a hugely deceptive term because it comes across as something healthy, when in reality these flavours are still extracted and refined in a lab and contain any number of undisclosed ingredients, so long as the original source was something natural.
Another thing to watch out for is soy lechitin, which is common in a lot of Whey Isolates (WPI) and New Zealand protein powders in particular. Soy lechitin is extracted via a chemical solvent, typically hexane which is toxic to humans. The residual amount of hexane in soy lechitin is minimal, but I prefer to avoid exposure to this chemical altogether by taking protein powders instantised with sunflower lechitin instead, which is naturally extracted via a cold pressing method.
Lastly, it is important to ensure your protein powder of choice has been 3rd party lab tested, and that the brand is able and willing to provide you with those test results. This is to ensure that each batch has undergone microbiology tests to ensure no contaminants, as protein powder exposed to moisture creates an ideal environment for bacteria to grow.
I've tried a lot of protein powders, but ANPC is the first I've found that properly ticks all the boxes. Australian-made grass fed whey, instantised with sunflower lechitin, no "natural flavours", just ground real vanilla beans, no gums and fillers, and when I asked they were more than happy to provide me with their lab test results. Including inulin is a nice added bonus, as this slows digestion, increases satiety and helps feed the gut microbiome.
On a more subjective note, I also really appreciated the acknowledgement of country on ANPC's homepage. This is part of what being Australian-made means to me, and I like that they took the time to honour the traditional custodians of the land on which their products are made.
I just wish that ANPC would come out with more flavour options made with real foods, like a strawberry flavour made with freeze-dried strawberry powder for instance ;)
