Truvani Protein Powder Review
Written by Jack Schrupp and reviewed by Ella McGonagle, M.S. Nutrition
This in-depth Truvani protein powder review covers the ingredients, Nutrition Facts, and much, much more. Find out whether or not Truvani protein powder is right for you.
An in-depth review of Truvani protein powder.
Truvani protein powder ingredients.
Truvani protein powder Nutrition Facts.
Truvani protein powder taste and texture.
Truvani protein powder ingredients.
The ingredients list is by far the most important indication of whether or not a protein powder is good for you, so I would like to start my Truvani protein powder review there. First of all, Truvani protein powder is vegan, meaning that it does not contain any animal products. Truvani protein powder is also organic, which means that its ingredients were grown without the use of human-made pesticides and fertilizers, and that it does not contain genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Neither of these characteristics make Truvani healthier or more nutritious than any other protein powder, but they may be advantages depending on who you are and what you value.
Vegan, or plant-based protein powders, tend to be more environmentally-friendly than protein powders made with animal products, but this is not always the case. Organic plants contain fewer pesticide residues than conventionally grown plants, but the amounts for both types of plants fall under the level for safe consumption. This is all to say that the fact that Truvani protein powder is both vegan and organic is great and all, but it does not have me jumping for joy.
Truvani prides itself on having short ingredient lists. Its vanilla protein powder, for example, is made with just 5 ingredients: Organic Pea Protein Concentrate, Organic Vanilla Powder, Organic Pumpkin Seed Concentrate, Organic Monk Fruit Extract, and Organic Chia Seed Protein Concentrate. Compared to the ingredients in the vast majority of protein supplements, this ingredient list is incredible. It is both additive and dairy-free, flavored with real vanilla, and sweetened with monk fruit. Monk fruit, also known as lo han guo, is a small, melon-like round fruit native to Southeast Asia. This sets Truvani protein powder apart from 99% percent of protein supplements, which contain thickeners, dairy-based proteins, flavors, and artificial sweeteners. The one thing Truvani’s ingredient list does not have going for it, however, is the protein itself.
Truvani protein powder contains three types of protein: Pea Protein Concentrate, Pumpkin Seed Concentrate, and Chia Seed Protein Concentrate. The problem with ingredients like these is that they are heavily processed derivatives of real food. There is a big difference between pea protein concentrate and peas: peas can be found in nature, and pea protein concentrate cannot. The same can be said about pumpkin seed concentrate and chia seed concentrate.
At this point, you are probably wondering what a protein concentrate is. A protein concentrate is a food stripped of everything but the protein. I will not go into the details, but protein concentrates undergo heavy mechanical and chemical processing before becoming protein powder. Sometimes, manufacturers use chemical solvents like hexane to separate the protein from the food. This means that what you end up putting into your body looks nothing like real food, which is the big issue I have with Truvani, and most protein powders for that matter.
Protein powder is intended to make boosting your protein intake more convenient. It is not a shortcut, or a way to hack nature. For whatever reason, people think that protein powder is something special, that it will help them in ways that other sources of dietary protein cannot. This is a myth. PROTEIN POWDER IS JUST FOOD. It will not magically help you lose weight or gain muscle. It is, again, just an easier way to get more protein into your diet. Your protein powder should therefore look like food, not a science experiment.
I believe in real foods, not just from a nutritional standpoint, but also from a gut-health perspective. Heavily-processed or refined foods like protein concentrates can be hard to digest for some people. They can cause bloating, cramps, constipation, diarrhea, gas, nausea, and stomach pain for the simple reason that they do not look like real food. If you think about it, your gut was designed to digest naturally occurring foods, not laboratory formulated imitations, and if you feed it anything but real food, it might get upset.
The long term implications of eating processed foods are still not well understood, but more and more research is finding that it can alter the composition of your gut microbiota (the collection of microorganisms that help you digest food), which can lead to chronic GI problems, widespread inflammation, and permanent damage to the gut microbiome. This does not mean that Truvani protein powder is necessarily bad for you, it just means that if you can find a more natural alternative, you should use it.
Truvani protein powder Nutrition Facts.
1 serving of Truvani vanilla protein powder contains 130 calories, 2 grams of sugar, and 20 grams of protein. This is pretty standard for a plant-based protein powder, and looks good to me. If you are on a low sodium diet, you may want to keep in mind that 1 serving contains 220 mg of sodium. Many pea proteins contain a fair amount of sodium because many pea protein concentrates and isolates are made by extracting protein from green or yellow split peas using a dilute salt solution as the extracting agent. Sodium from the salt solution stays with the extracted protein.
Truvani protein powder taste and texture.
Taste is so subjective that I hesitate to include it in this Truvani protein powder review. A protein powder that one person loves might make another person gag, so if you read product reviews on Amazon, you will find both 5 star reviews and 1 star reviews of the same exact recipe. For the sake of this Truvani protein powder review, however, I will share my thoughts on how Truvani tastes and mixes.
Truvani protein powder tastes pretty good for protein powder. It is a bit too chalky and sweet for me, but I like the texture and it mixes well. It also does not have the artificial aftertaste that many protein powders do. As is the case with every protein powder, it tastes better when mixed with milk than with water, but it is definitely not bad when mixed with just water. All in all, it is not the best tasting protein powder that I have tried, but it is far from the worst, and if you like what you have read so far, I encourage you to give it a try.
Truvani vs drink wholesome.
Truvani protein powder is one of the best protein powders out there. As you just learned, however, it is not perfect. Its biggest weakness, which is a weakness for most protein powders, is that it is made with protein concentrates. I cannot stress enough how important it is to limit the number of heavily-processed foods in your diet, and protein concentrates extremely processed. Unfortunately for Truvani, there is just no way to make protein powder with peas without first stripping them of the fats, carbohydrates, and other nutrients. Peas are not naturally high enough in protein to be used as protein powder without processing.
This is the point in the article where I shamelessly pitch my own protein powder company, not because I just want to sell you something, but because it is a more natural alternative to Truvani. Hi! My name is Jack, and I am the founder of drink wholesome. A few years ago, I was sick and tired of protein supplements that upset my stomach, so I made my own with simple, real food ingredients.
Instead of protein concentrates or isolates, I use egg whites and almonds. Egg whites are simply pasteurized and dried before becoming protein powder. Almonds are just roasted, pressed, and ground. Minimally-processed ingredients like these are a gut-friendly, natural alternative to protein concentrates and isolates. Moreover, unless you have a sensitivity or allergy to eggs, egg white protein is the best protein for your gut. Egg whites are low in fiber, low-FODMAP, and naturally alkaline. Our customers have experienced fewer digestive issues with egg white protein than with any other type of protein. If you cannot eat eggs, our almond protein powder is easy to digest too, and a great option for vegans.
Truvani’s ingredients:
Organic Pea Protein Concentrate, Organic Vanilla Powder, Organic Pumpkin Seed Concentrate, Organic Monk Fruit Extract, and Organic Chia Seed Protein Concentrate.
Like Truvani, drink wholesome is additive-free and dairy-free. Unlike Truvani, it is made with real foods. This might seem like a small difference, but in the long term, it could change your life. Stick to real foods, your gut will thank you.
The “gut,” also known as the gastrointestinal (GI) system, is made up of several organs including the stomach, small intestine, large intestine, and colon. The term “gut microbiome” refers to the microorganisms living in your intestines, and the term “gut health” describes the function and balance of these organisms. The gut does much more than just help us to digest food. It also protects against pathogens, educates the immune system, and affects directly or indirectly most of our physiologic functions.
Several recent studies have examined the role of the gut in diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of a variety of diseases, and have concluded that it plays an integral role in overall health. Given the important role that your gut plays, you should consider the ways in which the foods you eat affect it. You should also consider the potentially enormous impact that protein powder can have on your gut microbiome. Protein powder is not just any food, it is a food that you probably consume regularly, if not daily.
★★★★★
“I’ve had Crohn’s disease for 20+ years and it’s always been hard to find a protein powder my stomach can handle. I’ve had no problem digesting drink wholesome AND it tastes great. I highly recommend this protein powder if you have IBS or Crohn’s.” – Jesse
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drink wholesome is a more natural alternative to Truvani.
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This content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. drink wholesome is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.