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The Best Protein Powders

various protein powder containers

Although eating protein from whole foods may seem more natural, protein powders are a great way to get more protein into your diet, without adding in extra fat and carbs along with it.

In addition, protein powders are very convenient and easy. And I think many of them taste good too! Another benefit to drinking whey protein is that it allows you to get plenty of protein without also getting too many calories.

Will Drinking Protein Powder Cause Me To Build Muscle?

In order to build muscle, you must have adequate protein. Drinking protein shakes can help with muscle protein synthesis and muscle recovery. However, don't think that you can just start drinking protein shakes and that this alone will cause you to build muscle.

You will need to work out too. Excess protein will get stored as fat and so if you don't work out and take in excess protein you might just gain fat and not muscle!

Do Protein Powders Taste Good?

Taste is very subjective and so what tastes good to me, may not taste good to you. Also, I've never been a huge fan of protein powder mixed with only water. I almost always mix mine with milk. Some protein powder brands taste good mixed with only milk, but some brands taste best when blended up with both milk and fruit, such as a banana or berries.

There are a variety of protein powders to choose from and so I've written a review of the best modestly priced protein powders.

I won't go over the mixability for each protein for a couple of reasons. First of all, I haven't noticed anything - to me they all mix okay, but I'm not really a good judge of mixability because I'm one of the few people that doesn't mind clumps in their protein.

The Best Protein Powders


1. Syntha 6

I absolutely LOVE this protein. I'm not kidding. Not only does it taste great, but I also notice increased muscle gains while using Syntha 6. I've only tried the vanilla ice cream flavor of Syntha 6, but it was very good. Syntha 6 is actually a blend of 6 different types of protein in this order:

  • Whey Protein Concentrate
  • Whey Protein Isolate
  • Calcium Caseinate
  • Micellar Casein
  • Milk Protein Isolate
  • Egg Albumin

Each Serving of Syntha 6 features:

  • 22 grams of protein
  • 200 calories
  • 6 grams fat
  • 15 grams carbs
  • 4 grams sugar
  • 5 grams fiber
  • 5 grams naturally occuring BCAAs

One benefit to drinking Syntha 6 is that each scoop contains 5 grams of fiber. If you read the ingredients it might not be readily apparent where the fiber comes from. The fiber is from polydextrose and from cellulose gum.

Drawbacks: contains the artificial sweeteners ace-K and sucralose. This protein would be absolutely perfect if they only made a version sweetened with stevia!

2. Cellucor Whey

Cellucor whey is my 2nd favorite protein powder. It tastes great when mixed with only milk (remember that I don't mix any of them with just water). It doesn't need a lot of fruit or other items because it tastes pretty good on its own. I've only tried the molten chocolate and the whipped vanilla. They are both good, but the whipped vanilla is my favorite.

Each Serving of Cellucor Whey features:

  • 25 grams of protein
  • 130 calories
  • 1.5 grams fat
  • 3.0 grams carbs
  • 1.0 grams sugar
  • Up to 5.5 Naturally Occuring BCAAs
  • Digestive Enzymes
  • GMP certified

The main ingredient is whey protein isolate followed by whey protein concentrate.

Drawbacks: contains the artificial sweeteners ace-K and sucralose.

3. Dymatize Elite Whey Protein Isolate

I've only tried the Dymatize Gourmet Vanilla flavor, but I don't really enjoy the taste of it unless I blend it up with fruit, such as a banana or berries. Mixed with fruit and milk, Dymatize tastes pretty good. Despite my not liking the flavor of Dymatize that much by itself, I do like this protein and usually have it for breakfast every day. It is a high quality protein.

Each Serving of Dymatize Elite Whey features:

  • 24 grams of protein
  • 114 calories
  • 1.5 grams fat
  • 2.0 grams carbs
  • 0.0 grams sugar
  • Over 5.0 grams BCAAs
  • Digestive Enzymes
  • GMP certified

Drawbacks: contains the artificial sweetener ace-K. However, Dymatize also makes a naturally sweetened version with stevia.

4. Optimum Whey Gold Standard

I tried many flavors of Optimum Nutrition Gold standand and they are mostly good. My personal favorite is Chocolate Malt.

Each Serving of Gold Standard Whey features:

  • 24 grams of protein
  • 120 calories
  • 1.0 grams fat
  • 3.0 grams carbs
  • 2.0 grams sugar
  • 5.5 grams BCAAs

Drawbacks: contains the artificial sweetener ace-K and sucralose, but Optimum Nutrition does makes a protein powder sweetened with stevia.

5. MusclePharm's Combat Powder

Like Syntha 6, Combat powder is a blend of several different types of proteins:

  • Whey Protein Concentrate
  • Whey Protein Isolate
  • Whey Protein Hydrolysate
  • Micellar Casein
  • Egg Albumin

Combat powder tastes good just mixed with milk. I originally bought it because it has added BCAAs, plus I liked the name.

Each Serving of Combat Powder features:

  • 25 grams of protein
  • 130 calories
  • 1.5 grams fat
  • 4.0 grams carbs
  • 2.0 grams sugar
  • Added BCAAs
  • Digestive Enzymes

Drawbacks: contains the artificial sweeteners ace-K and sucralose.

The above 5 are the proteins that I've used the most and that I like. However, there are some slighty more expensive proteins that are also good, such as Beverly International UMP and Beverly International Muscle Provider. The drawback is that these costs a little more. There are also other good protein powders not mentioned here. The best thing to do is read the label on any protein powders before you buy them so you'll know exactly what you are getting.