The Best Whey Protein Powder

Anabolic steroids pose risks to both your health and your ability to compete (if you’re found to have a banned substance in your system) — so we verified each formula with independent testers Informed-Choice.org and the National Science Foundation’s Certified for Sport Program .

“The National Science Foundation’s Certified for Sport Program and Informed-Choice.org are crucial for ensuring the safety of sports supplements in an industry without strict government regulation.”

Lucas Duppler M.S. CISSN Director of Nutrition, Whey Protein Institute

We cut anything with controversial food colorings and artificial sweeteners.

Food dyes don’t add anything good ; that’s for sure. They’re added simply to make food fun and appetizing. And while they’re FDA-approved. even the FDA admits there’s no such thing as “absolute safety of any substance” — only “a reasonable certainty of no harm.” Detractors claim they’re not so benign. If they’re not beneficial and might be harmful, we’re not willing to take the risk.

Same goes for artificial sweeteners like aspartame and sucralose, which can cause headaches, dizziness, and bloating.

To be on the safe side, we compiled a master list of additives that have been deemed controversial by the Department of Health and Human Services, the FDA, and other scientific journals — and we threw out any products whose Supplement Facts labels listed them.

It must have a Labdoor quality grade of B- or higher.

Not all labels are accurate. Across 73 different supplement product lines (many of which were on our initial list of whey powders), on average they had 70.4 percent more sodium and 12.7 percent less protein than the labels stated. To boot, 52 percent of the powders also contained measurable amounts of free-form amino acids, which can artificially inflate the protein measurements in lab results.

After eliminating all the powders that actually labeled their potentially harmful ingredients, we verified the compositions of the remaining competitors using Labdoor, an independent company that performs detailed chemical analysis of nutritional supplements. Labdoor’s quality grades evaluate label accuracy, product purity, nutritional value, ingredient safety, and projected efficacy.

Which means the score takes into account the reality of nitrogen spiking, the unfortunately common practice of boosting a protein powder’s lab results for protein content by “spiking” it with inexpensive amino acids like creatine, taurine, glycine, and alanine. These ingredients aren’t necessarily detrimental, but if you think you’re getting 60 grams of protein daily and you’re really only getting 20, that’s a problem.

We required a minimum grade of B- for a contender to pass through this final screen.

“The amount of protein listed on a product’s Supplement Facts panel can be misleading. Some manufacturers intentionally spike their powders to make it seem like they have more protein than they actually do.”

Marie Spano, MS, RD, CSCS, CSSD Spokesperson, Author, Sports Dietitian, Sports Nutritionist — Atlanta Hawks

Our Pick for the Best Whey Protein Powder

When you consider that only two out of 28 flavors of ON’s 100% Whey Gold Standard passed every stage of our testing, it might make you think our purity standards are too high. But there’s no denying the peace of mind that comes from knowing your supplement contains only wholesome ingredients. The Natural Chocolate is flavored with straight-up cocoa and sugar, while Natural Vanilla has “natural flavor” and sugar. Both flavors pack in 24 grams of protein per serving. This is thanks to a blend that includes “whey isolates ,” which have higher protein content and fewer carbohydrates, as well as less lactose and fat, than less-refined “whey concentrates.”

In a taste test conducted for our review of all protein powders. we found that despite the presence of sugar, Natural Vanilla’s sweetness isn’t over the top; our tasters noted a distinctly “mild” flavor. They also appreciated how well it blended with water, calling it the “best texture” among the three shakes they sampled.

Flavors of ON 100% Whey Gold Standard that didn't make the cut

In addition to our top whey pick, our main protein powder review highlighted two other powders that meet our criteria: Vega Sport Performance Protein and Garden of Life Raw Organic Protein. Both of these powders derive their protein from plants including pea, rice, and alfalfa. While these are perfectly legitimate sources, only whey and soy provide all nine of the essential amino acids your body needs.

Whey is one of the most effective protein powders.

The three most common types of protein powder — whey, casein, and soy — all have an abundance of essential and branched-chain amino acids, the stuff your body needs to build muscle. However, whey has a higher content of leucine, the amino acid that most aids quick muscle growth and repair, making it possible to get the same results with less whey than with casein or soy. Whey is also the easiest protein for your body to digest, and dissolves most easily in water.

Vegans have obvious reasons not to use animal-based whey, but Marie Spano, sports nutritionist for the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks, points out another reason to consider non-whey supplements. She notes that “casein and soy are digested more slowly than whey, leading to a prolonged rise in amino acids in the bloodstream. So someone who wants a more sustained ‘effective’ period of post-workout muscle-building should consider combining whey with soy or casein.”

The Bottom Line

No supplement can take the place of a good diet and adequate rest. As convenient as it is to simply mix up a shake, protein powders should never be considered a suitable replacement for a good, old-fashioned healthy diet. Lucas Duppler, director of nutrition at the Whey Protein Institute, drives home the point: “Supplements are just that — there to supplement your diet. Athletes can typically get all the protein they need from sources like meat, fish, chicken, and dairy products.”

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We find the best of everything. How? We start with the world. We narrow down our list with expert insight and cut anything that doesn't meet our standards. We hand-test the finalists. Then, we name our top picks.