Do you use any of the following whey proteins?
This is something you need to know. It might cause you to change the brand of whey you buy from now on!
A recent study sought to find out the real BCAA content of 7 x popular whey protein products.
BCAAs are branched chain amino acids. They are Leucine, Isoleucine, and Valine (Leucine being the most important).
The brands of whey tested were:
- Muscle Milk
- GNC House Brand
- Syntha 6
- Isoflex
- Cellucor
- Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard
- Optimum Nutrition Hydrowhey
I’ve never tried or been interested in the first 5, but I’m disappointed to hear that Optimum Nutrition seems to have overstated their BCAA content on the packaging.
So let’s have a look at the result. The actual BCAA content as found in the study is seen in the left column and the company’s claimed BCAA content is displayed on the right.
That’s quite a difference, right?!
At 3g out of a claimed 5.5g, I suppose ON Whey Gold were not the worst of the bunch. Isoflex also came in at 4g out of 6g.
But the rest of the products failed miserably!
So what should you do? To be on the safe side, I suggest you opt for the place I get my own supplements – MyProtein (In Europe and the USA).
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Why I trust them? They were the first UK brand to achieve ISO9001 production certification. On their site they state,
“We test every single raw material on entry into our factory and every finished product before it leaves by using our state of the art Near Infra-Red machines.”
So when a bag of protein states 90% protein for example, you can have peace of mind that there really is 90% protein in there. That’s why they state on their site that they are the “UK’s #1 Premium Whey Protein.”
ALSO…YOU CAN GET 10% OFF EVERYTHING FOREVER
Any time you need to get new supplements (whether you’re in the USA or anywhere in Europe/UK, don’t go straight to the MyProtein site, come here first and click through to MyProtein from MuscleHack.com (you can bookmark this page or there are a permanent links to the US and UK MyProtein sites in the footer of this site.
After you click the link and arrive at MyProtein, add all the products you want to your cart and when you’re checking out, look for the little discount code box and use code.
Then input code: MUSCLEHACK. The code MHACK will also work ?
That’s all you gotta do.
GO TO MYPROTEIN UK/EUROPE | GO TO MYPROTEIN USA
An example of some whey being tested for protein content % at MyProtein
I hate seeing these kind of results. These companies play us for fools, since they know we can’t test the products for ourselves.
Thank God there are people out there that are willing to spend the time and money conducting indepent tests.
Be smart out there!
Mark McManus
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HERE ARE THE SUPPLEMENTS I HIGHLY RECOMMEND
I highly recommend MyProtein for all your supplement needs.
GO TO MYPROTEIN UK/EUROPE
GO TO MYPROTEIN USA
- I also recommend to US readers this Optimum Nutrition whey (and here's a low-carb whey)
- And this quality, inexpensive creatine ~ Mark McManus
Good for me I don’t use any of the bands.
It’s hard to know who to trust. Supplement companies suck 🙁
“These companies play us for fools, since they know we can’t test the products for ourselves.” they sure do, Mark. And no need to question their claims either, at least not when our affiliate revenue depends on it, eh?
Have a look at Labdoor.com’s analysis of Impact Whey Protein:
Total fat was measured at 1.45g/serving, 3.7% below its 1.5g label claim.
Total cholesterol was measured at 54.25mg/serving, 171.3% over its 20mg label claim.
Total sodium was measured at 67.25mg/serving, 10.3% below its 75 label claim.
Total calcium was measured at 66mg/serving, 56.0% below its 150mg label claim.
Total sugar was measured at 0.96g/serving. This product did not include any label claims for sugar content.
Total protein was measured at 76.9g per 100g of product. A 25g serving will yield 19.2g protein, 3.9% below its label claim.
Sadly they don’t test for BCAA specifically on protein powders, but actual contents and label claims don’t exactly match for your favorite supplement supplier either.
Here’s the data from their MyProtein BCAA:
This product contains 52.1% leucine by concentration. The claimed serving size (5000 mg) will yield 2605.0 mg of leucine, 4.2% over its 2500 mg label claim.
This product contains 12.6% isoleucine by concentration. The claimed serving size (5000 mg) will yield 630.0 mg of isoleucine, 49.6% below its 1250 mg label claim.
This product contains 30.3% valine by concentration. The claimed serving size (5000 mg) will yield 1515.0 mg of valine, 21.2% over its 1250 mg label claim.
Source:
https://labdoor.com/report/myprotein-impact-whey-protein
https://labdoor.com/report/myprotein-bcaa
Yeah! Kudos to the person or people who had carried out the independent tests and shame to those companies who had taken us for a ride for a long time! And in America, you all can actually sue them and ask for compensation, right? But it is so disheartening to know that even ON is also on the list!
Oh come on!! That’s brutal I just did my last buy one get on of ON gold. Mark, who did this study? I was waiting to see what independent lab did this? Was it labdoor?
This is so maddening for hard earned cash and hard work put into the gym. Also to note, I ordered my first batch of impact whey from my protein here in Canada. I just can’t believe this about ON. Brutal. Let us know who conducted this test.
A really good brand is Legion Athletics. The owner is also the author of Bigger Leaner Stronger. Although, he shares the same view as this site on training (only exception is the rep range for beginners which is 4-6 reps), he’s been a huge advocate about supplement companies selling garbage, underdosing their ingredients, using filler ingredients, etc. He set out to start this supplement company and I think they’re all high quality products. The whey protein they produce is as advertised.
It would be interesting to see a comparison between:
Myprotein
Proteinworks
Gonutrition
Which are 3 of the popular Mail Order brands.
Jason I’ve put posts here before on this. I always bought my protein from My protein.com when I lived in the UK. When I moved to Canada I found that anything from the US was very expensive. I discovered Canadianprotein.com which seems to run on similar ethical principles to MP, but is much cheaper for a Canadian. I suggest you check it out for future (I don’t work for them, I’m just a fan).
Thanks Max, yes I have researched the heck out of Canadianprotein.com but……its all self proclaimed tests nothing 3rd party so I was really skeptical. They look great. But was still worried it was not pure etc. How have got on with it?
And myprotein ships to Canada now bro, I ordered a bunch of protein and vitamins beta al etc etc and only $14 shipping to my door! FYI for you.
Thanks for the help Max. I’m so pissed off I feel like writing a letter to ON. Joke.
Still like to know what lab tested this. Good to know now than later. So thanks Mark for the big bs revealed.
I profile “supplement” and protein powder which is better defined as food itself than a supplement by whether they put artificial sweetener and colors in their product and by whether they use sports celebrities to sell. This killed off all the brands on your registry and then some.
Australian buyers should check out https://www.bulknutrients.com.au/
Inexpensive, tasty, very high quality, not filled with crap. Based in Tassie.
Good to know. Thanks for the info Mark.
Labdoor.com has analyzed some of MyProtein’s products also
@flemming. I think that was supposed to be a criticism of MyProtein?
On their own packaging they state that their whey concentrate contains 19-20g protein per 25g serving. That’s exactly what the study you referenced has found.
The fat and sodium count being lower is a good thing for whey.
Regarding MyProtein BCAAs. When people buy BCAAs, the most important amino is Leucine (as I stated in the article). So in the independent study, the Leucine count was actually higher in real life than what MyProtein claimed on the packaging – that’s great.
The Valine count was also higher.
One amino acid, isoleucine was found to be lower. If that was repeated with other samples, then that would be a fair criticism and MyProtein need to get it sorted – but that’s about it.
So their whey has been proven to be as stated, and the BCAAs are pretty much as stated – and if you’re in it for the Leucine – it may be even better.
Overall – a vindicating result for MyProtein.
@Jason Mazepa. The study was titled, ‘Measurement of level of branched chain amino acids in nutritional supplements.’ You can read more about it here, buddy.
https://www.fasebj.org/content/29/1_Supplement/559.25
Lamela D, Sachandani, Hubble K, Keenan K. Measurement of level of branched chain amino acids in nutritional supplements. The FASEB Journal.vol. 29 no. 1 Supplement 559.25. April 2015
Mark, my point was that the lab results show discrepancies between the label claims and the actual content of products from most supplement companies, evidently MyProtein included. My guess is the numbers will be widely different from batch to batch from most companies, and that even though they all claim to hold exceptionally high quality standards they also know that practically no one will ever test their claims.
MyProtein scores about average in “Label Accuracy” on labdoor.com, no worse than most, but not exactly a safe haven either.
Optimum Nutrition Instantized BCAA 5000 scores well above average in label accuracy (and well above the MyProtein BCAA I mentioned above) actually. Numbers are :
This product contains 51.5% leucine by concentration. The claimed serving size (5750 mg) will yield 2961.3 mg of leucine, 18.5% over its 2500 mg label claim.
This product contains 15.6% isoleucine by concentration. The claimed serving size (5750 mg) will yield 897.0 mg of isoleucine, 28.2% below its 1250 mg label claim.
This product contains 27.6% valine by concentration. The claimed serving size (5750 mg) will yield 1587.0 mg of valine, 26.9% over its 1250 mg label claim.
Does this mean we should not be sceptical of ONs label claims from here on out? of course not, and the same should be the case with MyProtein’s label claims…
Mark, check your units in the article. You’ve got “mg” for what should be “g”.
@Ryan. Thanks for the heads up, pal. Fixed.
@Mark, yeah thanks for the link however, it’s a paid subscription to view the results. I just wanted to have a read. So in light of being light on the BCAA’s…supplementing with a good BCAA is going to be needed here weather it’s Optimum Nutrition or MyProtein. to ensure proper BCAA intake. Correct?
I’m still shaking my head here. And pissed at all the cash I’ve spent. I always do my diligence researching the best of whatever I’m after. I went by Labdoor’s findings and stuck with ON because they still had an A rating. For Gold Standard that is. I rely on Whey for a convenient slam of protein but …if it’s a joke then maybe it’s time to save the cash?
I have been buying promix raw grass fed whey. They have excellent reviews. I’m a snob when it comes to supplements. I’m willing to pay more for quality. I think most supplements are junk. Read the reviews and do the research before buying anything.