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really worth avoid ingredient are sucralose and acesulfame potassium emerging research suggests they hurt the gut microbiome long-term with regular use, carrageenan though thickener causes gut inflammation, artificial colors and proprietary blends mean you don't even know what ingredients are actually in a single serving. Junk -oleoresin in small doses actually doesn't do much harm at all and monk fruit is definitely one of the better sweeteners out there. So too stevia: Most folks seem to be able tolerate stevia well. Affordable, smooth, powdery options clear: Orgain organic can be found everywhere; Naked Whey is just that; and Transparent Labs is pure, clean-labeled without artificial sweeteners. Yet it's frustrating that with Fairlife costing so much it's one of the few better ready to drinks available. These were genuinely the real thing and could be recommended at any time to consumers. **Meal replacement really defeats the purpose of shakes right? Are you trying to build muscle, get more protein, or replace meals altogether?**
Try and use the cleanest ones. Thorne or Transparent labs for flavored ones or Naked Whey for unflavored.
I find lemon cuts the flavor of the plain protein the best. My smoothies: Naked Whey, juice of 1 lemon, frozen banana, chunk of ginger root, handful of arugula, Greek yogurt, water. Blend!
Naked whey. I've been using vanilla in a coffee smoothie but they also have unflavored. It doesn't have artificial sweetener or anything and tastes more like milk than protein powder.
Naked whey has a plain protein powder with no additives, just whey protein. I couldn’t taste it in regular chocolate milk and not chalky.
I get NAKED WHEY, because it doesn’t have any flavors or fake or alternate sweeteners. You can legit even shake it into plain milk. I bought it to mix with my own lemonade. No joke.
I manage a smoothie shop. We use naked whey for our protein it is unflavored and is only mixed in at the end of the process so it doesn't affect the texture.
I can speak for Naked Whey, which I switched to a few months ago from Isopure. Very good flavor (richer than Isopure) and I appreciate the simple nutrients. But the chocolate and strawberry are not sweet enough for my tastes, so I add some monkfruit (but it's perfect for my wife w/o sweetener). The additional nutrients in Isopure were nice, but not enough to justify the extra "junk" ingredients. Mixability is the same as Isopure, and I have not noticed any difference in results.
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