To decide on the best protein powder for you, it helps to ask: what are protein powders for? Protein is a nutrient needed all over the body to help build, repair and maintain tissue. It is made up of chains of amino acids, nine of which are termed ‘essential’ since your body can’t make them itself.

Some powders additionally contain creatine, which can boost performance during high-intensity exercise; powders designed to build lean muscle may contain L-carnitine, which helps your body use fat as fuel for exercise. Then there’s also good old caffeine, the most beloved energy booster of all, which can be found in many protein powders. Flavoured Versions: Whey Protein Concentrate ( Milk), Cocoa Powder (Chocolate flavours only), Flavours, Colouring: Beetroot Red (Strawberry Flavour only), Caramel Colour (Banana Peanut Butter flavour only), Xanthan Gum, Instantising Agent: ( Soy Lecethin, 0.4%), Sweetener: Sucralose, Stevia. If you’re not sure your gym routine is intense enough to justify splashing out on both whey and casein protein to support it, you can opt for this combination powder. Many powders contain a mix of both fast and slow-absorbing proteins but Grenade’s Hydra 6 stands out not only because of the 50/50 blend of each, but the quality of both whey and casein used. The powder uses premium whey isolate and ultrafiltered micellar casein to create a blend that’s easy to mix, not too stodgy to drink, and easily absorbed by the body. As a whey concentrate, MyProtein’s Impact Whey offers good value for money and at 103 calories per serving, it may be useful for those adhering to a calorie deficit. Each serving contains over 2g of the branched-chain amino acid (BCAA) leucine, which plays a key role in muscle synthesis.So what’s best? “Building muscle requires resistance training, sufficient protein and a small calorie surplus,” says Thompson. “In theory, any type of protein powder can be used to boost protein intake, but a protein powder with added creatine may help maximise training performance and therefore gains.” Is vegan protein healthier than whey? The serving size is small at 16g, which is why the protein content is also lower than other shakes at 10g, but you can always double up. The protein is sourced from peas and there are added vitamins in the shake, including half your recommended daily intake of B12. If you are like me and would love to build solid muscle but suffer from IBS / Dairy Tollerance. This blend maybe just what you need to grow. Nutritional values are based on our best selling unflavoured version. Chocolate versions and other flavours will vary due to the addition of natural cocoa powder, as well as flavouring which is added to achieve the delicious taste.

Vegan protein powders are the fourth option. Pea, hemp, rice and soy are popular sources but there are plenty of others. “What’s key here isn’t just looking at the protein content, but the quality,” says Butcher. “You can tell that by looking at its essential amino acids – it’s ‘complete’ if it contains all nine. To achieve this, you’ll want a blend of at least two protein sources.” What is the healthiest protein powder to drink?

Pure Whey Protein Concentrate 80

Bottom-line is, I'm very satisfied with the product and considering the price it might become my new favorite protein powder. This powder uses pea, rice and sunflower protein to deliver 20g of protein per serving and, aside from those three ingredients, all it contains is coconut sugar, cacao and banana. The powder mixes easily in water and while it does have a slightly grainy texture, it tastes great, with the banana and cacao standing out. Since no artificial sweeteners are used, the powder is relatively high in carbs and sugar at 15g and 10g respectively, but there are just 175 calories per serving and it also contains a mix of vitamins and minerals. Heads up, these details are based on unflavoured Impact Whey Isolate. The nutritional content may vary based on the flavour you choose. Protein powders may be convenient for building muscle but they’re only really necessary for vegans, who don’t eat enough protein or elite athletes who are training most days every week. Personal trainer Max Lowery wrote in a 2mealday blog post, “The average untrained person needs as little as 60-75g of protein and the average trained person who exercises three times a week needs 1.2g - 2g per kilo of bodyweight. You can easily get enough protein from eating real food - the western diet is protein dense.” It may sound unusual, but egg white protein powder isn’t quite like consuming your morning omelette in drink form. In fact, in the case of Blonyx’s Egg White Protein Isolate, it’s more like a tall glass of chocolate milk.

I found the powder mixed well with milk or even yoghurt thanks to the fine consistency and I love that it comes in so many different flavours. The powder is low in fat and sugar, although it does use sucralose and acesulfane K to sweeten, which might make some flavours a little sweet for some.I have taken this every day for over a week now with no ill side effects, no bloating, no primevil sludge errupting from my bowels. Just glorious anacondas.

Having spent many years in the Gym, and many attempts at bulking/building on protein shakes I have finally put two and two togeather and realised that the shakes I have been taking were leading to some interesting toilet habbits. Habbits I would have rather gone without. Whey concentrate is the most common form and is often the cheapest, according to Rachel Butcher, head nutritionist at Natural Fitness Food. “It typically has low fat and cholesterol content but the protein levels can vary from 40 to 90% depending on the brand,” she says. “If your goal is to build muscle, a whey concentrate with a higher protein content is probably the best to go for.”Yes. If you’re a vegan or are avoiding dairy for any reason, there are powders with non-dairy protein sources such as soy. What flavours are available? Mass gainer’ protein powders may seem the obvious choice for those wanting to build muscle,” says Kristoph Thompson, director of S8 Training, which offers courses in PT and sports nutrition. READ NEXT: The best meal replacement shakes How much do I need to spend – and how long will a tub last?