Protein Powder: Real Food? Review Finds Best Natural Option!

Wondering if collagen (use the coupon KS10 for 10% off!) protein powder measures up next to whey protein, pea, hemp, and other vegan options? And is protein powder even a healthy, real food option for those who are working hard to live a clean eating lifestyle but want an extra protein boost for their brain, muscles, or pregnancy? We tested over a dozen to help you find the BEST natural, healthy protein powder.

Whether you believe protein builds muscle and should be added to drinks or not, I think we can all agree that it’s necessary.

I mean, it’s one of the three macronutrients and proven to optimize brain function, as well as its normal tasks of building and repairing bones, muscles, cartilage, skin and bones. It can’t be stored in the body for later, either, which is why my list of high-protein foods and snacks is a good one to keep close at hand. Sources: 1, 2

If you’ve ever done the Bradley Birth method for pregnancy/labor, you’ve had to try to get 140g of protein per day. I used to win the “competition” among ladies in my class a lot, because it can be difficult to get that high (and I’m kinda competitive). I wish I had know back then about the discovery we made while testing protein powders for this post; it would have been even easier to be the champion! 😉

Additionally, protein is vital for brain function and can help performance on standardized testing days, along with healthy fats and other brain boosters.

My husband works out fairly regularly and has always done the protein shake thing to build muscle afterward. Over the years I’ve stuck my nose in and asked him to try many protein powders that were more natural than the conventional ones found on the shelf, and we’ve certainly had some successes and some failures!

Along with recommendations from readers and my team, here are hubby’s personally tested reviews of collagen protein powder and natural (and not-so-natural) whey and vegan protein powders – and we do think we found the best clean protein powder, hands down, without question.

The Natural Protein Powder Reviews

Just so you know, my husband always loved the off-the-shelf protein powders with vanilla flavoring and plenty of sweetener (the one time that artificial sweeteners often got past him without him hating it!). So it’s a challenge for an unsweetened, unflavored protein powder to score decently at all with him, and he really wasn’t sure about collagen protein powder living up to the claim that it disappears even in water.

I asked him to try each one in the exact same way, with a cup of milk and nothing else added.

Here are the results, in no particular order…except for the CLEAR winner, which I make you wait until the end to see! 😉

(Because serving sizes vary, the best way to compare prices is the price per gram of protein, which we’ve noted to the best of our ability.)

Note: Although vegan sources of protein are very popular, it’s important to understand that if your only source of protein is plants, you may not be getting the muscle-building profile you need. See this 2015 study by Vliet, Burd, and Loon for more. 

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Best Natural Protein Powder? And The Winner Is…

The winner is the one that had no taste, mixed in perfectly smooth so that we couldn’t even tell it was there, is perfectly natural from trusted sources, and packs a punch with massive amounts of protein per serving.

It came out of nowhere as a surprise addition to our list, because it’s not something often billed as “protein powder.” In fact, I am glad now that I didn’t put this review together last year when we started working on it, because I would have totally missed this and ended up giving you only a handful of mediocre choices instead of a clear conqueror!

The best natural protein powder award goes to…

The one at the top left:

Collagen Protein Powder

Collagen is the protein from bone broth once it’s been sort of over-boiled so that the gel part of the gelatin (use the coupon KS10 for 10% off!)breaks down, but all the proteins and health benefits for joints, skin, and hair are still there.

It can be mixed into cold or hot liquids as I detailed here, and check this out:

It totally disappears.

There’s no taste.

No change in consistency of the milk (or whatever liquid you choose) when collagen protein powder is stirred in. You don’t even need a power tool (although collagen can clump a little if you don’t whisk it in right away).

My husband said with a bit of awe and wonder in his voice, “If this is an option, why are we even bothering to test out all those others? This is obvious!”

“Clear” may be a misnomer because you can SEE the collagen in water, but in other drinks, it’s just poof gone! I prefer to mix it into tea, coffee, or smoothies myself.

You can find well-sourced collagen powder from a couple of brands, including:

• Perfect Supplements (use the code KS10 for 10% off, which CAN be stacked with volume discounts up to 30% off!!!) 
• Vital Proteins on Amazon (or try marine collagen, sourced from fish, or dark chocolate blackberry flavor)
• Garden of Life with probiotics on Amazon
• Great Lakes on Amazon
• Physician’s Choice on Amazon

By well-sourced, I mean that the cows are grass-fed and sustainably sourced, very important when you’re using animal products in my opinion. Perfect Supplements (use the coupon KS10 for 10% off!)‘ collagen is even certified glyphosate free!

Final Review, WINNER: Perfect Supplements Hydrolyzed Collagen as Best Natural Protein Powder

One Caveat When Using Collagen as a Protein Powder for Muscle Building

We should note that if your goal with protein powder is primarily to build muscles, the amino acid profile of collagen powder may not be ideal.

It’s been fairly well proven that eating meat for protein does help build muscle, although more-more-more isn’t always better — this 2009 study in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association found that anything over 30g in one meal doesn’t make more of an impact than a 4-ounce steak.

There is a pretty full protein profile in gelatin/collagen because it’s an animal protein, whereas plant proteins have less protein and a narrower amino acid profile in comparison (see this 2018 study by Gorissen, Crombag, et. al. for more).

Perfect Supplements explains that their collagen does not contain tryptophan, but it does contain 8 of the 9 essential amino acids. It’s high in the amino acids glycine, proline, and hydroxyproline, which may build human cartilage (good for joints!), assist digestion, and improve skin, hair, and nail quality (that’s the effect I see most strongly!).

The amino acids leucine, isoleucine and valine seem to be prized for muscle building, and the whey protein powder we have around is much, much higher in those areas than collagen, while collagen excels in glycine and proline. It does have the others, but in lesser amounts. However, some sources note that glycine is also key for muscle tissue repair. (Sources: 1, 2, 3)

This 2016 study in the Journal of Nutrition claims that as long as you get 2g of leucine per “dose” of protein, you’ll get sufficient muscle mass benefits, although more research is needed. Testing showed the collagen to be 2.7% leucine. Since one scoop of PS collagen is 11 grams, I’m assuming that you’d get about .3g leucine per scoop, so to really build muscle, you’d need over 6 scoops.

However — remember that collagen is not going to be your only source of protein for the day AND that we’re still learning about exactly how muscles are built. So if collagen protein powder is one part of your healthy consumption of protein during a day, you may be doing yourself a favor in multiple categories.

What to Consider If You Try a Protein Powder & Value Clean Eating

I strongly encourage you to look for real food sources of protein if you are looking to increase your protein intake by supplementing outside of regular meals.

Between my husband, my team here, and reader feedback, here are some items to note:

• Read your labels regarding refrigeration after opening. Many of these more natural ones require that but it wasn’t something I realized.
• Stay away from soy protein – too many questions about its safety, especially for women.
• Consider how the protein was processed – many “whey” based proteins are spray-dried at high pressure and can cause oxidation and create free radicals.
• Always check your sweetener – look for NONE, or from fruit sources, stevia, monkfruit, etc. Stay away from the artificial sweeteners like sucralose, Nutrasweet (aspartame) and acesulfame potassium as well as sugar alcohols like erythritol. Note: Stevia can be processed in many different ways, some more natural than others!
• Do you recognize the ingredients?
• If animal-based protein, were the animals well-sourced? Look for grass-fed!
• Protein from whole food sources cannot go unmentioned.

In fact, if you happen to use protein powder in a smoothie anyway, collagen or otherwise, you might as well add a few MORE natural sources of protein! Our smoothies always include chia and/or hemp seeds, both high protein and with healthy omega-3 fats to boot.

They both blend right in beautifully with a high-powered blender, although I’m not sure how they’d do in a standard blender and definitely a “no” if you just use an immersion blender.

More Options for Natural Protein Powders

We could only try so many varieties, so I’ve simply listed out several others that were recommended we try in case you are looking for more options (as far as I know these are pretty darn whole-foods based!):

• Juice Plus+ Complete – vegan, stevia-sweetened (contains soy; my dad tried these out while he was taking Juice Plus+ during his cancer battle. He blended them with a stick blender in milk and liked both flavors, but I couldn’t get any more details out of him.)
• Shakeology – vegan options, stevia-sweetened (if you try this one, which comes highly recommended from quite a few real-foodies, it’s via Beach Body FYI)
• Green Smoothie Girl – vegan, unsweetened, allergen-free
• Bone Broth Powder from Green Smoothie Girl – bone broth powder is “newer” in the market, but a real source of protein. If done right, it should just be spray-dried bone broth, which would include gelatin or collagen plus other minerals. BUT it doesn’t usually mix in without taste, so it’s a great source of protein, just not something you’d just add to milk.
• IsaPro from Isagenix – stevia-sweetened, soy-free
• Sunwarrior Warrior Blend – vegan, soy-free
• Slender FX from Youngevity – unsweetened
• Plant Fusion Natural Unflavored – stevia-sweetened
• More options can be found in our Facebook discussion.

Disclaimer: We here at Kitchen Stewardship^® are not doctors or nutritionists. Please do your own research and consult your doctor when adding supplements to your diet.

Unless otherwise credited, photos are owned by the author or used with a license from Canva or Deposit Photos.