How to Pick the Best Protein Powder for Women
- Should you get whey, casein, pea, hemp, soy, or egg protein powder?
- Do you need your protein to be vegetarian friendly?
- What flavour do you want it to be?
- Do you want one with a high or low carb complex?
- Do you want one you can take with milk, or just water?
The questions you can ask are endless. This means that working out which is the best protein powder for women, and for you, can be an impossible task. Thankfully, even though there are hundreds of questions you can ask about each protein powder, you only need to know a few things to judge if one is worth buying.
What Makes a Good Protein Powder?
If you’re new to the world of protein supplements, you might be having a hard time understanding just what makes a good protein powder.
This is because the health and fitness world is filled with complex scientific terms that most of us don’t understand.
Thankfully, if they’re explained clearly enough, anyone can gain the knowledge needed to understand what makes a good protein powder good.
Knowing what each term means, and what each ingredient does, can help you pick the best protein supplement for you. This is because you’ll know exactly what ingredients can help you reach your goals. As they say, knowledge is power!
Ready to understand what’s found in the best protein powder for women?
Keep reading to learn more:
A Good Macronutrient Profile
‘Macronutrient’ is the word given to a type of food that’s required in large amounts in our diets. Types of macronutrient include carbohydrate, fat, and protein.
The best protein powder for women will include a carefully balanced mix of macronutrients designed to offer the benefits you’re looking for.
The two main reasons people buy protein powder is to either:
- Help build muscle and improve athletic performance
- Help support a healthy lifestyle and weight loss plan
Even though these two goals may seem similar, they require completely different macronutrient profiles.
A good protein powder targeted at improving athletic performance will contain a careful balance between carbs and protein. Carbs are included to help fuel the body after a workout, and protein is there to help build muscle and aid recovery.
Taking a protein shake with high levels of carbs when you’re trying to lose weight is a bad idea. This is because carbohydrates can slow down weight loss by spiking insulin levels in the body. High levels of insulin lead to higher levels of body fat – not something you want if you’re looking to lose weight!
So, the best protein powder for women looking to build muscle is one with high levels of carbs and protein.
The best protein powder for women looking to lose weight and support a healthy diet is one with low carbs and high protein.
When you come to looking at different protein supplements, think about the goal you are trying to achieve. If you’re looking to lose weight, pick a protein with less than 10g of carbohydrates. If you’re looking to boost muscle mass and performance, look for one with a balanced blend of carbs and protein.
No Nasty Additives
Many of the protein supplements you see on the shelves contain a mix of nasty additives and preservatives. These help the protein powder last longer – but they can be really bad for you.
One of the most common additives in protein supplements is soy lecithin.
Soy lecithin is a genetically modified ingredient added to foods to help them last longer. It can also help powders mix better, which is often why it’s added to protein powder supplements.
Research by Cornell University shows that consuming soy lecithin can lead to women’s milk ducts growing. This is often a precursor to breast cancer.
Scientists are have also expressed their concerns about how soy lecithin can help get in the way of brain development and lead to reproductive problems. (Source: Livestrong)
The best protein powder for women does not include soy lecithin because of its potentially cancer-causing effects. This means that when you’re looking to choose your protein supplement, make sure you pick one without soy lecithin.
Check the ingredients section on the label to learn whether your protein powder contains soy lecithin.
As well as containing soy lecithin, many protein shakes also contain nasty hormones and chemicals. These are introduced in the diet of the protein producer (the cow). Hormones and chemicals help to keep the cow producing milk and staying fit and healthy.
But, while they may be beneficial for the cow, growth hormones and other chemicals and antibiotics are not good for humans.
To make sure you minimise the potential for your protein to include hormones, chemicals, and antibiotics, look for grass-fed protein or organic protein. These typically have much lower levels of antibiotics, hormones, and chemicals.
A Complete Protein Profile
A protein profile is the term used to describe the combination of types of protein found in one source. In supplements, you can have complete proteins and incomplete proteins.
Complete proteins are where the source of protein contains all 9 of the essential amino acids that each of us needs to function.
An incomplete protein does not contain all of the essential amino acids you need to function. This means that taking an incomplete form of protein isn’t providing your body with everything it needs to work properly.
This matters a lot when it comes to picking the best protein powder for women.
Women typically have a lower recommended protein intake than men, but even though the number is lower, you need to make sure you are taking a complete protein. If you miss out on any of the essential amino acids your body needs, you may find you don’t feel as good as you could do.
Not taking a complete protein can also lead to you feeling fatigued, more lethargic, and less athletic than if you were taking a complete protein supplement.
Examples of complete proteins include:
- Whey protein
- Casein protein
- Egg protein
- Animal proteins (like meat and fish)
- Nut protein
- Soy protein
Examples of incomplete proteins include:
- Pea protein
- Rice protein
If you are vegan and having to take non-animal proteins, take a mixture of pea, rice, and hemp protein to make sure you get a complete protein profile.
The best protein powder for women is usually whey protein. This is a source of complete protein and is typically more affordable than plant-based protein supplements.
Are You Ready to Start Taking Protein Supplements?
Protein supplements are powerful things that can help you achieve your lifestyle goals. Whether you’re looking to gain muscle or lose weight, taking a protein shake regularly can help you on your way to success.
The most important part of taking a protein supplement for women is being aware of what to look for. Too often, information about what the best protein powder for women is changes depending on which site you read.
Knowing exactly what to look for means that you can properly judge every protein powder you consider. Knowledge is power, and that power can help transform your health.
Examples of Good Protein Supplements for Women
So, now you know you what you need to look for to find a good protein powder. It needs to have the right macronutrient profile for your goals, no additives, and offer a complete source of protein.
Now comes the tricky part… Which of the hundreds of protein powder supplements on the market should you buy? It can seem like an impossible question, right? To help you out, we’ve picked out a great protein powder for women that you could consider taking.
DYMATIZE ISO-100
DYMATIZE ISO-100 protein powder is enjoyed by gym-goers and weight loss gurus because of its low sugar and carb count. Each serving contains only 1g of carbohydrates and 25g of protein. This means that it’s great for someone looking for something to help keep them feeling full throughout the day.
While DYMATIZE ISO-100 may have low levels of carbs and sugar, it does contain soya lecithin, and it does not come from grass-fed cows.