Yo,
Hope you’re having a good day and you did something productive. If you didn’t do something productive, no worries, because this post will hopefully enable you to learn something today (which is productive!)
It’s likely that you already know what a protein powder is if you’re reading this, however, you might not know what the different types are.
Think about the term “raw protein powder”. What do you think of? How could a protein powder be even raw?
To be frank, I recently discovered that raw protein powders even exist only recently, however, they are quite common on the market. Moreover, it is likely that you too will come across them in the market.
Like any other protein powder, they will be marketed to appear ‘superior’ and ‘complete’ compared to other protein powders (that’s just basic marketing though). Unfortunately, when I was researching them, I couldn’t find a straight answer about what the actual product is.
I saw some vegan options, some whey options, some processing options and then…
It clicked. The term “raw” is applicable to many different protein powders and holds more than one meaning.
All of the options I listed before can all be considered “raw”. However, it can be a hassle to go and search all of the different raw types, so I will explain each of them so it’s easier to absorb.
Vegan
“Raw vegan protein powder”. Before reading on, take a few moments to think about what this product actually is, and then come back to them after reading this segment. I wonder how different (or even similar) your initial answer is.
Despite not many people having an understanding of what “raw vegan protein powder” is, there are many options on the market. See for yourself and search “raw vegan protein powder” on a search engine.
A lot of options right?
So what exactly is raw vegan protein powder? Well, you have to pay close attention to the meaning of raw in this context.
You must direct your attention to the production process. If it is a raw vegan protein powder, this means that the ingredients have not been heated above a certain temperature. This is to maintain the natural enzymes within the ingredients.
So there we have it for “raw vegan protein powders”. The focus is not on the specific ingredients, but rather, on what happens to those ingredients when being processed.
So, were your initial thoughts close?
The whey route
“Raw whey protein”
With this, we focus on the ‘whey’ that is found in milk. To create whey protein powder, you must separate the liquid whey from the solids within milk. After this, it would undergo more processing to remove fats and lactose, and then eventually adding the artificial flavours.
Now we bring our focus to the term “raw”. With raw whey protein powder, instead of the fats and lactose being separated, they are instead kept. The product does not undergo more processing to separate the fats and lactose (and other nutrients). Moreover, no artificial flavours are added.
Again, the term raw is focused on the production process. The processing is essentially minimised.
In terms of flavour
This is where things can get slightly different.
The term “raw” can also be focused on flavour. Let’s use the protein powder that I use as an example.
I use a ‘raw whey protein isolate’. With this protein powder, it has experienced processing that has led to the fat and lactose being removed. This may seem strange, considering that we just explained that raw whey protein maintains these nutrients.
However, this is what I was explaining; ‘raw’ can refer to many different things.
With the ‘raw whey protein isolate’ I use, the term ‘raw’ stems from the fact there are no artificial sweeteners. Yes, it has undergone more processing than the standard “raw whey protein”, but in this context, raw focuses on something else (Which is the flavour additions)
Is it the best?
So are the “raw” options better? That depends on the person and what you deem as more important.
For myself, I believe that the “raw whey protein isolate” is better than the flavoured versions. Despite this option not being as flavourful as the other isolates, the lack of artificial flavours is always a positive from a health standpoint.
Truly it depends on you and you should always aim to buy the best quality protein powder on the market (if possible) to avoid health concerns.
To finish
‘Raw’ does not have one singular meaning when it comes to protein powders. It can mean different things in different contexts and it is important to remember this when purchasing.
I hope you were able to learn something today and thanks for reading!
I’ll see you next time.
(Remember to go to the gym and get your cardio in)
