The protein world is divided. On one side, we have animal based protein (whey, milk, steak, chicken). On the other side, we have plant based protein (pea, rice, soy, beans). What side are you on? What side should you be on?
In order to help you make a decision, let's understand what makes proteins so different from one another.
When it comes to protein powder specifically, the first thing to correctly differentiate are the words "isolate" or "concentrate" that describe protein on labels (e.g. whey isolate, soy isolate, whey concentrate, or soy concentrate). These words are important because it tells you what percentage of the powder is actually protein. An isolate means that the powder is at least 90% protein with less fat and carbs. Whereas concentrate means the powder is less than 90% protein, typically 70-80%, with a little bit more fat and carbs. This is important to know when choosing a protein powder if you are being mindful of your calories.
Now let's get into the many different types of protein. Proteins are different because they contain different amino acids, and different quantities of those amino acids. There are 9 amino acids that you need to get from your protein, and they are called the "essential amino acids". Animal based proteins (whey, casein, milk) have long been the king of protein powder because they contain all 9 essential amino acids in sufficient quantities. Which makes them complete proteins because they are able to provide you with your daily amino acid requirements. And the reason that plant based proteins have been seen as inferior is because they usually do not provide a sufficient amount of one or two essential amino acids. Meaning they are incomplete proteins because you need to get those one or two lacking amino acids from another source.
This may make animal based protein seem far superior, but there is actually some good news for plant based lovers. You can combine different sources of plants to make complete proteins! We can take pea and rice protein as an example. Pea protein does not provide a sufficient amount of the amino acids methionine and cysteine, but has a high amount of the amino acid lysine. Rice protein on the other hand does not provide a sufficient amount of lysine, but does have a high amount of methionine and cysteine. Which means when you put them together, they each make up for to the limiting amino acids the other one has!
Which is what we have done for The Pinnacle Protein Powder. We have a unique combination of plant based proteins that not only makes ours a complete protein, but also has an amino acid profile which is nearly exact to whole milk protein. Milk protein has consistently scored the best on the Digestible Indispensable Amino Acid Score (DIAAS), which is the most updated test to score protein quality. Milk protein scores the best because of its perfect amino acid profile. And with a lot of research and development, we were able to match this amino acid profile with the use of plant proteins and a few additional vegan amino acids.
This revolutionary formula has changed the protein industry. It's like you're drinking milk protein, but it's a 100% Vegan formula with zero lactose. A happy medium solution between animal and plant based protein one might say!