About protein powders – what, when and why?

There are so many protein powders on the market these days, how do you know which is the best option for you? And do you even need a protein powder?

I think good quality protein powders can be beneficial for a lot of people’s diets, but it’s not a necessary supplement for everyone.

For example, a good quality protein powder can really help athletes or avid gym goers, vegetarians or vegans, busy people who struggle to get time for proper meals, and people who are immune compromised.

However the quality of protein powder is paramount! There are a ton of poor quality, highly processed, and artificially-sweetened powders out there that you want to be avoiding! If you’re adding a protein powder into your diet, you want to make sure that it is actually going to be beneficial – you want to ensure it is made up of real, nutritionally-dense ingredients, and is minimally processed.

I have had the pleasure of working with the owner of INCA Organics protein powders and I can hands-down say that INCA Organics is the purest protein powder I can find on the market. It is packed full of nutrients from real food, contains absolutely nothing artificial, and is very minimally processed.

My  favourite is the Organic Natural Whey protein powder – it is just 100% organic whey protein concentrate – absolutely nothing else. Plus it blends really well into my favourite post-run berry smoothie (see below).

The only thing to note is that if you are a drug tested athlete, INCA Organics protein powders are not yet ASADA approved. One of the best ASADA approved protein powders currently on the market is ISOWHEY Sports Refuel and Rebuild – best straight after training.

If you’d like to know more about why we need protein and when and why it could be appropriate to have a good quality protein powder in your diet, then check out my blog post on the INCA Organics website about protein and protein powders.

Post-run Berry Smoothie:

• 1 – 1.5 cups of Nutty Bruce un-sweetened almond milk
• 1 cup of frozen organic mixed berries
• 2-3 heaped tablespoons of traditional rolled oats
• 1 scoop (30g) of INCA Organics Natural Whey Protein Powder
• 3 heaped tablespoons or organic plain Greek yoghurt
• 1 tablespoon of prebiotic fibre (feeds your good gut bacteria)

Blend all the ingredients together, and enjoy cold! If you’re running longer than 10km, then I also add in a banana to this recipe too.

For prebiotic fibre, I recommend Natural Evolution – Green Banana Resistant Starch.