Episode 157: Understanding Vegan vs Whey Protein

Not all protein powders are the same. Here's what you need to know about vegan protein vs whey protein: the good, the bad, the potential bloat ;) 

Grab a copy of 8 Ways to Add Protein to Meals You're Already Eating right here: 8 Ways to Add Protein Guide

To schedule your free 1-1 Strategy Session visit:
www.MindStrongFitness.com

Transcript

Becoming MindStrong: 157: Vegan vs Whey Protein

0:00  
Welcome back to the becoming mind strong podcast. My name is Rachel, and I'm the founder and CEO of mind strong, where we have been helping Perry and postmenopausal women heal their metabolism, keep it healthy for life, and most importantly, to me as an educator, be in the driver's seat of their health because they understand the how and why this works for nearly a decade now, a decade that's bananas. Not too long ago, I did a podcast called are protein powders good for you? And in that episode, we talked about what a protein powder is or isn't. We talked about why you may or may not choose to use one. We talked about a big picture, zoomed out view of protein powder by popular demand. I got asked to go a little deeper into that topic, to talk specifically about the difference between whey protein powders and vegan protein powders. So that's we're going to do in today's episode. We're going to talk about the difference between whey and vegan protein powders and then dig deep into the logistics of each check it

1:02  
out. You welcome to the becoming mind strong podcast, the official podcast of mind strong fitness. My name is Rachel, and I'm the CEO of mind strong and we are here for two things. We're here for hope in a stage of life where it feels like we are doing everything right and nothing is working. I am here to tell you you are not broken. This is fixable, and I promise there is hope. And number two, we are here for truth in an industry that is designed to keep us confused with shake systems and point systems and frozen meals, I promise you it doesn't have to be that difficult. Someone can teach you the skill of riding a bike, someone can teach you the skill of knitting, and I can teach you to master the skill of nutrition. So are you ready? Let's rock and roll. You.

2:05  
As mentioned in the intro, not too long ago, I did a podcast episode called our protein powder is good for you. If you have not checked out that episode first, you don't need to to listen this one, and I would suggest it. What we're going to do today is take that topic of protein powder, and we're going to dig a little deeper. So for me, the way my brain works is I would want to understand big picture, when I would use a protein powder, when I wouldn't use a protein powder, how to know if I need a protein powder? I would want to understand that first, before I get my hands in the dirt and go a little bit deeper. Totally up to you. You'll still get value out of this podcast if you don't want to do that. In this episode, specifically, I was asked, as mentioned, to dig a little deeper into the difference between vegan protein powder and whey protein powder. So I'm going to lay it on you, lay the facts on you at the end of the day, this all comes down to personal preference, right? There's a lot of things I talk about in this podcast, inside ignite our 12 week program in everything that I do where I believe my job as an educator is to do just that, to educate you, right? One of the big conversations we have in our world is on HRT, hormone replacement therapy. And if you've ever attended one of my workshops, the thing I always say about HRT is I have zero skin in the game. If you go on HRT or not, we have hundreds, if not 1000s of members on HRT. We have hundreds, if not 1000s of members not on HRT. I believe my job as an educator is to educate you on what HRT may or may not do, because it doesn't work the same for every person. And then from there, you and maybe your doctor. If you have a doctor who understands menopause and you trust have that conversation and you decide what's good for you, that's a very different conversation. And there is a common thread here of personal preference. I'm using that analogy because this comes down to personal preference. When it comes to protein powders, what I would never do is tell you this is the best protein powder. This is you should do whey instead of vegan, or vegan instead of whey. I will never say that, because each one has pros and cons, and who am I to tell you which is best for you? My job is to educate you on those pros and cons. So let's start with whey protein powder. The pros of whey protein powder are that it tends to have more protein. Now that's not a blanket statement there. As the years go by, they're coming out with more and more vegan protein powders that are higher but the vast majority, if you were to side by side compare, most whey protein powders tend to be higher in protein. They also and this is why I harp so much on the personal preference. I'm going to dig deeper into this in a second. They also tend to come in more fun flavors. I I'm sure it's out there somewhere, but I have a harder time finding flavors I like in vegan protein powder, most of them, again, not all, because I know I'm going to get comments of like, well, I use this one, and they have this flavor. They're out there. They're just, you got to dig.

5:00  
Forum real quickly if you need some help with protein, one of my favorite guides that I have out there is called eight ways to add protein to meals you're already eating, and it even includes a whole bunch of vegan and vegetarian options. You can go to mind strong fitness.com/protein,

5:16  
guide, or just use the link in the comments below to grab your copy. Now let's get back to the episode. If you walk through any supermarket, you're going to see flavors like chocolate chip cookie dough and mint chocolate chip and Cinnabon swirl, whatever it is, 99% of those time, those times, especially in a supermarket, in a supplement store, they're going to be whey protein powder. You just find more nutrition, not nutritious. That is the wrong word. There. You find more delicious flavors of protein powder. They tend to be whey. Now, whey protein powder is, is whey? Right? It's dairy. So if you are someone who does not do dairy, don't use whey protein powder. That is one case where I will, I will give you a yes or no. If you have to avoid dairy, you're not going to want to use a whey protein powder because it's whey, it's dairy. The other con that comes with whey protein powder is that dairy tends to bloat people. So with whey protein powder, again, not a blanket statement, but this one is pretty common. A lot of people experience bloat if you're drinking it pretty consistently, because dairy tends to bloat. Okay, so pros of whey protein powder, pros of whey protein that that's getting messed up in my head. Number one tends to be higher in protein. Not a blanket statement, but typically true. Number Two tends to come in more fun, palatable, more palatable flavors,

6:43  
cons or cautionary tales. One, if you're someone who avoids whey, don't do it. That is a blanket. Don't do it because it is whey. And two, just know that with it comes some bloat, because dairy tends to bloat.

6:57  
Vegan Protein powders, on the other hand, you can kind of guess the pros and cons based off, based off what I just said about whey. So vegan protein powders, there's a variety. You can find pea protein. You can find the whole gamut of what makes it vegan. The theme of it is, it's not whey, it's not dairy. So if you're vegan, or if you're someone who just doesn't like dairy, or can't do a lot of dairy, you're going to want to go the vegan route. So the pros of it are less bloat, and they tend to be a little less processed. And I'll dig more into that in a few minutes here. Now vegan protein powders, you can probably guess the pros and cons based off of the pros and cons of the way. So vegan protein powders. And by the way, there are a variety of what kind of vegan protein powder, right? You'll find pea protein. There's a whole gamut of what makes them vegan. The common theme is that they're not made of whey. There's no dairy in them. So if you are a full fledged vegan, and you do not do dairy at all, then obviously you're going to want a vegan protein powder. If you're someone who just doesn't do a lot of dairy, or you don't want the bloat. That's one of the big pros of vegan protein powder is it tends to not bloat as much because it doesn't have that dairy element.

8:12  
The cons of vegan are number one, most of them, not all of them, but most of them tend to have a little bit less protein. So where a good whey protein powder might get you 30 grams of protein per serving? 2530 grams. A vegan protein might get you closer to like, 1520, grams. I try if I'm going to do a vegan protein powder, I'm looking for one that has at least 20 grams, and then non vegan. I'm looking for closer to 30, not the end of the world, because you can just increase your portion size, but gram for gram, vegan tends to be a little bit lower in protein. Again, as the years have gone on, that's changed, but kind of a blanket statement. There number two, and again, this is changing over the years, you tend to find less fun flavors. I personally have never had a vegan chocolate chip cookie dough protein shake that tasted anything like chocolate chip cookie dough, they tend to come in more of your chocolate vanilla. Now there's, like, salted caramel coming out for a lot of brands. Again, that's not to say that nobody has more fun flavors in vegan. They just those more fun flavors tend to be whey. So let me bullet point this, and I'm going to zoom out and have a bigger picture conversation. Whey protein tends to get more protein per serving, tends to come in more fun flavors, and tends to bloat you because it's dairy. Vegan tends to be more processed. Vegan Protein Powder, less bloat, less processing, sometimes less protein, usually less fun flavors. That's kind of the the in a nutshell, summary of the two.

9:43  
If you are not vegan and you don't care about a little bit of bloat that will go away, you that you like, you're fine with dairy. Essentially, there's no right, wrong, better, best here. And this is what we talk spoiler alert, this is what we talk a lot about in the is protein powder good for me. Conversation is a lot of this comes down to protein.

10:00  
Emotional preference, right? I know people who are like if I cannot read the ingredients on a label, it is not going in my body. Someone like that may either, number one, choose to not use a protein powder at all because it is processed, or number two, if they do use one, they're going to go the vegan route, and they're going to look for a really clean, third party tested vegan protein powder. Some people don't care as much, right? They're like, well, as long as it tastes good and gets me protein, I'm in someone like that is going to go for the more fun flavors of away protein. I personally kind of straddle in the middle there I am not someone where I'm like, I it does not go in my body if I can't read the ingredients. We all know I love Krispy Kreme donuts, right? I don't know what the heck is in them. I don't want to know. I don't eat them every day. They're not the most nutritious, and I still want them now in them. So with that, I do right now, literally right now, in my kitchen cabinet, I have a Chocolate Chips Ahoy, whey protein powder. It is super processed. I don't I feel a bit bloated after I drink it. And some days I want a little sweet treat and I need some protein, so I go for that. I'm not going to drink it every day. So I also have a super clean, third party tested vegan protein powder that on days where I need a little boost, I don't want to feel the bloat. I want to be more cautious of what's going into my body. I'm going to go that route, right? This is, and again, this is what I talk a lot about in that other podcast episode. This comes down to personal preference, and what you personally are comfortable with. That's true of the whole concept of using protein powders. Protein Powder is a supplement. It means to add to. So the goal is always to get as much protein as we can from the foods we're eating. And then, if we're a little short, we can supplement, or we can add to using protein powder. It is not a must. It is not a have to. It's a personal choice. Again, that's that's really the essence of what we talk about in that other episode. For the purposes of today, there's no right, wrong, better, best, have to, must, should anything like that. When it comes to vegan or whey, it's about understanding the pros and cons and choosing what works best for you and your body.

12:06  
For more information on mind strong fitness, or to apply for a free one to one strategy session with my incredible all female team, visit www dot mindstrong fitness.com, you

Transcribed by https://otter.ai