The Best Protein Powders of 2022

Choosing the right protein powder can be tough. Whether you have specific dietary restrictions, prefer plant-based protein, or want something that packs in a ton of delicious flavor, you’ll find a protein powder to meet your needs. To help you make an informed decision, we’ve created this comprehensive, nutritionist-backed guide to the best protein powders on the market.

What is Protein?
Protein, alongside carbohydrates and fats, is one of the three macronutrients. It is of particular importance because it plays a role in almost all biological processes of the body. Protein itself is composed of chains of amino acids which function in the body to build human tissues, produce hormones and enzymes, maintain fluid balance, and much more. For athletes, consuming an adequate amount of protein helps build muscle, which both increases strength and aids post training recovery.

The dietary benefits of protein are:
Increased Satiety. This means that you’ll feel full for a longer period of time.
Greater Lean Body Mass. Increased protein ingestion preserves muscle mass.
Increased Metabolic Rate. Protein takes the most energy to digest, so you’ll be upping your metabolic rate post protein consumption.
Decreased Body Fat Conversion. While in a caloric surplus (i.e., eating more calories than your body needs in a day), protein is stored as body fat at approximately 65 percent efficiency; compared to carbohydrates and fat, which are stored at approximately 80 percent efficiency and 95 percent efficiency, respectively. This is because protein requires a percentage of the energy it provides the body for digestion and absorption into the muscles.
The World Health Organization advises a protein intake of 0.8 grams per kilogram of body weight or 0.36 grams per pound of body weight. This means that a 150-pound person would aim to consume only 54 grams of protein per day to meet their dietary needs. The vast majority of people eating a conventional Western diet easily achieve this in a day. However, this recommendation does not consider weight training and/or athletic performance goals. This protein intake is enough to maintain the muscle mass of a relatively sedentary person but it is most definitely not enough to support or maximize muscle growth. This is where taking a protein supplement, such as protein powder, can have a tremendous benefit in your daily regimen.

Should I Use Protein Powder?
Consider your health and fitness goals. For instance, a long distance runner needs a different amount of protein than an Olympic weightlifter. Here are some recommendations:

Athletes Who Aren’t Aiming to Change Their Weight
Athletic performance-oriented individuals who aren’t concerned with gaining or losing weight should aim for the following daily protein intakes, expressed in grams of protein per pound (g/lb.) of body weight.

Sedentary or low-intensity activity = 0.4 g/lb.
Endurance Training (moderate/heavy training) = 0.5 - 0.7 g/lb.
Strength & Power Training = 0.6 - 0.8 g/lb.
Muscle Building/Weight Gain Program
During a “bulking” phase, where you are aiming to gain weight and build muscle, you are consuming excess calories and therefore have carbohydrates and fats to burn as fuel. This type of plan has a protein sparing effect; because your body won’t need to use protein as energy, you will not need to consume excess protein. The protein recommendations for a bulking program are 0.7-1 g/lb. of body weight.

Fat Loss Program
During a “cutting” phase you are taking in less food (energy) than your body is burning, which places you in a caloric deficit to lose weight. While you are in a caloric deficit, you have less overall body fat and glycogen stores, which are the energy reserves for the body. In this scenario, your body is much more likely to break down muscle tissue as a source of energy since you no longer are getting energy from excess carbohydrates and fats. For this reason, it is advised to increase protein consumption. The protein recommendations are 0.8-1.2 g/lb. of body weight.

Body Recomposition Program
During this program you are looking to build muscle and lose fat at the same time. Although you might not see your overall weight change during this process, you should be able to see progress over time in the mirror. On this program you will be using a maintenance level of calories (i.e., the number of calories your body needs in one day to stay at the same weight you are now) with the same protein requirement as a cutting phase.

If you’re already consuming enough protein to support your activity level and goals, you do not need a protein powder. However, if you find yourself falling short of that mark, let’s find a supplement that works for your goals.

What to Consider When Choosing a Protein Powder
When looking for a protein supplement, you want to think about more than just the amount of protein per serving. Take into account a number of different factors such as the ingredient quality, macronutrient numbers, amino acid profile, taste and cost. It’s also good to look at manufacturing and third party testing—in most cases, supplements are not regulated by the FDA, so NSF Certified for Sport is the gold standard to look for.

Muscle protein synthesis, or muscle growth, is stimulated by resistance training along with the intake of amino acids from protein; in particular the branched chain amino acids (BCAAs) leucine, isoleucine, and valine. These three amino acids make up about one-third of the body's muscle protein, and have been shown to help build muscle by increasing the rate of protein synthesis and decreasing the rate of protein degradation in resting human muscle tissue.

The amino acid leucine is particularly important because it stimulates an enzyme called mTOR (mammalian target of rapamycin) which triggers new muscle growth. Three grams per meal, for a total of 15-20 grams per day, has been shown to be the amount necessary to stimulate mTOR and muscle protein synthesis. Leucine is most commonly found in animal sources, including eggs, milk, fish, and meats.

When to Eat Protein
For optimal protein intake, it’s best to focus on overall protein consumption throughout the day rather than being incredibly preoccupied by the amount of protein consumed per meal. This is important for people who follow different dietary protocols such as time restricted eating, one meal a day (OMAD), or intermittent fasting. However, based on the research, if we want to be as optimal as possible, then 3-5 meals containing protein spread evenly throughout the day is likely best for maximizing muscle protein synthesis and better for digestion as a whole. This is where having a protein supplement like protein powder can be an important asset to anyone’s health and fitness program.

Ahead is our in-depth list of 13 protein powder supplements we’ve tested and reviewed ourselves. All protein powders listed below were produced in a cGMP (current good manufacturing processes) facility and are tested by third party labs. The supplement industry is not currently regulated by the FDA, and so these processes ensure that the supplement is sourced, formulated, labeled, and packaged according to the leading safety standards.

For comparison purposes, all proteins shown below were compared by price per 20 grams of protein. Animal-Based Whey Protein Powder Supplements
Transparent Labs - 100% Grass Fed Whey Protein Isolate

Transparent Labs offers a grass-fed whey protein isolate that contains no artificial colors, sweeteners or flavors. Whey isolate is different from concentrate because it is processed to reduce the fat and lactose content, leaving mainly high quality protein. This offers consumers a low calorie, high protein shake option. In addition, whey protein isolate is often preferred by consumers who have difficulties digesting lactose since a majority of the lactose is removed during processing. This product is sweetened with stevia leaf extract and the chocolate peanut butter flavor was one of the best tasting protein powders I have ever tried.

This product was a little clumpy in a classic shaker bottle so using a blender is advised for mixing this powder. The brand’s eight flavors include Cinnamon French Toast, Salted Caramel, and Mocha. I would have to agree with the 1685 reviews, and an average rating of 4.4 out of 5 stars on the company’s website, that this is one of the best protein powder supplements currently on the market; you can feel confident trusting that this protein powder checks all the boxes of a high quality protein supplement.