Gold Standard 100% Whey Protein Powder Review
Optimum Nutrition is an American company that produces a variety of sports nutrition and dietary supplement products. The company was founded in 1986 and is headquartered in Aurora, Illinois.
Optimum Nutrition’s product line includes protein powders, energy bars, vitamins, and other supplements designed to support fitness and wellness goals. Some of the company’s popular products include Gold Standard 100% Whey protein powder which is the subject of this product review, and Pro Pre protein powder.
Gold standard from Optimum Nutrition (ON) is the most popular whey protein powder in the world. Over its 30 years of history, ON has shaped the sports supplements industry and made Gold Standard 100% Whey an industry icon.
But, does it deserve the hype?
- Packaging May Vary - New look, with the same trusted quality
- GOLD STANDARD 100% WHEY BLEND – 24g blended protein consisting of whey protein isolate, whey protein concentrate, and whey peptides to support lean muscle mass – they don't call it the GOLD STANDARD of quality for nothing
- OVER 5G OF BCAAS – help build lean and strong muscles with naturally occurring BCAAs
- 3-4G CARBS, 1-3G SUGAR, AND 1-1.5G FAT, GLUTEN FREE, No Sucralose in Double Rich Chocolate Flavor
- INSTANTIZED – improves mixability to prevent lumps and clumps
- BANNED SUBSTANCE TESTED – highest quality control measures so you feel comfortable and safe consuming the product
- 8 SIZES TO CHOOSE FROM – 1, 2, 5, and 10-pound options available
- OVER 20 DECADENT FLAVORS TO CHOOSE FROM
What is in a Gold Standard Whey Protein Powder?
The Gold Standard 100% Whey Protein I tested is the Double Chocolate flavor with 24 grams of protein per serving. It contains the following ingredients:
- Whey Protein Isolate which has the highest percentage of protein. To build lean muscles.
- Whey Protein Concentrate which is the cheapest Whey Protein, but also contains fat and carbohydrates.
- 5,5 grams of BCAAs or Branched Chain Amino Acids.
- 4 grams of glutamine.
- Lecithin to improve mixability.
- Aminogen, an enzyme to reduce gas and improve digestion.
- A sweetener in the form of acesulfame.
As you can see from the above list, Gold Standard 100% Whey Protein has few ingredients which is a plus.
Is Optimum Nutrition’s Gold Standard Halal?
Readers regularly ask me whether the Gold Standard 100% Whey Protein is Halal or not. Unfortunately, I can’t answer this question by no or yes (I’m not a scholar after all). But you can read my post about whether Whey Protein is Halal or not to make your own view.
In fact, there’s a divergence among Muslim Scholars regarding the source of the rennet, the enzyme used to process the Whey.
However, I exchanged a bit with Optimum Nutrition about this matter and they explained to me that the rennet.
Gold Standard Tastiness, Mixability, and Price
Thanks to the presence of lecithin the Gold Standard 100% Whey protein mixes very well with no lumps. As for the tastiness, the double chocolate flavor I tested is just awesome. Just mix it with a small dose of water, otherwise it’ll be a little bland.
Regarding the price, you can either buy a 2 pounds (0.90 kg) container for $30 or a 5 pounds (2.27 kg) container for approximately $60. The former can get you up to 73 servings which bring the price per serving to 76 cents or 2.6 cents per gram of protein while the latter can get you up to 29 servings which bring the price per serving to $1.03 or 3.33 cents per gram of protein.
Either way, this isn’t the most expensive whey protein out there, so the price seems reasonable considering the quality of this whey and the reliability of the manufacturer.
Conclusion
To wrap it up, here are what we like and don’t like about Optimum Nutrition’s Gold Standard 100 % Whey Protein Powder:
What we like:
- The protein blend of Whey isolate and Whey concentrate
- 24 grams of protein
- 5,5 grams of BCAAs
- 4 grams of Glutamine
- Only 3 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of sugar, and 1 gram of fat
- Mixes very well and easily
- A good taste
- A reasonable price
What we don’t like:
- The presence of acesulfame potassium (sweetener)
- Not Halal-certified
All in all, you can’t go wrong with a Gold Standard Whey Protein Powder!
Related Posts
Recently I had a communication with ON and asked them to guide me towards their halal friendly product that has below criteria
1). Does not include Alcohol in the processing.
2). Does not includes animal byproducts in the processing.
The only whey product that does not include animal byproducts (except for milk) and alcohol in the processing of flavors is Double Rich Chocolate. Other flavors use Alcohol and chances of trace amounts are possible.
Few months ago I saw a YouTube video that says Double Rich Chocolate, Cake Batter, Coffee and Chocolate Mint from ON are halal friendly. I don’t mean to say that this is also Halal but ALLAH (SWT) knows best. I would rather prefer halal certified than halal friendly as these criterias will change with ON and maybe tomorrow Double Rich Chocolate might not as well be halal friendly anymore.
Regards.
I have recently read the Optimum Nutrition website and would urge everyone to consider this on their own research
“Are your products suitable for vegetarians?
In general our powders and bar products are not suitable for vegetarians as they are manufactured in a facility that also processes non-vegetarian animal ingredients so there may be trace amounts of animal products detected in the product”
https://service.optimumnutrition.com/en/support/solutions/articles/80000542997-is-optimum-nutrition-gold-standard-whey-halal-certified-