This is Alex Rogers from ProteinFactory.com and I’m going to give you my top 10 best non dairy protein powders for lean muscle gain and recovery. This list will only include protein powders, not food that you could buy in the grocery store but protein powders. And I’ll start with number 10 as being… I wouldn’t say the worst but 10 being in the top 10 and number one, of course, being the best.
And I define best as the following: The biological value, the amino acid profile, the ability to increase muscle protein synthesis, and taste, and quality.
In addition, I do not list BRANDS that are selling nondairy protein powders because that is not how you judge a quality protein. To judge a quality protein you need to figure out who is making the ingredients.
Finally I have been in the protein business for 20 years, so I know a thing or two about protein powders and quality.
The Top 10 Best Non Dairy Protein Powders
Number 10 –
Chicken protein isolate. Yes, this is a legitimate protein source. Fairly new to the market, it came around a few years ago. So essentially, they take chicken meat and convert it into a powder typically using filtration methods and spray drying. Chicken protein has a decent biological value of around 75. And it also has a complete amino acid profile.
Number 9 –
Beef protein isolate. I rank beef protein isolate number 9 because it has a good amino acid profile. All your branch chain amino acids and typically it is made in the United States. The only drawback is the taste. Beef protein isolate does not taste that good. Warning: Do not use beef protein powders that contain creatine. This is a protein spiking ingredient that throws off the protein powder content. Yes, creatine is a great supplement, but it should not be in your protein powder because supplement companies use it as a protein spiking ingredient.
Number 8 –
Quinoa protein. Quinoa protein is a vegan protein. It does not contain any dairy, of course. It has a complete amino acid profile, mixes very well, and has a good taste.
Number 7 –
Rice protein powder. Rice protein powder is a good choice if you are a vegan and it comes it at #7 on my top 10 list of the best non dairy protein powder. It has a complete amino acid profile and contains all your BCAA’s. You want to make sure that you buy a rice protein powder that is manufactured in the United States because China does produce rice protein powder. And I don’t think China has good quality control. Typically, rice protein powder will have a dusty grainy taste. But it is palatable. There is a company in California that manufactures a good powder called California Natural.
Number 6 –
Pea protein isolate (one of my favorite sources of vegan protein powders or non-dairy protein powders) contains a complete amino acid profile, has good research behind it showing that it does help increase muscle protein synthesis, and the taste is not too bad. A company called Norben makes that I feel is the best pea protein isolate. It comes from yellow peas and I believe is made in US and Canada.
Number 5 –
Duckweed protein powder or lentil protein powder. This is a good choice and I feel the new leader in vegan protein powders. It is better than pea and it is better than rice. It contains a complete amino acid profile and has a higher biological value than pea or rice protein. A great company down in Florida makes this product. Lentein is a brand name for lentil protein powder.
We now offer Lentil Protein powder. Click image below to purchase.
Number 4
Silk cocoon of protein powder. This is a Korean manufactured protein powder. It’s very expensive. It is derived from silk cocoons. It has a very low molecular weight, which means the digestive rate is very fast. And it could increase muscle protein synthesis dramatically. You use this product one teaspoon or two teaspoons at a time at a serving size of about 10 grams unlike your other protein sources where you’re consuming 20, 30, or 40 grams. Silk cocoon protein powder is a hardcore protein powder used only by the most serious athletes.
Number 3 –
Egg white protein powder. Egg white protein powder is a common sense non dairy protein powder. Everyone knows that egg whites are a great protein source, very high biological value. The body loves the protein that it can get from egg whites. It’s great for building muscle. You can get this in powdered form and liquid form. Either way, the choice is yours but egg white protein powder is one of the best non-dairy protein powders.
Number 2 –
Salmon protein powder. This is a new nondairy protein powder that was just invented a few years ago. I feel that it could be superior in some ways to whey protein powder and could easily rank number one on this list. However, I’m going to rank it number 2 at this time. Of course, it contains no lactose and no dairy and very high quality, comes from sustainable sources, and contains a complete amino acid profile. It’s hydrolyzed so it’s digested very quickly. So, I feel it will help increase muscle mass better than the aforementioned proteins.
Number 1 Best Non Dairy Protein Powder is…
Bovine plasma protein. This is a blood protein that is truly for the hard core muscle seekers only. Very high quality, very high in amino acids, contains no fat, has a very high protein percentage. It is derived from the blood of bovines. What they do is they spray dry the blood and filter out the non-protein particles. So, what you are left with is a very high-quality protein that contains an immense amount of protein sub-fractions, particularly IGF-1 and immunoglobulins. These two ingredients are great for your health and great for increasing muscle protein synthesis.
In conclusion, here you have the top 10 best Non-Dairy Protein powder sources. All these protein powders are very high quality and can easily be used in conjunction with whey protein powder. You could combine these protein sources to make an excellent protein powder. For example, you could do a tablespoon of duckweed protein powder, a tablespoon of salmon protein powder, and a tablespoon of bovine plasma protein otherwise known as Bio Serum 1. I always recommend combining your protein sources. This will give you the most complete protein possible and you’ll be able to maximize the nutrients naturally found in each one of these protein powders that aren’t found in the other ones.
I’d love to hear your comments below on what you think about my list and if you have any questions please comment below as well.