ON 100% Whey Gold Standard Review

100% Whey Gold Standard is the top selling protein powder in North America. Optimum Nutrition (ON)is the largest sports nutrtition brand in North American and is owned by Glanbia an International Dairy Company based in Ireland, which also recently purchased BSN.

100% Whey falls in the category of a Whey Blend, it is made up of a combination of Whey Protein Isolate (WPI) and Whey Protein Concentrate. This allows for high protein levels and reduced carbs and fat, although not to the levels of a pure isolate. This also allows for a lower price point than a pure isolate. Many think the point of the blend category is to confuse consumers into thinking they are buying an isolate but I think the value of a blend actually is beneficial when you don't have endless supplies of money.

FRENCH VANILLA CREME

Since I review the Kaizen in a Vanilla flavor I though it best to stick with the theme so I can compare apples to apples as it were.

Ingredients

Protein Blend (Whey Protein Isolate, Whey Protein Concentrate, Whey Peptides)Natural and Arificial Flavors, Lecithin, Salt, Acesulfame Potassium, Aminogen, Sucralose, Lactase.

Nutritional Profile

Serving Size: 31 g
Calories: 120
Fat: 1 g
Carbs: 4 g
Protein: 24g

Protein by weight: 77%

Taste and Mixing

The French Vanilla flavor is more like an ice cream flavor as opposed to the true vanilla flavor of Kaizen. It is a good flavor with no discernible after taste, it mixed easily in a shaker cup. I've learned with shakers to do water first then powder, this avoids clumping at the bottom of the cup. It created a smooth drink, not too thick and not too watery when mixed in 250 ml water.

100% Whey contains digestive enzymes, I personally have no problem with Whey or milk products so I can't speak to if they provide any benefits, digestive enzymes seem to be more common in protein blends and concentrates.

Rating

100% Whey can be purchased at a very reasonable price, 2lb for $21.99 on bodybuilding.com it mixes easily with water, has a very good taste and decent nutritional value. Head to head with Kaizen they are pretty equal on all account though Kaizen achieves it's flavor with natural flavors so I give them a slight edge there. However Optimum has a broad range of flavor options to choose from so if you like variety in shake flavor there is pretty much something for you in the 100% Whey line up. Overall a good buy.

Score: 8/10 *

* The nutritional information varies between flavors, I would rate other some flavors higher than the French Vanilla Creme due to better profiles.

BUY IT AT BODYBUILDING.COM

Optimum Gold Standard 100% Whey - 5 Lbs. - French Vanilla Creme

Kaizen Natural Whey Vanilla Ice Cream Flavor

Protein is pretty much a staple for building muscle and there are a lot of new "natural" products appearing on the market. Typically this means they use natural instead of artificial sweeteners. Kaizen Naturals has added New Zealand Whey - touted as the cleanest and purest whey on the planet.

The Natural Whey line is a whey blend meaning it is a mixture of whey isolates and whey concentrates. I purchased a single serving pack since essentially a review is based on the nutritional profile and the flavor.

Ingredients

The ingredients are listed as: New Zealand Protein Blend (cross flow micro filtration whey protein isolate, ultrafiltered whey protein concentrate), natural flavours, enzyme blend, soy lecithin, stevia leaf. That's a pretty short list compared to most commercial powders.

Nutritional Profile

The nutritional profile is actually quite good. In a 29.4g pack it's broken down as.
Calories: 115
Fat: 1g
Carbs: 2g
Protein: 24g

Which calculates to 81.6% protein by weight, and 83.5% protein by calories.

Note that typically natural wheys require move flavoring than non-naturals so the percentages tend to be a little lower, but the numbers above are good numbers for any type of whey blend.

Taste and Mixing

I mixed the protein in cold water using a ball shaker cup. The powder dissolved easily but there were something that looked like fat globules floating around.&

The protein powder had a very pleasant vanilla flavor though not particularly strong when mixed with a full 8oz. I’d say a double concentration would be better, although the globules would be more prolific.

I'd say the flavor is a very accurate Vanilla taste without any excessive sweetness, probably the closest to true vanilla I've ever tasted.

Rating

Being a whey blend I think price is an important factor, since you give up some protein to achieve a better price. That being said I say this product on sale at the supermarket for $25.99. Being in Canada where protein costs more than in the USA this is a very good price. Typically a whey blend is around the $35 mark and naturals tend to have a small premium attached.

So based on price, taste, mixing and nutrition I give this product:

8.5/10

Decent amount of protein, tastes good, great price but has some mixing issues.

GENR8 Vitargo S2

What is Vitargo
Vitargo is a patented low osmolality, high molecular mass carbohydrate.

What does that mean?
Studies specific to Vitargo have shown that the combination of low osmolality and high molecular mass increases the speed of muscle glycogen replenishment after strenous workouts. This means improved recovery for doing more work.

Some of the Cited Benefits

Vitargo S2 is virtually bloat-proof, produces a 2x faster glycemic (blood sugar) rise, and promotes 1.7x faster muscle carbohydrate (glycogen) and performance recovery (no other starch product has this evidence, especially waxy maize or special "homopolysaccharides").

The Science.
I've read a number of the studies on Vitargo which do support the improved rate of muscle glycogen replenishment over standard carbs like maltodextrin. They also reported an improved work rate in a second workout (after 2 hours of rest) 20% more work performed then placebo, 10% more than regular post workout carb load.

Review
While testing the blood glucose responses to a variety of carb sources I tried GENR8 Vitargo S2 - tropical fruit flavor.

Vitargo has some specific mixing instructions to follow, if you don't you end up with this super sweet glue like substance, if done right you get something like Gatorade®.

That being said it tastes pretty good, like a sports drink. Taking it on an empty stomach did lead to a bit of light-headed feeling around the 1 1/2 hour mark, and others commented how spaced out they felt.


Insulin Spike
From our personal testing Vitargo does spike blood glucose more then malto dextrin, waxy maize. In many ways it is like malto on steroids with a rapid rise and fall in blood glucose and a similar deceleration rate. The benefit is it is perfect for post workout to help nutrient uptake including creatine, create an anablic state and replenish muscle glycogen.

People sensitive to blood sugar may want to avoid as we saw some extreme spiking and crashing during our tests. Even people who showed little change in blood glucose from maltodextrin and waxy maize still spiked with Vitargo.

Based on the results shown I believe Vitargo does what it claims, it is rapidly absorbed by the body creating a massive blood glucose spike. The uses for this could be refueling between workouts or helping to pull creatine into your muscles.

It does seem to be unique it how it works and if you are looking for a fast recovery product this may just be your best bet.

RATING 9.8/10

Note: I didn't give it a 10/10 since it may cause too much of a blood sugar spike for some users.

Get Vitargo at Bodybuilding.com

FREAK'N Shredded Review

I fondly look back on the days of the ECA (ephedrine, caffeine, asparin) stack, when it was a staple of my workout as an energy booster with the added benefit of burning fat. Since the ban in the USA of ephedrine (it's still available in Canada just not mixed into a fat burner) there has been the goal of finding alternative means to create the same sort of stack. You will still find caffeine, some sort of asparin like substance and ingredients with ephedrine like qualities.

FREAK'N Shredded™ follows this type of formula, it has quite a few ingredients so I've looked up the benefits of each ingredient and list them below.

INGREDIENTS

Caffeine is proven to be effective at mobilizing fat and providing energy, and very common in fat burning supplements.

1,3 Dimethylamyalmine DMAA is very similar to ephedrine, listed as a nasal decongestant DMAA is a stimulant though reportedly not as potent as Ephedrine. Note that DMAA is found in a couple of popular supplements namely JACK3D™ and YOK3D™ as is generally listed as a banned substance(performance enhancer)by athletic associations such as the IOC.

Synephrine (aka Bitter Orange)used as another alternative to ephedrine, claims to burn fat, increase metabolism, increase body heat. Note it has many of the reported side effects of ephedrine as well.

Octopamine has been studied a fair amount some of the properties reported are stimulate brown fat cells to become bigger thereby increasing the body's overall metabolic rate, shows an anti-catabolic(muscle sparing) effect, improves insulin sensitivity which can help improve fat loss.

L-Penylalanine is used for its painkiller effect.

L-Tyrosine for thyroid support and helps neurotransmitters

Acetylcysteine said to be an anti-oxidant.

Vanadyl Sulfate mimics insulin and is part of the insulin control strategy used by FREAK'N Muscle.

Vinpocetine has been identified as a potent anti-inflammatory agent, for vasodilation and as a nootropic for the improvement of memory.

REVIEW

I've been using Shredded for a just over a week now and found that it does give a nice energy boost that allows me to workout harder than without Shredded. I've managed to lose about 5 pounds in that time which could be from the fat burning effect or simply the greater intensity it creates in training.

I've taken FREAKN Shredded™ both prior to training and on non-training days and found no crash after it wears off which is a real plus. Ultimately FREAKN Shredded™ did exactly what it should, provides a kick of energy and helps lose some fat. If you get it on sale it's cost per serving is right in the middle of the pack and I would highly recommend this product in the fat burner category.

SCORE: 9.5/10

Learn more: FREAKN Muscle Hardcore Bodybuilding Supplements

4Ever Fit Fruit Blast the Isolate Review

FRUIT BLAST the ISOLATE TROPICAL MANGO

As the name says this protein powder is a whey isolate, and it is fruit flavored.
Currently there are 7 flavors available:

1. Strawberry Kiwi
2. Cran-Razz
3. Tropical Mango
4. Tangy Orange
5. Green Apple
6. Black Raspberry
7. Lemon Ice Tea

In addition to these there are natural versions of Tropical Mango, Strawberry Kiwi and Black Raspberry; which are sweetened with Stevia instead of Sucralose.

Tropical Mango Review
For this review I tested the Tropical Mango non-natural product.

TASTE

Admittedly by nature I prefer the chocolates, vanillas and the like over fruit flavors but this product does taste exceptionally good. I actually think it's something I would enjoy day in and day out. If you are looking for something different than a traditional shake or ice cream like flavors, Fruit Blast the Isolate is a great alternative.

Score: 10/10

MIXING AND TEXTURE

As an isolate vigorous shaking creates foaming, the powder mixes relatively well with cold water (note the colder water is the harder things are to mix into it -lower saturation point) and can be mixed with a spoon or in a shaker cup and not have too much residue. The drink itself is not thick like a shake but more towards a juice consistency - hence the refreshing tagline in the marketing. It also has a smooth consistency when mixed in water that was appealing.

Score: 9/10

NUTRITION PROFILE

The product is a high quality protein isolate with 24g of protein in a 28g serving. 96% of the 100 Calories are protein calories with 1g of carbs making up the other 4 Calories.


Check out this comparison to Optimums Platinum Hydrowhey with some math to show compensate for the serving size differences

	4Ever Fit Fruit Blast Isolate	ON Platinum Hydrowhey
Serving Size	28g	39g
Calories	100	140
Grams Protein	24g	30g
% Protein by Cal	96%	86%
% Protein by Weight	86%	77%
BCAA's per Serving
Leucine	2.66	3.25
Isoleucine	1.48	2.58
Valine	1.54	1.825
BCAA's per 10g
Leucine	0.950	0.833
Isoleucine	0.531	0.662
Valine	0.549	0.468

As you can see under equal amounts of protein powder the Fruit Blast has an excellent profile when compared to Platinum Hydrowhey.

Score: 10/10

TOTAL SCORE  9.67/10

ABOUT 4EVER FIT
4Ever Fit is a popular brand of quality sports nutrition products sold in Canada and the USA. 4Ever Fit offers  full lines of whey protein and sports supplements.

Sports Nutrition Supplements

FREAK'N Muscle Hardcore Bodybuilding Supplements

One of the latest supplement companies to hit the market is FREAK'N Muscle. FREAK'N currently offers 2 products a Thermogenic Fat Burner called FREAK'N Shredded and a Pre-Workout Formula called FREAK'N Pumped.


FREAK'N Shredded
FREAK'N Shredded claims to work on several fronts:

1. Insulin Propulsion - optimizing insulin efficiency to burn fat
2. Brown Fat Thermogenesis - using fat for energy
3. Stimulants for more intense training session

FREAK'N Pumped

FREAK'N Pumped is a Nitric Oxide pre-workout supplement, it's principles are listed as:

1. Insulin Propulsion - improves recovery
2. Anticatabolic System - spare muscle with BCAA's and AKG
3. Nitrovol System - multiple sources of nitric oxide to ensure it meets everyones needs
4. Voltage Complex - stimulants to help promote greater workout intensity.

Hardcore Body Building Supplements