- Why I chose Orgain and California Gold Nutrition as the best protein powders for triathletes.
- What are the differences between Orgain protein powder and California Gold Plant Based protein powder.
- Why these two protein powders are beneficial for triathletes or any other endurance athlete.
Hi guys and gals! First, I want to thank you for taking the time to read this article.
Second, the goal of me writing this article is to help you to make a decision on what type of protein powder will be best for you.
And third, I am not being paid by either of these two companies to write this article. Everything I’m telling you is coming from personal experience with these products.
Why I Chose Orgain and California Gold Plant-Based Protein Powders.
Before I became a vegetarian, I used to love using protein powders. I would use them before workout and after workout. Protein protein protein was all people would talk about when it came to working out. I would say that people still push the benefits of getting a lot of protein in your diet when you exercise a lot. And I generally agree that protein is very important for all of us who are athletes and need our bodies to repair quickly.
But, every time I used a whey protein powder or an animal-based protein powder, I would have really strange side effects. I would feel a little nauseous sometimes or I would get headaches. Recently, when I didn’t have any other protein options that I was satisfied with I bought a medium sized bottle of a very highly-regarded protein powder and I had blurry vision in one eye.
I do realize that these symptoms are very extreme for the average person who uses protein powder. But, it didn’t matter if I’m the average person or not, I just wanted something that works and something that made me feel good while I was using it.
So, I found out about Orgain by doing a simple Google search. I searched for organic protein powders. I wasn’t looking for a plant-based protein powder in particular. I loved meat at the time and I had no problem eating milk products or anything like that.
I just wanted something that didn’t make me feel like crap. And I thought something that was organic or non hormone induced animal protein powder might do the trick. Orgain popped up and I read all I could read about it. It looked pretty good and it wasn’t nearly as expensive as most of the protein powders I’d tried before. So, I bought some.
I loved it!
My stomach felt better after using it. Sometimes, I would take it during a workout. I don’t recommend doing that. But, it still didn’t upset my stomach. I had no headaches or anything that felt out of the ordinary happen to me.
I used it every day for about 2 years.
Then, I move to the city that I live in now, Taipei Taiwan.
For some reason, I missed ordering it a couple times through IHerb and I just didn’t take it for about a month. I switched over to a protein powder that I could find in town. Which was very difficult by the way. Not many Taiwanese people use protein powder. That was a bad move on my part. I used a whey protein that had no sugar in it.
I experienced the same side effects as before. Headache, stomach issues, and just felt crappie while taking it.
Then, after a couple weeks, I started to have some blind spots in my right eye. After an hour or so it would go away. But, I knew it was from the whey protein powder.
California gold nutrition plant-based protein powder
I went back to IHerb’s app and looked for some other plant-based protein powders. I ordered a couple new ones. They were pretty good. But, then I tried California Gold Nutrition plant-based protein powder.
I loved it!
For one, the flavor I got was fantastic. The flavor is called cinnamon bun. It doesn’t taste exactly like a Cinnabon cinnamon bun, but it tastes about as close as you can get to it without being too sweet. I haven’t tried the vanilla or chocolate flavors, but I have to try those in the future.
I have seen the same results that I received from the Orgain protein powders. And I actually like the flavor and texture a little bit better.
Orgain Protein Powder – What is it? Who formulated it? What are its benefits?
Orgain protein powder is an organic protein powder that is sourced by organic foods. It is all plant-based and it is delicious.
It comes in a few different flavors, but my favorite flav is chocolate.
It has no soy in its powder formulation. It also is gluten free for those who have a gluten intolerance or celiac disease.
The Founder
Orgain was founded by Dr. Andrew Abraham from the USA. He co-founded it with Gary Hirshberg from Stoney Farms Yogurt. If you watch the youtube video attached to the above link on his name, you will have a better understanding of who he is and why he created Orgain.
Dr. Abraham is a physician who wanted to help more people than he could help in his medical practice. He came up with the original formulation of the protein powder.
The Benefits
You can read all of the ingredients on the back of an Orgain bottle. But, here is where I would like to tell you about my experience and the benefits I gained from using this product.
Better digestion – I experienced an increase in digesting protein powder more quickly when I switched to Orgain. Being a triathlete requires eating while you’re training, quickly thereafter or before a training session. So, having foods that are easily digestible makes life a lot easier. My stomach simply felt better after I started using this product.
Less Water Intake – This protein did not sit in my stomach like other protein powders did. But, I think one of the most important benefits is that I didn’t have to drink as much water with this protein shake as I often do with more animal-based protein powders. I didn’t have to pee as much during or after a workout.
Gained Lean Muscle Mass – I gained just as much lean muscle mass from a purely experiential standpoint as I did with animal-based protein powders. And when there were times that I wasn’t making muscle gains due to intensive endurance exercising, I was maintaining my body weight and my muscles still felt very strong.
No Weird Side Effects – I often get headaches when I use whey protein or casein protein. It doesn’t really matter which company it is, I will often have some adverse side effects when I use these animal-based protein powders.
Now, for most of my friends and lots of people that I talk to there is no issue with side effects when they use whey or casein proteins. So, maybe it’s just a personal problem. On the other hand, maybe those of you that are reading this have had similar experiences as mine.
California Gold Nutrition Plant-Based Protein Powder – What is it? Who formulated it? What are its benefits?
This is a non-organic plant-based protein powder. You won’t get the same guarantee of high-quality ingredients as you do with Orgain. But, the thing about protein powder is that the benefits of organic products that are used in the protein powder don’t necessarily transfer into the powder.
As I’m sure most of you already know, organic foods are highly beneficial for our health. The biggest reason is because there are no synthetic chemicals used to grow the foods. So, you can be sure that you’re going to get high quality food without all of the junk that your body wouldn’t naturally consume.
I cook organic vegetables every single day and I hope to continue doing that for the rest of my life.
But, not everything has to be organic. Non-GMO products are the things to look out for when it comes to protein powders. And the California Gold is non-GMO. Given the small portion of synthetic chemicals that are consumed in the protein powder, non-organic sources will have very little effect on your health.
If your doctor or healthcare provider advises you otherwise, listen to them, not me.
With that out of the way, the ingredients of this protein powder and Orgain protein powder are very similar.
Who formulated California Gold Plant-Based Protein
IHerb created this brand. It’s under their umbrella so to speak. There really isn’t much information about this company other than they produce good quality supplements.
I’ve been using their supplements for many years. I take a vitamin d supplement from this company. I also take an astaxanthin supplement from them. I really like the astaxanthin supplement and I use it everyday.
In summary, there is no face to put with this formulation. I feel like the trust factor is a little lacking when it comes to this brand. People like to know they’re buying something from people.
That’s why I’m putting my face on this protein powder. I’m not a representative for the brand, but I’m a representative for the experience that you get when you drink this protein.
What are the benefits?
You get the same benefits that you would get with Orgain minus the organic ingredients and less than half the sugar.
This is one of the biggest benefits of the California Gold product. It has way less sugar. One thing I noticed while I was using Orgain is that I really needed to exercise regularly. The sugar level would add a little bit more fat around my belly than I like.
With the California Gold, I feel like I maintain my waist size.
The other benefit is the price. California gold is much cheaper gram for gram of protein. And I feel like that’s one of the biggest benefits.
Why these two protein powders are good for triathletes and endurance athletes
As a triathlete, I am constantly repairing tissue throughout my body. And, as many of you who are triathletes and endurance athletes already know, the faster you can repair your body the better you are able to perform.
For me, becoming a vegetarian has helped me to recover from yesterday’s workout much faster. But, one thing that I was lacking when I switched to a vegetarian lifestyle was more protein.
I’m not sure whether my body was just getting used to readily absorbing amino acids through vegetables, or whether I just wasn’t eating enough protein, but I was having some issues with repairing tissue throughout my body.
My nails were slightly brittle. A lot of my tendons were quite strained. I developed tendonitis in my right achilles tendon. And I felt quite tired.
I was eating lots of protein through the vegetables I was eating. I calculated that I was eating more protein per day then I was when I ate meat.
Adding protein powder made all the difference. I only take one scoop in the morning. After 3 weeks, all of the symptoms I listed above have vanished.
I can’t make a generalized statement and say that taking protein powder guarantees better tissue repair. But, I can say that it helped me. And there is a lot of anecdotal evidence to show that greater sources of plant-based protein and your dad can help your body repair tissue more quickly.
Protein powder provides exactly what it’s meant to. It provides supplementation to your overall balanced diet. And endurance athletes consume a lot more fuel than most athletes.
That is why I believe that these plant-based protein powders are beneficial for all athletes. But, they are especially beneficial for triathletes and endurance athletes.
Thank you for reading this article all the way to the end. I really hope it benefits you. Please let me know your experience with plant-based protein powders in a comment below.
If you would like to learn about great gifts for triathletes please read this article.
I hope you have an awesome day!
