Whey protein concentrates are created by pushing the protein source (milk, whey, etc.) through a very small filter that allows water, minerals and other organic materials to pass though.
Meanwhile, the proteins, which are too big to pass through the filter, are collected, resulting in protein powder.
Pea Protein is a relatively new form of protein powder which is valued for its high digestibility (90-95%), low potential for allergic responses and ability to supress the appetite.
Pea protein has a light, flurry texture and slightly sweet taste which mixes well in solution.
We originally labeled this ingredient neutral but then got too many of you pointing us to article after article on some of the controversy surrounding brown rice or rice syrup. The health benefits of brown rice syrup were called into question when Consumer Reports released an analysis of arsenic levels in rice products like white rice, brown rice, and rice breakfast cereals. Brown rice syrup is the chosen sweetener in a host of foods considered healthy. Their analysis however found arsenic, a potent carcinogen that’s harmful to a child’s developing brain, was present in high levels in foods that were marketed to kids.
Flaxseed oil contains both omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, which are needed for health. Flaxseed oil contains the essential fatty acid alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), which the body converts into eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), the omega-3 fatty acids found in fish oil.
we have no idea what this is but we’re guessing it won’t harm you.
Maltodextrin is a white powder often used in processed foods as a thickener or filler since it’s fairly inexpensive, as well as in pharmaceuticals as a binding agent.
You’ll find it in canned fruits, snacks, cereal, desserts, instant pudding, sauces, and salad dressings.
Since it contains fewer calories than sugar, it’s also found in sugar substitutes, such as Splenda or Equal.
Calcium Caseinate is derived from fresh skim milk. It is comprised of 92% protein and is found in your common weight gainers for that thick taste. Casein is very very slow to digest, thus it leaves a constant flow of aminos through your blood stream long after you take it in.
Dipotassium phosphate is a salt that is often used as a food additive.
It works to preserve food and also acts as a protein coagulate, helping form semi-soft foods like protein shakes and helping compounds mix.
Luo Han Guo
Guar Gum a natural food thickener, similar to tapioca flour.
It has significantly more thickening ability than cornstarch, at a fraction of the cost.
The public apparently caught on that partially hydrogenated oils were unhealthy; so now the FDA requires labeling for trans fat content, BUT only if it contains more than .49 g per serving, AND only if it comes from triglycerides! Not too difficult to get around that rule…simply decrease the serving size, or disguise the trans fats somehow…
Of course, big industry doesn’t want us to know that they’re poisoning us…so, they exploited the loophole. They started using monoglycerides and diglycerides so they aren’t required to label the food as containing trans fats.
Monoglycerides and Diglycerides are still manufactured, just like partially hydrogenated oils, and they still contain dangerous trans fats. Trans fats that aren’t required to be reported on the labels. Trans fats that are still dangerous to your health. Trans fats that are causing our children to develop diabetes and heart attacks.
Potassium citrate is a potassium salt of citric acid with the molecular formula C6H5K3O7. It is a white, slightly hygroscopic crystalline powder. It is odorless with a saline taste. It contains 38.3% potassium by mass.
As a food additive, potassium citrate is used to regulate acidity. Medicinally, it may be used to control kidney stones derived from either uric acid or cystine.
Silicon dioxide is found in many multivitamin and mineral supplements because silicon is necessary for good health.
As a necessary nutrient for the health of your skin, hair, nails and bones, dietary silicon may also help to prevent arthritis and osteoporosis.
It also works as an anti-caking agent, and is added as an ingredient in foods to help keep your processed foods appetizing.
The definition of natural flavor under the Code of Federal Regulations is: “the essential oil, oleoresin, essence or extractive, protein hydrolysate, distillate, or any product of roasting, heating or enzymolysis, which contains the flavoring constituents derived from a spice, fruit or fruit juice, vegetable or vegetable juice, edible yeast, herb, bark, bud, root, leaf or similar plant material, meat, seafood, poultry, eggs, dairy products, or fermentation products thereof, whose significant function in food is flavoring rather than nutritional.”
Evaporated cane juice is another word for “sugar” in disguise, more so alternative to refined sugar.
While both sweeteners are made from sugar cane, evaporated cane juice does not undergo the same degree of processing that refined sugar does. Regardless it’s a form of sugar and sugar is the leading form of obesity in America.
Inulin is a carbohydrate belonging to a class of compounds known as fructans and is closely related to fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS).
Although they aren’t the same, you will often find them used interchangeably.
These are all starches (carbohydrates), just varying in structure.
Since inulin is not absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract, it is considered to be a fiber.
It is a soluble fiber as opposed to cellulose, which is insoluble.
Ascorbic acid is another word for Vitamin C. Ascorbic acid is a naturally occurring organic compound with antioxidant properties. Ascorbic acid works to preserve food.
Amino acid chelated minerals may help make vitamins more effective. Helps enhance the immune system and acts as a powerful antioxidant.
Dl-alpha tocophyl acetate is a form of vitamin E.
Niacinamide and niacin are slightly varying forms of vitamin B3.
Vitamin B3 is naturally in many foods like fish and green vegetables and is also found in many vitamin B complex supplements.
Another name for vitamin B5, calcium pantothenate or pantothenic acid is a water soluble found in most food.
Pyridoxine is one of the compounds that can be called vitamin B6, along with pyridoxal and pyridoxamine.
Riboflavin also known as vitamin B12. This is naturally found in many foods and it is added to many protein shakes.
Beta carotene- s is a strongly-colored red-orange pigment abundant in plants and fruits. Plant carotenoids are the primary dietary source of provitamin.
Thiamine hydrochloride is a white, crystalline hygroscopic food-additive used to add a brothy/meaty flavor to gravies or soups.
It is a natural intermediary resulting from a thiamine-HCl reaction, which precedes hydrolysis and phosphorylation, before it is finally employed (in the form of TPP) in a number of enzymatic amino, fatty acid, and carbohydrate reactions.
Folic acid is a B vitamin. It helps the body make healthy new cells.
“Folic acid” and “folate” mean the same thing.
Folate is found naturally in some foods and folic acid is a manmade form of folate.
Since 1998, folic acid has been added to most enriched bread flours, cornmeal, pasta, rice, and other grain products in the U.S. and Canada.
This was done to help prevent spina bifida and anencephaly, two birth defects that are caused in part by too little folate in a mother’s body around the time her baby is conceived.
Biotin is a water soluble vitamin and another name for vitamin H.
Biotin is associated with many health benefits including the metabolism of fats and amino acids, as well as the production of new cells.
Cholecalciferol is a form of vitamin D, also called vitamin D3.
Cyanocobalamin is a man-made form of vitamin B12 used to prevent and treat low blood levels of this vitamin. Most people get enough vitamin B12 from their diet. Vitamin B12 is important to maintain the health of your metabolism, blood cells, and nerves. Serious vitamin B12 deficiency may result in a low number of red blood cells (anemia, stomach problems, and permanent nerve damage.
Numerous scientific studies have already proven that mangosteen contains compounds that are considered as powerful antioxidants because they are anti-inflammatory, antibacterial and anti-fungal in nature.
Known simply as mangosteen, is a tropical evergreen tree believed to have originated in the Sunda Islands and the Moluccas of Indonesia.
Mangosteen peel contains xanthonoids, such as mangostin, and other phytochemicals having antioxidant properties in vitro.
Some studies demonstrated that juice containing mangosteen peel extracts may reduce blood levels of C-reactive protein, a biomarker of inflammation.
Aloe Vera is a plant that originated in Africa and has been used for centuries because of its versatility and life supporting properties. It is comprised of several important constituents including beneficial minerals, vitamins and polysaccharides.
One of an array of factory-made additives, cellulose is increasingly used by the processed-food industry to thicken or stabilize foods, replace fat and boost fiber content, and cut the need for ingredients like oil or flour, which are getting more expensive.
Cellulose is especially popular because it can be used in many ways in food and is relatively inexpensive.
Xanthan gum is a sugar-like compound made by mixing aged, or fermented, sugars with a certain kind of bacteria.
In manufacturing, xanthan gum is used as a thickening and stabilizing agent in foods.
Soy lecithin is not soy protein, but instead a component of the soybean plant that is used an emulsifier in a variety of foods.
The average person in the U.S. consumes 3,500 milligrams of sodium a day. That’s equivalent to almost 9 grams of salt, or nearly 2 teaspoonfuls—way more than the 2,300 milligrams per day suggested by the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Although salt in moderation has not proven harmful an increasing body of evidence indicates that we should reduce the amount of salt in our diet. The American Medical Association (AMA), the American Heart Association (AHA), the American Dietetic Association (ADA), and the National Institutes of Health have begun a campaign to cut the salt intake of Americans by one-half.
Stevia is a plant that is native to South America.
It is best known as a source of natural sweeteners.
In fact, native people in South America have used stevia as a sweetener for hundreds of years.
Stevia contains 0 grams of sugar and has no known side effects.
Is a protein enzyme EC 3.2.1.1 that hydrolyses alpha bonds of large, alpha-linked polysaccharides, such as starch and glycogen, yielding glucose and maltose. It is the major form of amylase found in humans and other mammals. The first step in the production of high fructose corn syrup is the treatment of cornstarch with α-amylase, producing shorter chains of sugars.
Neutral protease is a type of enzyme sometimes used in food processing.
Lactase is an enzyme produced in the digestive enzyme of infants and some, mostly European, adult humans. Lactase is essential to the complete digestion of whole milk. Lactase breaks down lactose, a simple sugar which gives milk its sweetness. Lacking lactase, a person consuming dairy products may experience the symptoms of lactose intolerance. Lactase can be purchased as a food supplement, and is added to milk to produce “lactose-free” milk products.
Lipase is an enzyme that hydrolyzes lipids, the ester bonds in triglycerides, to form fatty acids and glycerol.
an enzyme that converts cellulose into glucose or a disaccharide
Intro
Vemma Bode shake (pronounced “Body”), gets our 3rd ranked shake place due to its ingredient list, purity of ingredients, and overall fact that it’s a well-loved shake in the marketplace based on positive user reviews. But there are also some downsides. This company is an MLM (multi-level marketing) company, which leads us to question the quality of the product which may be lacking due to the business model (see below for more information on recent company problems with the FTC). This fact also makes us question the authenticity of reviews on this product.
One interesting fact, however, is that this product has been promoted by TV star and weight loss transformation specialist, Chris Powell, which is a notable recommendation. For this reason, we will explore why it has earned a place in our top 3 shakes.
About the Shake
Vemma, the company that makes Vemma Bode, produces a variety of products from energy to weight loss. Their main meal replacement shake, Vemma Bode, ranks high on our list because of its core proteins whey, pea, and rice. Additionally, the company does a great job of replacing all artificial ingredients with only natural ones.
The Vemma Bode shake blend is fortified with a nice amount of vitamins and minerals, is high in fiber, and contains what we consider to be safe ingredients for overall health. Let’s take a closer look at those ingredients…
What is interesting about the way this company lays out their shake servings is that you have an option. You can take 2 scoops of the shake mixture with water, or you can use 1 scoop of the shake mixture with skim milk. Each will give you a different amount of calories, fat, protein, fiber, sugars, etc.
For a Chocolate shake, looking at the label for both options, with or without the skim milk, it looks like a much better option to go without the milk, since the milk option will give you a whopping 16 grams of sugar per serving. Since this is a meal replacement shake that you will want to replace meals with, that is a lot.
Taking a look at the ingredients, the first one listed is a whey protein concentrate, the main source of protein for the shake. This means that this shake is not suitable for vegans, leaving a large majority of people out. Whey is a great source of protein, but some people may also have issues digesting it, and being that the company has no vegan shake options, we thinks that limits their potential customer scope.
The shakes contain a good amount of protein at 16 grams per serving and fiber at 7 grams for 2 scoops mixed with water and 4 grams when you mix with milk. However, even the option to take the shake with water still leaves you with 8 grams of sugar per serving, which is very high.
However, speaking to the quality of the ingredients, the company states that there are no artificial sweeteners, colors, or flavors, as well as no trans fats or high fructose corn syrup – so we commend this in terms of purity.
Taste
Although we’re rating the taste of this shake as “good” overall, there are definitely some concerns. Some user reviews say that the company changed the formula, and they preferred the taste of the old formula. Some users report liking the flavor and consistency, although they wish there were more flavor options, with chocolate literally being the only flavor currently available on their site. Some users have reported that the shake has a “fake” flavor, which may be due to the natural sweeteners used.
Company Information and Price
Although the price on this shake product has improved, the reason may be questionable. We could not give this popular shake one of the top 2 places due to the fact that it was just recently in trouble with the FTC for being “an illegal pyramid scheme”. The company, however, admitted no wrongdoing, although they were fined $238 million.
The FTC’s complaint, filed in August of 2015, claims that Vemma is structured as a pyramid scheme designed to enroll new affiliates rather than focusing on selling health drinks. This conflict of interest makes one question the amount of research, dedication, and science put into the creation of the shakes, and the money spent on creating a top notch product.
Whereas Vemma Bode shakes used to sell for around $100 a bag (16 servings or 32 depending on if you use water or milk), they now are being sold for $47.96 per bag.
Conclusion
Though you may receive a better price for this well-promoted shake than you would have recently, there are factors to be considered, most importantly, the fact that the company was recently in trouble, questioning their integrity. Though the shakes offer clean, well-balanced, efficient ingredients for weight loss, there is still a high amount of sugar, and currently only one shake flavor available, making your options extremely limited. This of course means that people take the risk of getting bored with this weight loss shake regimen and quit.
We ranked this shake 3rd due to its popular promotion, good reviews, and clean ingredients, but it couldn’t reach our number 1 or number 2 spot do to these flaws.
Chris Powell Is Awesome!
great product…been using it for about 6 months. I have it for breakfast…taste good and holds me over until lunch
As a office clerk that does not work out much I originally bought this for weight control. The shakes are great and online you can find a lot of wonderful shake recipes so its not always the same flavor over and over. But this product came to my rescue several times when I had to go on soft food diets because of issues with my digestion.
I have used many different types of protein shakes but this is the best. I use 2 scoops with unsweetened almond milk for breakfast. Keeps me full until lunch.
My fiance was very excited for this. But she ended up being allergic to it. Her face broke out in hive like bumps. She discontinued drinking it. We must now find an alternative.
Great shake… taste good as well. Like both the vanilla and chocolate. Love how it has everything we need in a breakfast considering were not breakfast people Just wish for the price that they offered a little more. Feels like we are going through the product so quickly.
Amazing product my brother has lost 15 pounds in two months without changing his diet or exercising. All he did was take this shake once or twice a day and the results have been amazing. This product also has the vemma formula in it, which is clinically studied and proven to reduce inflammation in your body and boost your immune system.
Tastes yummy and is a good meal replacement product. I add water instead of milk which makes it less heavy and calorie dense.
I started taking this shake as a meal replacement two days ago. Two scoops with water seems to keep me from hunger pains for about 3-4 hours, depending on how hungry I was to start with. The flavor is seriously amazing…..way better than any other popular meal replacement shake I’ve ever taken. The chocolate shake tastes like a dark chocolate milk shake. I gave it 4 starts because this shake doesn’t seem to provide near the same nutrition as other popular meal replacement shakes.