High Impact Plant Protein is a protein supplement from the Power Life brand, which is owned by celebrity trainer and founder of “P90X” Tony Horton. The brand claims that this supplement can “support your strength, and support the preservation of lean muscle.”
Does does High Impact Plant Protein contain an effective protein dose, or are these just marketing claims? What are the other ingredients in this supplement and are they healthy or unhealthy? How do real users rate and describe the effects of this protein powder? And which retailer sells it for the best price?
In this article we’ll answer all of these questions and more, as we analyze the ingredients in High Impact Protein based on medical studies to give our take on whether this supplement is likely to be effective for muscle growth, or if it’s a waste of money.
We’ll feature unsponsored customer reviews of the product, and provide a cost comparison that shows whether Power Life’s protein powder is more or less expensive than most other protein powders.
Key takeaways:
- Provides suboptimal protein dose for muscle building
- Contains two ingredients (one active and one inactive) we consider questionable
- We do not currently recommend High Impact Protein
Ingredient Analysis
High Impact Plant Protein contains a large number of ingredients, so we’ll break our ingredient analysis into sections. The ingredients in the Plant Protein Blend are shown below:
VegiZest is a trademarked protein blend that includes ingredients like fava bean protein and pea protein.
We have no issue with this ingredient, although the total protein dose per-serving is only 15 grams (g).
We typically recommend protein powders that provide at least 20 g of protein per serving, because a 2013 clinical trial suggests that this is the maximally-effective dose threshold for building muscle after exercise.
Protein dosage is less of an issue with single-ingredient products (where protein is the only active ingredient), because servings can easily be adjusted up. It’s more of an issue with products like High Impact Protein that contain many other active ingredients, because it’s unclear whether or not it’s safe to take more than one serving daily.
myHMB is a trademarked blend of calcium and beta-hydroxy-beta-methylbutyrate that was shown to improve strength in older adults in a 2020 clinical trial.
However, taking supplemental calcium may also increase health risks, and one serving of High Impact Plant Protein provides 41% of the Daily Value (DV) which is not an insignificant amount.
A medical review published in the Journal of Internal Medicine reported that calcium supplementation can increase heart attack risk by 20-40%.
DigeZyme is a trademarked digestive enzyme mix, and we don’t understand why so many protein supplements contain supplemental enzymes. We haven’t seen any clinical evidence that enzyme supplementation improves physical performance or enhances protein uptake, nor does Power Life cite any on their product page.
The vitamin and mineral blend in this protein powder is shown below:
Chromium is included at a dose of 571% of the DV.
The brand fails to cite any clinical evidence suggesting that taking such a high dose of chromium on a regular basis is safe.
A clinical trial on chromium and muscle gain concluded that “routine chromium supplementation has no beneficial effects on body- composition change or strength gain in men.”
Vitamin D3 is also included at a high dose of 100% DV, and many consumers obtain vitamin D from other sources as well including sun exposure, food and other supplements and multivitamins.
The inactive ingredients in this protein powder are shown below:
Natural flavor is the only questionable ingredient in our opinion. As we documented in our Orgain protein powder reviews article, at least one medical review suggests that flavoring additives and their metabolites may be toxic.
Overall, we consider High Impact Plant Protein potentially effective for muscle growth, but we do not recommend this supplement overall due to the inclusion of natural flavor, the high chromium and vitamin D3 doses and the inclusion of added calcium.
This is a below-average protein powder formulation in our opinion, and when compared with the average brand reviewed to date on Illuminate Health.
We Tried High Impact Protein Ourselves
One of our product testers named Matt Donnelly tried High Impact Protein Powder. Here's his experience:
The canister was a little tough to open, which is common for these products. I used a sharp knife to puncture the seal and was able to remove it.
The vanilla flavor was not too sweet, which I enjoyed. I tried it with cold water and in a breakfast shake. When mixed with water, it was not chalky at all. Mixed in a breakfast shake, it added a nice hint of vanilla flavor.
I would say High Impact Protein powder works as well as most protein powders in terms of feeling full and providing energy during workouts. However, I didn't notice any specific performance improvements.
I didn't experience any side effects, and this is a product I would consider purchasing again in the future.
Overall, I'd rate High Impact Protein Powder 8/10.
Influencers Try High Impact Protein
A YouTube creator named “David Jimenez DT” reviewed Power Life’s protein along with his girlfriend:
A TikTok creator named “kaykayjoa” shows how she makes a healthy protein smoothie using High Impact Plant Protein:
@kaykayjoa My after workout morning green smoothie! #powerlifeplantportein #timhorton #plantprotein #fitness #vegantiktokers #ugccontent #ugccontentcreator ♬ original sound - kaykayjoa
Our Clean Protein Picks
MBG Whey Protein Isolate+ is our top overall protein powder.
Whey protein is a "complete" protein, meaning it contains all nine essential amino acids.
Anthony's Organic Hemp Protein is our top vegan protein pick.
It's extremely nutrient-dense, providing 25% of the Daily Value (DV) of iron and 8% of the DV of potassium.
Both of the products recommended in this section are entirely free of additive ingredients that we consider to be unhealthy.
Where to Get the Best Price
High Impact Plant Protein only appears to be sold at on the brand’s website and on Amazon. Here’s a price breakdown at the time of publishing this article:
Brand website: $69.95 (free shipping, link)
Amazon: $49.95 (free shipping, link to official Amazon listing)
High Impact Plant Protein is 29% cheaper on Amazon than on the brand’s website.
Even at the Amazon price, the per-serving price of this protein powder is over $3, which is significantly higher than every single one of the brands we recommended in our best protein powder for men article.
Most of the protein powders we recommended were around $1.50 per serving.
Customers Rate High Impact Protein
Amazon is a better resource for honest customer reviews than a brand’s website in our opinion.
High Impact Plant Protein has been reviewed over 2,900 times on Amazon with an average review rating of 3.8 out of 5 stars.
The top positive review from a verified purchaser comes from a user named “Karen H.” who gives the product a 5/5 rating and claims that it’s well-formulated for vegans, taste good and even reduced appetite:
“Great product. I've noticed that I experienced no digestive problems while using it. It has a nice mild taste (at least to me). It also strangely cuts my appetite. It's the benefit of getting more protein while eating vegan/vegetarian and getting in badly needed Vitamin D3.”
The top negative review from a verified purchaser is written by a user named “sirmichael” who gives the product a 1/5 star rating and considers it too expensive:
“I’ve tried a lot of really good vegan protein powders. This is the most expensive per scoop I’ve ever purchased. I should have looked closer at the cost per serving. This one is extreme. 15oz is a small tub. For $60 it’s just too much. Do some research on HmB and you’ll find it’s pretty weak evidence of actual benefits.”
Power Life has an average review rating of 4.7 out of 5 stars on the Better Business Bureau (BBB) website.
High Impact Plant Protein has an average review rating of 4.1 out of 5 stars on Google.
High Impact Protein Pros and Cons
Here are the pros and cons of High Impact Plant Protein in our opinion:
Pros:
- Contains other active ingredients that may support muscle growth
- Brand has high reviews on BBB
Cons:
- Expensive
- Contains natural flavor
- Contains high chromium dose
- Contains added calcium
- Doesn’t appear clinically tested
- Mediocre Amazon reviews
