Gold Standard Whey is one of the most popular supplements sold by Optimum Nutrition. This protein is available in nearly every major retailer in the US, and the brand claims it’s “The World’s Best-Selling Whey Protein Powder.”

But does Gold Standard Whey provide an effective protein dose? Does it have any unhealthy ingredients? What was our Product Tester's honest experience trying it for a month? And is Gold Standard Whey better or worse than popular protein brands like Ryse Protein?

In this article we’ll answer all of these questions and more, as we analyze the ingredients in Gold Standard Whey to give our take on whether or not it provides an effective protein dose, and whether or not it’s healthy.

We'll also feature our Product Tester's experience trying it for a month for fat loss and muscle maintenance, discuss the brand's third-party test results, and compare Gold Standard Whey to other popular brands in terms of formulation quality to pick our winners (and losers).

Key takeaways:

• Contains flavoring ingredients we consider to be unhealthy
• Effective protein dose for muscle-building
• We don't currently recommend Gold Standard Whey

Ingredient Analysis

The ingredients in the Banana Cream flavor of Gold Standard Whey are shown below:

image source: https://www.amazon.com/

Protein Blend is the most important ingredient, and Gold Standard Whey provides 24 (g) of protein per serving.

A medical review on protein supplementation for muscle growth concludes that:

“...20-25 g of a high-quality protein maximizes the response of [muscle protein synthesis] following resistance exercise,” so we consider Gold Standard to provide an effective protein dose.

Beyond the active ingredient (protein), this supplement contains a surprising number of additives that may be questionable from a health perspective.

Natural and artificial flavor is included, and artificial flavorings were shown to be toxic (at least to animals) in a clinical trial published in the Toxicology and Industrial Health journal.

Sucralose is an artificial sweetener that’s clinically shown to have negative effects on inulin function, as we documented in our Body Fortress Whey Protein reviews article.

Acesulfame potassium is another artificial sweetener that was shown in animal studies to disrupt gut function.

Yellow 5 is an artificial colorant, and a 2012 medical review found that some synthetic food dyes could cause cancer and could damage DNA.

Overall, we consider Gold Standard Whey Protein likely to support muscle growth due to its effective protein dose, but we do not currently recommend this brand due to the myriad questionable additives it contains.

We do not currently recommend Gold Standard Whey, and consider it to be one of the least healthy protein powders we’ve reviewed to date on Illuminate Health.

We Tested Gold Standard Whey

One of our Product Testers named Joshua Martinez tried Gold Standard Whey Protein for 30 days.

Here's his experience:

There was nothing exciting about this product, but it was reliable.

I think it’s safe to say Gold Standard Whey Protein is one of the most well-known protein powders, and the bottle itself is immediately recognizable.

There was not really a smell after dissolving the Chocolate Hazelnut powder.

I tried my protein drinks with both milk and water. The milk does give it a better, thicker consistency than the water. But with the aim of losing fat, I stuck with dissolving in water. Compared to the basic chocolate flavor, the hazelnut added a nice nuance to the drink.

I didn’t track my weight loss since I was not interested in losing total weight.

I tried this product for a month with the aim of losing weight and maintaining muscle growth. This did that perfectly. I noticed my waist getting slightly slimmer but my muscles maintaining their size.

I did notice some brain fog after drinking my protein shake without following up with a cup of water. This didn’t cause any pain or discomfort at all though.

Overall, I rate Gold Standard Whey Protein 8/10, and I would definitely purchase this product again.

Gold Standard Whey vs. Popular Protein Powders

Here's how Gold Standard Whey compares to other popular protein powder brands in terms of formulation quality, in our opinion:

Truvani

This vegan protein brand contains entirely organic ingredients including organic vanilla powder, which is clinically shown to have anti-inflammatory effects.

Truvani is significantly healthier than Gold Standard Whey Protein.

Winner: Truvani

Ryse Protein

Contains many inactive ingredients we consider unhealthy, as we documented in our Ryse Protein review article.

However, Ryse Protein is free of artificial dye, giving the brand the (slight) edge in terms of healthiness.

Winner: Ryse Protein

Six Star Whey Protein

Contains unhealthy inactive ingredients, but fewer than exist in Gold Standard Whey.

Winner: Six Star Whey Protein

Impressive Third-Party Test Results

One major plus of Gold Standard Whey is that this protein brand has passed independent tests for label accuracy and purity, which is uncommon in protein supplements.

This whey protein powder has been Informed Choice Certified for nearly 10 years, and this testing process ensures that the finished product contains no banned substances (like steroids).

As we documented in our 310 Nutrition reviews article, some popular protein supplements have been found to be high in lead, so all things being equal, a tested and certified product in this category is safer than an untested product.

While we don’t recommend Gold Standard for regular consumers, these test results may make the brand a good choice for elite athletes or any group that gets professionally drug-tested for steroids.

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 free of ingredients that we consider to be unhealthy.

Gold Standard Whey Pros and Cons

Pros:

• Effective protein dose
• Great price
• Third-party tested
• May be good choice for athletes who are steroid-tested
• Our Product Tester enjoyed taste
• Our Product Tester claimed subjective fat loss
• Our Product Tester claimed subjective muscle maintenance

Cons:

• Doesn't appear clinically tested
• Contains artificial sweeteners
• Some flavors contain artificial color
• Contains artificial flavor
• Less healthy than competitors

Conclusion

Gold Standard Whey is one of the leading protein powders on the market, but isn’t a brand we currently recommend.

While this product provides an effective dose of protein for building muscle, it contains a range of questionable additives including artificial flavors and artificial sweeteners.

Consuming protein powder that's free of these additives would be a healthier choice in our opinion.

Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard Whey is one of the most cost-effective protein powders on the market on a per-gram-of-protein basis.

Our Product Tester tried Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard Whey for a month and noted muscle mass maintenance along with fat loss.

He also liked the taste of the product.

Gold Standard Whey has passed Informed Choice third-party testing, which ensures this supplement has low or non-existent heavy metals levels, and that it’s free of steroids.

We consider Truvani, Ryse Protein and Six Star Whey Protein to be healthier options than Gold Standard Whey Protein.