Truvani is a supplement brand that sells a wide variety of products, but is best known for their protein products. The company describes their protein powder as "Gut Friendly Plant Based Protein."
But does Truvani contain a protein dose that's effective? Does the brand use any unhealthy ingredients? Are Truvani Bars healthy? And what was our honest experience trying Truvani for a month while exercising?
In this article we'll answer all of these questions and more, as we analyze the ingredients in Truvani's protein powders and protein bars to give our take on whether or not they're likely to support muscle building, and whether or not they're healthy.
We'll also share our experience purchasing and testing this product, and compare Truvani to other popular vegan protein brands, in terms of formulation quality, to pick our winners (and losers).
Key takeaways:
- Healthy formulation without any questionable additives
- Effective protein dose for muscle building
- We currently recommend Truvani
Truvani Protein Powder Review
The ingredients in Truvani Vanilla Protein Powder are shown below:
Organic pea protein is an excellent choice for a vegan protein, because it's a "complete" protein containing all essential amino acids.
Truvani's protein powder provides 20 grams (g) of protein per serving, which is within the optimal range for post-workout muscle building according to a 2018 medical review.
Organic vanilla powder contains a compound called vanillin that's clinically shown to have anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer effects.
What makes this protein powder a healthy option is that it's entirely free of additive ingredients like artificial sweeteners and artificial flavors that are commonly-used in protein powders and are unhealthy.
From a nutritional perspective, we consider Truvani to be an excellent option.
We typically only recommend the unflavored and unsweetened version of protein powders because of the unhealthy inactive ingredients in the flavored versions, as we documented in our review of Ascent Protein, but in the case of Truvani we consider every protein powder formulation to be equally healthy.
We Tested Truvani
As the author of this article, I wanted to try Truvani myself to share my thoughts on the taste and overall product experience:
I purchased the Vanilla flavor from my local Whole Foods for $50.
I'm not a big fan of plant protein powder, but this is the best-tasting plant protein powder I've tried. There's a hint of natural vanilla, and some sweetness from the monk fruit extract.
I didn't experience any side effects.
I found the performance benefits of this protein powder to be similar to whey protein. When I took it before working out, I noticed an improvement in strength and endurance.
Overall, I'd rate Truvani protein powder 9/10, and I would consider purchasing from the brand again.
Truvani Protein Bars Review
Truvani sells protein bars called The Only Bar that are high in protein.
The ingredients in the Peanut Butter flavor of The Only Bar are shown below:
Like the protein powder, this bar has entirely whole food ingredients and we recommend it from a nutritional perspective.
Organic dates are a whole food sweetener rich in antioxidants, according to a medical review published in the Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition journal.
Organic cacao nibs provide the chocolate flavor, and have both anti-diabetic and anti-inflammatory effects, as we documented in our article on what's the healthiest cereal.
We reviewed the ingredients in every flavor of The Only Bar, and we recommend all of them from a nutritional perspective except for Oatmeal Chocolate Chip.
Organic cane sugar is included in the Oatmeal Chocolate Chip flavor, and while this is a minor consideration, we believe that whole food sweeteners like maple syrup and dates are healthier than refined, "processed" sweeteners like cane sugar.
Truvani vs. Popular Vegan Protein Brands
Here's how Truvani compares to other popular vegan protein powder brands in terms of formulation quality, in our opinion:
OWYN
Contained added sugar, which is clinically shown to be associated with negative health outcomes when consumed in excess.
Since many Americans already consume too much added sugar from diet, we generally don't recommend supplements containing added, refined sugar.
Truvani is the healthier option.
Winner: Truvani
High Impact Protein
Power Life High Impact Protein is a vegan protein powder that contains both active and inactive ingredients we consider to be unhealthy.
Truvani wins from a health perspective.
Winner: Truvani
Orgain Protein Powder
This is one of the highest-quality vegan protein powder formulations on the market, but still contains a few (minimally) "processed" ingredients like rice dextrin and high-oleic sunflower oil.
We consider Truvani's formulations to be simpler and higher-quality.
Winner: Truvani
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.
Truvani Pros and Cons
Pros:
- Clean formulations
- One of the healthiest vegan protein brands we've reviewed
- Provides effective protein dose for muscle building
- We tested it and enjoyed the taste
- We tested it and experienced ergogenic effects
- We recommend Truvani Protein Powder
- We recommend Truvani The Only Bar
- Healthier than competitors
Cons:
- Expensive
- One Protein Bar flavor contains refined, added sugar
