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 for muscle building? Does it contain any unhealthy ingredients? What was our Product Tester's experience purchasing and testing this protein powder? And does it cause side effects?
In this article we’ll answer all of these questions and more, as we analyze the ingredients in High Impact Protein to give our take on whether or not this supplement is likely to be effective for muscle growth, and whether or not it's healthy.
We’ll feature our Product Tester's honest experience trying the product for a month, and compare High Impact Protein to other popular vegan protein brands like Truvani.
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 Tested High Impact Protein
One of our product testers named Matt Donnelly tried High Impact Protein Powder for a month. 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.
High Impact Protein vs. Popular Protein Brands
Here's how High Impact Plant Protein stacks up to other popular protein brands in terms of potential effectiveness and healthiness in our opinion:
Gold Standard Whey
The flavored versions of this brand are some of the least healthy protein powders we've reviewed.
They contain ingredients like artificial food coloring and artificial flavoring (which is clinically shown to be toxic).
Winner: High Impact Protein
Truvani
One of the healthiest plant protein formulations we've reviewed to date on Illuminate Health.
Truvani protein powder is flavored, but includes exclusively organic ingredients like organic vanilla powder for flavoring, as we documented in our Truvani review.
Winner: Truvani
Orgain
One of the most popular vegetarian protein supplements, Orgain Protein Powder is flavored with organic ingredients, and provides an effective protein dose of 21 g.
Winner: Orgain
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.
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
