Review of ON Gold Standard Whey Protein Powder

Optimum Nutrition whey review. A non-biased review of the ON gold standard whey 100% protein powder product.

Rating: 5 (out of 5)

Welcome to this ON Gold Standard Whey review. This non-biased review on Optimum Nutrition (ON) gold standard whey by the well regarded Optimum Nutrition bodybuilding supplements company.

In fact, many researchers believe that this product is one of the very best, if not the best, when protein powder on the market today.

In various contests around fitness and bodybuilding sites, this product has won supplement awards. And unlike some whey protein powders, it actually tastes good. (I can personally vouch for this as I have some in my refrigerator right now.)

Without further adieu, let’s now get into this offering by Optimum Nutrition and their whey standard gold protein supplement product.

ON Gold Standard Whey Review — Company Info & Quality Control Measures

This product is literally the world’s best selling protein powder. A product doesn’t achieve that kind of support unless it’s a quality bodybuilding supplement.

Optimum Nutrition, or ON, has been in business since 1996. Since then, they’ve expanded to offer a full range of fitness and health supplements, including their world-class whey standard gold protein powder.

NSF GMP ComplianceQuality is something that seems to be important to them, too. Their products are produced in cGMP-compliant facilities, (cGMP means “current Good Manufacturing Practices) which manufacturing facility they actually own. They are GMP registered supplement company, this ensures rigid standards for quality control. As part of that control process, which includes raw material selection and certification, all GMP registered vendors must provide a Certificate of Analysis (COA) for each raw material supplied.

Moreover, these certified analyses are also verified through independent laboratory testing. This is a clear sign of quality. In addition to the basic COA certification, in order to further diminish any chance of physical, chemical, and microbiological contaminants, ON has also established and implemented a Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) program.

In practical terms, this means that quality-control professionals make routine checks on all storage, blending, and production areas and conduct daily inspections.

More Basic Info About The Protein Powder

You get 24 grams of pure, assimilable protein that actually mixes quite well with a spoon although a blender or hand shaker will do a better and quicker job.

The dimensions of the canister is 8 x 8 x 10.8 inches with the shipping weight being 5.5 pounds. Inside, you get 5 pounds of actual protein powder.

protein powderInside the five pound container you get five pounds of protein powder and a scoop. It’s weighed and exact. The smell of the chocolate is superb, and wonders of wonders, it actually tastes great.

Taking it with a banana and almond milk and a few ice cubes gives a rich, frothy treat. Even just mixed with water gives a sufficient taste.

That’s rare praise for a whey protein powder.

ON Gold Standard Whey Side Effects & Health Benefits

There are no side effects to this product, unless you are a person who is lactose intolerant. However, one user, Victor M. Passenheim, says he’s lactose intolerant and has never had a problem with it, according to the answered questions section of the page. You can see that comment here.

How Much Should You Expect to Pay?

Optimum Nutrition’s whey standard gold powder, five pound goes for $43.50 USD to $69.99 USD. Amazon’s price ranges $43.50 to $70. You can see that here. One vendor is selling it for $43.50 with Amazon and charging $7.50 for shipping. $51 is a good deal.

If you look around the Internet, you will see that price range is accurate.

Does It Include a Guarantee?

Yes, it does. Optimum Nutrition offers a guarantee as does Amazon. Amazon is very kProduct guaranteeeen on customer service. You can feel safe ordering from Amazon, the largest online retailer in the world.

Are There Any Customer Reviews of ON Gold Standard Whey That I Can Read?

Yes, there are. A lot, in fact. On Amazon, there are over 2,506 customer reviews on this product as of this writing. That is an astonishing figure to say the least. Currently, this product, the ON Gold Standard Whey, gets 4.5 out of 5 stars possible. You can see more reviews here, then scroll down near the end of the page. Here are just a few:

Why This is One of The Best Protein Supplement [Products] in The Market. A Critical Analysis From a Bio-Technologist

by Sumer on August 28, 2011
Flavor Name: Double Rich Chocolate
Size Name: 5 Pound

As a fitness enthusiast and a Science guy, I am always curious to find the real value of a supplement. What works and what does not work. More importantly, I believe the analysis of a product should be based on strong scientific knowledge base, combined with good old fashion practical use of the product, and only then one should come down to the final conclusion.This product review and analysis was conducted based on 3 parameters

A. Constituents: What comes in the box, the real value of the product
B. Assimilation: How does this product goes down in your system, how much of it will your body assimilate
C. Usability : Long term usability and and effects.

I believe this is one of the best supplements available in the market today. The Question is Why?

1. The Quality of Protein. Since its manufactured by Glanbia (who owns Optimum nutrition), this product is coming straight from the manufacturer. This is a BIG factor, 90% of the protein supplement companies source their raw materials from third parties, often importing them from third world countries.

100 grams of Whey protein isolate from one source is NOT equal to the 100 gram whey protein isolate from another. Inferior resources usually have high level of Heavy metals and cattle Hormones. This has been elucidated from recent tests and published widely in the consumer reports. ON aced this report with minimum levels of such harmful residues. Reason is simple, they make their own whey in a plant which has to abide all regulations under US law.

Just for the point of reference. I am from India, and therefore know first hand how many poorly regulated cheese plants export their whey to Europe and US. So make sure your Whey protein is coming from Whey extracted in the US!!

The Additives

2.  Ideally, I will prefer the protein powder with no artificial sweetener. But lets face it, such a product will be hard to sell. However, Golds whey keep artificial sweeter to minimum. If you check Bodybuilding.com forums, lots of consumer complain that its not sweet enough. I request all such folks to realize that is actually good for them, if you feel this product is not sufficiently sweet for you. Its better you use lesser amount of hydrant (Milk, water, juice etc), or add a tiny bit of Honey.

The Profile – The Myth about Isolate vs a Blend

3. This might be hard for some people to digest. However, the truth is 96% people who use Whey supplements, will have no additional benefits of taking an Isolate vs a Blend. Please note, when I use the word blend, I mean a product like Golds whey which is well balanced with whey isolate and whey Concentrate. (not any junk product form the market). If you take the blend, you might get 1 gram of extra fat or 2 grams of extra carbs which is absolutely nothing. You can burn this by adding 1.5 minute to your jog routine or walking for 2-3 minutes. You will get the same result and effect as the Isolate, so its not worth spending extra refined Isolate. The Isolate rumor is just a Hype created by the supplement industry. I will repeat this again, if your blend is as good as Golds whey i.e you are getting 24 grams per 30 gram scoop, you don’t need an Isolate.

Who all comprise the 4% population who can benefit from an Isolate. First people who are extremely lactose Intolerant. I have used the word extremely since all good products add enzymes to digest the little amount of lactose residue in the supplement. Lactose is not a a bad thing, its simply the milk sugar. So if you are highly allergic to Lactose, Isolate will help (they have negligible levels of lactose)

Second tier of people who can benefit from Isolates are professional athletes who are pepping up for an upcoming competition. This competitive set is consuming 5-8+ scoops of Whey protein daily and therefore will benefit from reduction in additional fat or carbs.

4. Why go for Whey protein blend when you have specialized protein powders with whey, egg and casein.

Its simple science, Whey is just better with the best Biological value*. This means that your body will better absorb and use the protein source from Whey more than any other source, therefore no wastage. Egg is also a great resource, which is just behind Whey. However in real world it lags behind Whey substantially, even the delayed absorption rate cannot compensate much. Scientifically it has been proven that whey is just better, since it doesn’t tax your digestive processes as much as an egg protein.

Question of Casein:

Its true that Casein has an edge when it comes to delayed absorption. Its anti-catabolic properties and slow absorption makes it an ideal night time protein. This said, its best when you take casein in concentrated from, i.e. if you need casein, take only caesin, do not mix it with Whey… Why do I say this, Its a big topic based on metabolism response(will add a different thread later). One last thing 24 grams of Whey protein is NOT equal to 24 grams of Casein as the Biological value of casein is lower than Whey. However, caesin does have its own benefit of delayed response, provided you actually need it.*Biological Value: Biological value (BV) is a measure of the proportion of absorbed protein from a food which becomes incorporated into the proteins of the organism’s body.

  • Whey protein concentrate: 104
  • Whole egg: 100
  • Cow milk: 91
  • Beef: 80
  • Casein: 77
  • Soy: 74

Last Thoughts:

Always keep a note of how much protein you are consuming from Supplements Vs straight from the food. Ideally one should keep protein sources from supplements under 25%, but if your life style ONis demanding and you are unable to get hold of good meals rich in protein, you should always keep your protein dependency under 50%. In layman terms, for most of us who are looking for fitness, keep it not more than 2 scoops/day. For those who really pump some heavy Iron keep it up to than 3 scoops/day.In the end, supplements are only supplements. The word supplement has a lot of drama attached to it, as if, if you don’t take a protein shake within 30 minutes of your work out.. you will never make good gain. Total Crap. This is not a make or break factor(its just beneficial). Baring few exceptions. Supplements adds up only 20 percent of your fitness equation.

In the real world, for over 90% of us. The fitness equation is something like this.

A) Intensity and Regularity of Workout: 30- 35%
B) Lifestyle and Nutritional Choices: 40- 50%
C) Supplements : 0 – 20%So the most important thing is to focus on A & B. Once you have maximized A and B, think about C.

What Flavor to Buy
by Carrie Carleton, May 13, 2013

Flavor Name:  Double Rich Chocolate
Size Name: 5 Pound Amazon Verified Purchase

First off, I’ve purchased a bunch of different flavors of ON Gold Standard Whey. All of them have close to the same nutritional value, but they vary greatly in taste. Both my wife and I drink these protein shakes as part of our daily diet, and as a product, Optimum Nutrition is great. I’ve mixed with both milk and water, and all of the shakes mix well and don’t seem to clump. I’ve tried other manufactures whey, and I keep finding myself going back to ON for the price, nutritional value, and above all the taste.

So the flavor question. As I mentioned, each flavor has a different characteristic from the others. Some are bland, some taste sweet, some taste overly fake. We loved some, and we hated some. Below is a list based on what we like so far and why. Bear in mind that I hate diet drinks for their bad aftertaste. The drinks don’t have to be sweet for me to like them, but I can’t stand the garbage aftertaste of fake sweeteners.

The best flavors:

Rocky Road – By far the single best tasting flavor. The downside is that it does taste a little sweet. The nutritional value is right on with the other flavors, but it is a bit sweet. I could drink this all day. If you only buy one flavor, this is it. There is no real aftertaste, and the flavor is great.

Extreme Milk Chocolate – Another good flavor with almost no aftertaste. This one tastes like chocolate, and doesn’t have a fake taste to it. If you are looking at the chocolate flavors, this one is perfect.

Natural Vanilla – This is a slightly different product, and it comes in a tub with yellow labeling instead of the red. It’s on Amazon for the same price, and it has the same nutritional values. They claim it has less artificial sweeteners in it, hence the natural label.

Any Customer Complaints?

As mentioned, there are over 2,506 reviews of this product on Amazon. A few disenchanted customers are inevitable. Overall, though, this product receives a 4.5 out of 5.0 customer satisfaction — that’s out of 2,506 reviews (as of this writing).

This product is very well received in the sports nutrition supplement community, regularly winning awards from many bodybuilding organizations online and offline.

Where Can I Read More?

You can learn more about ON Gold Standard Whey here at Amazon. There, you can read all about the product to your hearts content. There, you’ll see all 2,506 testimonials, detailed technical analyses regarding assimilation, different pricing and shipping options, etc.

Again a reminder, if you are allergic to soy or milk, you can not use this product as it contains biological elements of them. If you have no allergies to them, and if you are not lactose intolerant, you can use this protein powder.

ON Gold Standard WheyWhere Can I Buy ON Gold Standard Whey?

You can buy it here at Amazon.com. But you are free to choose. Amazon offers the best prices and include a bullet-proof product guarantee. If you aren’t happy with your product, you can get a full refund.

You can also buy it by clicking on the graphic to the left as well. I hope this ON Gold Standard Whey Review has been useful to you.

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