Welcome to this review of the Optimum Nutrition Platinum Hydrowhey protein supplement product. As you may know, Optimum Nutrition (ON) is one of the most esteemed supplement makers in the U.S.

Founded in 1986, the wholly owned subsidiary of Glanbia, a Kilkenny, Ireland-based company. Optimum Nutrition doesn’t just produce produces not just multiple protein powders but nutritional bars, ready-to-drink shakes and energy formulas, pre-, post- and inter-bodybuilding supplements as well as vitamin and mineral supplements.

Their ON Gold Standard Whey protein product is a constant winner in various supplement contests, but it’s not alone.

Just recently, Optimum Nutrition won the following awards:

• Best Overall Protein Powder
• Brand of The Year
• Supplement of The Year
• Multivitamin of The Year (a great honor, but some key competitors weren’t even evaluated)
• Women’s Product of The Year
• Weight Gainer of The Year
• Casein of The Year (Casein is a protein powder)

Their other muscle building supplements also rate and sell very well and for good reason. All of their products are made in what are called “cGMP-compliant” facilities. ON has NSF Certified for Sport registered GMP certification.

What this means is that Its in-house manufacturing operation has been registered under the NSF International, The Public Health and Safety Company, Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) Program.

Again, this is very desirable and an indicator of high product quality. These requirements are consistent with the published GMP regulation for dietary supplements as defined in 21 CFR § 111, which was published by the U.S. FDA in June 2007.

Let’s now get into this offering by Optimum Nutrition and their Platinum Hydrowhey whey protein supplement.

ON Platinum Hydrowhey Product Features

This product is positioned as its “pre-workout” or morning-taking protein while the Platinum HydroBuilder is designed to be a post-workout protein drink while the gold standard 100% casein protein is meant to be taken before bed.

Let’s talk now about the product’s nuances.

Taste is one of the distinguishing factors of the whole ON whey protein line. (I personally like their chocolate the best.) This is one of the most common compliments their line receives.

How about flavors? This particular line of ON whey protein powder comes in the following flavors:

• Chocolate Peanut Butter
• Turbo Chocolate
• Cookies & Cream Overdrive
• Supercharged Strawberry
• Velocity Vanilla

It comes in 3.5 pound and 1.75 pound options as well.

Let’s talk about the specific muscle building nutrition you can get from this product. Each serving gives 30 grams with 8.8 grams of BCAAs (branched chain amino acids) like  It also comes with 15.5 grams of EAAs (essential amino acids) like trytophan, valine, threonine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine and more. Each serving comes with 130 carbohydrates with only 10 of those coming from fat.

It also comes with a full complement of digestive enzymes, vitamins and minerals as well.

It also easily mixes with just plain water but can be mixed with milk or almond milk as well. (Almond milk with a scoop of the protein powder and a frozen banana produces a magnificent, chocolate-shake like taste.)

How does it compare with the other ON whey protein supplements? Check out this graphic here.

What’s Its Price?

The price varies both online and at offline, brick-and-mortar supplement stores. The 3.5 pound canister prices from $50 to $69.99, shipping included. You can see more info here.

The 1.75 pound option sells online from $40 to $46 depending on the outlet. On this page, you can see the pricing options yourself.

The best pricing I’ve been able to find online is at Amazon.com here, but you are free to choose.

Does ON Platinum Hydrowhey Include a Guarantee?

Yes. ON tend to defer their product guarantee to the outlet that sold it, although they do stand by their products with a good guarantee. I recommend buying from Amazon not only for its prices, which are the cheapest on the Internet, but also for their guarantee. Amazon is a huge company with over 30 billion in products sold yearly. They are also renowned by their customer service. You can read their guarantee here.

Consumer Reviews & Testimonials

No review would be complete without showing some testimonials from actual customers. Here are a few:

A Very Specialized Protein Powder
By J. Howell TOP 1000 REVIEWER on November 30, 2011
Flavor Name: Turbo Chocolate
Size Name: 3.5 Pound

To start off with, this is an excellent product, though most folks probably don’t need it. This whey protein is made up almost entirely of hydrolysated protein – which basically means it has been pre-digested into peptides and small chain proteins. A few years back, pure amino acid mixes were all the rage amongst strength training athletes. Then scientists figured out that single amino acids were not absorbed very efficiently by the body. Basically the receptors in the intestines can only accept one unit of protein at a time. This one “unit” can be a singular amino acid, or it can be a di or tri-peptide bonded amino acid. Effectively, by consuming these peptides you can absorb protein 2-3 times faster than you could by consuming straight amino acids. You also absorb this product much faster than a whole protein since the body has to break down whole protein with enzymes in the stomach. This process can take hours with whole food proteins (meat). Whole whey protein is broken down much quicker and whey hydrolysate (this product) is almost instantaneous.Platinum Hydro whey contains a very high percentage of these small, low molecular weight peptides which are absorbed with a very high degree of efficiency into the body. What sugar is to carbohydrates, this product is to protein. It basically gets protein into your blood stream as quickly and efficiently as possible.This effect is good for two types of people:
– Intensely training athletes (especially strength training athletes) immediately following a hard workout session.
– People who have trouble digesting protein for various reasons, which can include illness or old age.So yes, this is a highly purified, easily digested, extremely high quality protein.
I have used this product before myself. I went through a 2-lb jug of the strawberry late last year. The taste is just \”ok\” and the texture and consistency is very thin. Consider this a functional product, not a tasty treat. I found that this product cleared my system VERY quickly and left me hungry again very shortly after my workout – which is to be expected.

I did not notice any significant improvements in recovery or strength over regular whey protein. Because of this, I have moved to another, more cost effective product since then (Gaspari Myofusion), as I feel it’s slower digesting properties are a better fit for me.So overall this is an outstanding product, just understand its usage and benefits before you buy it.”

Best Protein Shake for People with Lactose Intolerance
By T. C. on August 30, 2011
Flavor Name: Turbo Chocolate
Size Name: 3.5 Pound Amazon Verified Purchase

I am extremely lactose intolerant and have been looking for a protein shake that does not make me sick for a long time. After purchasing this shake, I can gladly say I’ve found it!Being extremely lactose intolerant, I often tend to get sick from things that taste like milk, even though the lactose content is minimal. This shake has a strong milk taste, which is the only negative thing about it. But, I decided not to mark it down as all protein shakes have a strong milk taste, and because you can easily go around the milk taste by mixing it with Gatorade powder or crystal light on the go packs (sugar-free). Without mixing it with something else, however, I can’t drink it. If you do not like a milk taste, then I’d recommend you get the Strawberry flavor as you can easily mix it with out flavors… not so much with the Chocolate or Vanilla flavor.The best thing about this shake is that it really doesn’t contain any lactose (other’s say they contain zero grams, but still contain milligrams), and it does not upset my stomach. I sometimes feel a bit bloated, but it doesn’t last very long as the hydro whey is quickly digested.As far as the results go, I am already starting to see result after just a few days. As far as the preparing goes, you really don’t need to blend it, you can simply stir your shake and it’ll be fine as well.My ratings:Taste: 2/5 (This is obviously subjective, others who love milkshakes will love it)
Mixing: 5/5 (Stirring or blending works fine).
Digestion: 5/5 (Quickly digested, perfect for people with lactose intolerance).
Results: 5/5 (You’ll notice results after a few days).
Price: 4/5 (It’s a bit more expensive than other shakes, but it’s definitely worth the money).

You can read more reviews here.

Are there any customer complaints? No unbiased review of a product would blanch from mentioning product negatives. This product, while well made, can produce some flatulence until one’s digestive system becomes accustomed to it. That is common to muscle building supplements, but more particularly to whey protein powder.

Where Can I Buy ON Platinum Hydrowhey?

Is this the best whey protein powder on the market? For its category, pre-workout, it certainly is one of the best. You can buy the ON Platinum Hydrowhey product here on Amazon. But you are free to choose.

They are definitely the most competitively priced on the Web. I hope this review of ON Platinum Hydrowhey has been helpful to you.

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