The famous Whey Gold Standard from Optimum Nutrition in review
After analyzing the Impact Whey and the 100% Whey Prime, we decided this time to analyze what is the best-known whey protein in the world: 100% Whey Gold Standard.
This supplement belongs to the Optimum Nutrition brand and you can easily find it in any supplement store, as it is one of the best-selling supplements.
It is available in several formats:
- 453 grams
- 907 grams
- 2.2kg
- 4.5kg
Starting with the smallest version (453g), the average value is around 16?, 30? for the next version (907g), 58? in the 2.2kg version and between 100? and 110? for the 4.5kg version.
Ingredients
The ingredients in this supplement vary according to the flavor chosen, however, the base ingredients (the same in all formulas) are:
Isolated whey protein (isolated whey), concentrated whey protein (concentrated whey), whey peptides and digestive enzymes.
As the name of this supplement indicates, 100% whey, we can confirm through the list of ingredients that the protein used is indeed 100% whey, great.
Furthermore, it uses not only concentrated whey but also isolated whey and whey peptides, both excellent sources of protein.
The addition of digestive enzymes is welcome to facilitate the digestion of this protein and avoid discomfort that may sometimes occur in people who are less tolerant of whey protein supplements.
To complete the list of ingredients we have flavorings and sweeteners that vary according to the chosen flavor.
The flavors available are immense and range from classic chocolate and strawberry to more exotic flavors such as banana or chocolate/mint.
A simple list of ingredients, which is ideal in a whey supplement.
Nutritional value
This protein varies slightly from flavor to flavor, its nutritional values and also the scoop used.
Here is the table for the strawberry version.
| 29.4g | 100g | |
| Protein | 24g | 81.6g |
| Carbohydrates | 2g | 6.8g |
| Fat | 1g | 3.4g |
We have 24g of protein per serving (1 scoop has 29.4g), which is a good value.
Analyzing the dose of protein per 100g, we see that this supplement is 81% of protein, a very good value considering that it is a mixture of concentrated/isolated protein with flavor.
As with all whey protein supplements, the carbohydrate and fat values are low and there is not much to comment, in this case we have 1g of fat and 2g of carbohydrates per dose, which totals just 17 calories.
Aminogram
As it is not enough to see the raw protein values to know the quality of a protein, we will also analyze the aminogram of the Whey Gold Standard from Optimum Nutrition.
Looking at the aminogram we see that this supplement provides around 18.7g of BCAA's for every 100g and 5.5g for each shake (1 scoop).
Furthermore, the rest of the values are normal for a good whey protein and there are no strange (and negative) values as in the case of 100% Whey Prime.
Comparative
To have a basis for comparison with other proteins on the market, we will place these values next to the other two proteins already analyzed, Impact Whey from Myprotein and the 100% Whey Prime by Prozis Sport.
| Whey Gold Standard | Impact Whey | 100% Prime Whey | |
| Total Protein/100g | 81g | 82g | 80g |
| BCAA's/dose | 5.5g/29.4g | 4.7g/25g | 3.975g/25g |
| BCAA's/100g | 18.7g | 18.7g | 12.7g |
Both the ON protein and the Impact Whey from Myprotein It has very good and practically identical values. In the case of Prime Whey, we see that it is far behind in relation to these two.
Here we can see the difference between what is a good whey supplement and a bad supplement.
Price
We can say that the big problem of Whey Gold Standard from Optimum Nutrition is the price.
| 453g | 907g | 2273g | 4535g | |
| Doses | 15 | 30 | 77 | 154 |
| Cost per dose | 1.06? | 1.00? | 0.75? | 0.69? |
| Total cost | 16.00? | 30.00? | 58.00? | 107.00? |
The costs of this protein range from 0.69? per shake up to 1.06? as we can see in the table.
Although these values are approximate and vary from store to store, Optimum Nutrition's Whey Gold Standard is an expensive protein.
Comparing the 2.2kg version with the 2.5kg version of Impact Whey, the difference is 0.44? per shake, i.e. more than double the price for a product with a very similar quality.
Where to buy?
You can find this supplement available here and you can still use the code GVIRTUAL to get you 10% discount.
It is also available here at a good price, and also in Decathlon.
Conclusion
A 100% Whey Gold Standard from Optimum Nutrition is undoubtedly an excellent quality protein, and it is no wonder for its enormous reputation.
It has 18.7% of BCAA's in its formula and is made up of 81% of only high quality protein.
Furthermore, they have a huge variety of flavors and digestive enzymes to help with the protein digestion process.
However, this reputation comes at a cost, and it is difficult to justify the high price of this supplement compared to very similar alternatives that exist on the market, such as Impact Whey which costs half.
Without looking at the price, it is undoubtedly an excellent Whey supplement, however, in a price/quality context there are alternatives with very similar quality at a much lower price.
Have you ever used this protein?
Leave your opinion in the comments!
It's funny that the analysis compares protein with protein, amino acid with amino acid but without considering quality, it would be like you considering that all cod is the same, all milk is the same, all pastel de nata is the same, all coffee is the same and to do so you would only need to look at the quantity and the price to say what is more worth it. Cheaper products tend to be this way because they produce inferior results and are therefore less in demand. All that remains is this criticism of an analysis that disregarded the quality of the inputs, perhaps even because it has no means of evaluating it, but that does not mean it is no longer important. Those who take ON whey see the difference in fat loss due to the reduction of catabolism during exercise, they see a greater improvement and that is why it costs more than the others.
Hello Mauricio.
“maybe even because I don’t have the means to evaluate it”
In short, here you have the answer so there isn't an even more detailed assessment from us.
All accessible information is evaluated here impartially, as we use numbers and not subjective means.
However, if partly the whey is not all the same, on the other hand it is its quality that produces what we see in the aminogram and nutritional table (except when there are additions).
Now, are there other differences?
Yes, they exist. But in our opinion, they are secondary when compared to what we see in the nutritional table and aminogram in terms of muscle building or fat loss (assuming that the data communicated by the brands is real).
We do not believe in the greater improvement of someone who takes ON Whey compared to a Whey with similar nutritional and aminogram values.
Anyway, thanks for the comment and constructive opinion.
Very good analysis, although I would point out that the price of the impact whey has raised considerably lately so to assume that the gold standard cost double the price of the impact whey is no longer relevant I think.
Thanks.
You're right; the prices have changed, some more than others, with the Impact Whey being one of them.
I would like to say that the reviews would be updated soon, but that would involve basically updating all of them and the “best of” post, so I don't know when that will be possible.
But thanks for the post.
I'm a newbie in this market and I am trying different protein brands, until I find my favorite, in terms of flavor, dissolution, results, etc etc… I already tried Prozis, myProtein and now am using ON Gold Standard. The difference in quality in all of them is even visible in some cases.
The Prozis' ones I used (100% Whey Hydro Isolate and 100% Whey Prime 1000 g), I learned that they were aminospiked, and for that I stopped buying them anything. In terms of flavor and dissolution, they were one of the bests I tried so far.
MyProtein Impact Whey, were probably the worst ones. I needed to shake it intensely more than a minute, or it would be full of deposits. The flavor was nothing special. But the worst part, was the recovery from training. The next day, I would feel like I didn't recover at all. Even prozis were better than this ones.
ON Gold standard, is for now and by far, the best I used until today. It dissolves prefectly even without shaking it too much, the flavors are nice, and the recovery from training is the best I've experienced so far. The next day I'm like new and ready for the next one.
So comparing Impact Whey with Gold standard is like comparing vinager with a fine wine. The numbers on paper might be similar, but the quality of both is not even comparable.
And just to conclude, I watched some home tests on youtube, and Gold Standard and Dymatize ISO 900 (didn't try this one yet) were always the best one. They always have more protein per scoop than what they claimed. MyProtein, were the worst ones, and always had much less protein than what they claimed.
In conclusion, you might be paying a little extra, but the difference in quality, easily justifies it.