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Talks of protein and sugar are on the tip of every wellness junkie's tongue given the incredibly important role they both play in your workout recovery and overall health. This is why we spent the bulk of our time in our product development process focused on the proteins and sweeteners in our product. Today, we are going to walk you through the 4 different proteins we selected for our beverage, why they are perfect for your body, and the thinking behind our sweeteners and overall low sugar profile.
Our Protein Blend
Our proprietary protein blend contains 13g of organic plant-protein from pea, chia, cacao, and hemp. So, why 13g? The amount of protein that you need varies greatly depending on your weight, daily exercise, goals, and overall what makes your unique body healthy and happy. With that being said, doctors recommend that the average woman ingest 0.5g to 0.8g of protein per pound of body weight. This means that if you weigh 140lbs, your daily protein intake should be around 70g total. With 13g of protein per Après, you're getting about 15-20% of your protein intake from one 180 calorie beverage.
An important step in designing our label was selecting our plant-based proteins. We knew right away that we wanted to stay away from animal-based proteins like whey or casein because they often upset the stomach and are not in line with our plant-based values. Given that we were selecting proteins from plants, it was important that we selected a combination that would create a full BCAA profile (BCAAs are building blocks for proteins). Animal proteins naturally contain all of the BCAAs your body needs, so when it comes to plants, you have to combine a variety of them to get all of the amino acids your body needs. This is what lead us to our proprietary blend of organic pea, chia, cacao, and hemp protein. Together, they create a full amino acid profile and deliver a wide variety of other fatty acids, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.
Pea
We love pea because it's an easy-to-digest protein that is packed with BCAAs and also contains ghrelin, a hunger suppressing hormone. Bonus points: peas are also great for our earth because of their small environmental footprint.
Chia
Chia seeds were an important addition to our protein blend given the protein, minerals, and antioxidants that they pack along with a healthy helping of omega-3's. It's no wonder chia was the ancient Mayan word for strength with all of the power these little guys pack.
Cacao
Just saying the word cacao makes us happy. This protein-packed superfood is rich in iron and also contains anandamide, known as the "bliss molecule." Cacao is also one of the richest sources of flavanols which are free radical fighting agents which have been linked to lower cholesterol and blood pressure.
Hemp
Last but certainly not least, we added hemp into our protein blend for its rich source of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, along with gamma-linoleic acid (GLA) which has been linked to a host of health benefits . Combine this with the wide number of vitamins and minerals it supplies and you've got yourself a power-packed protein.
Our Sweeteners
Our blend is a low sugar beverage with only 6g of sugar per bottle. The sweetness comes from organic coconut water, organic coconut sugar, and organic monk fruit extract. Our aim here was to create a product that was sweet without being too sweet. We wanted something that had a "depth" of sweetness, rather than the typical "hollow and bitter" sweetness of most products relying only on non-caloric sweeteners like stevia.
We chose to use coconut sugar as our caloric sweetener because it's unrefined, low on the glycemic index, and contains added vitamins and minerals like iron, zinc, and calcium. Our coconut sugar comes from coconut palm sap and gives Après just enough sweetness to create a bold flavor without being overly sweet.
Monk fruit extract, also known as Luo Han Guo, is an antioxidant packed melon that was also used for centuries as an anti-inflammatory tool in Chinese medicine. To extract the sweetness, the pulp of the fruit is fermented, which removes all sugars and calories without the bitter aftertaste.
The coconut water in our ingredient list is mostly there to help rehydrate and replenish your body with electrolytes after a workout, but it does add a little bit of natural sweetness to the drink.
We stand strongly against sugar-laden products because of all of the negative effects they have on the body. Too much sugar causes major inflammation and weight gain along with a host of other negative health effects. We do believe, however, that a little bit of natural sweetness from great ingredients is much better than artificial or highly refined "sugar free" products any day.
We'd love to hear your thoughts on sugar and protein and how you incorporate both into your diet. Please leave a comment below!
Xx Team Après