What do we want? PROTEIN! When do we want it? NOW! How do you want it? With high quality multi-sourced protein forms in fully disclosed amounts with zero amino spiking and extras that help body composition and that tastes delicious!
Ok, ok, that last line doesn’t quite roll off the tongue. Anyway, onto the review!
Lean Whey Revolution. The name is a statement in itself. A revolution? Seriously? Just how much of a game changer is Lean Whey Revolution by MuscleSport. For the purpose of this review I will be judging the new formula, Unicorn Cookie Shake specifically.
Each scoop of Lean Whey Revolution packs 24-25g of protein, 1g of fat, 4g of carbs with 2g coming from sugar and 1.5g of fibre. You also get 3g of MuscleSport’s Lean Muscle Matrix, which sadly is a proprietary blend.
Before we dive into the protein sources, I want to try and breakdown this blend. The Lean Muscle Matrix is listed below. Now I made a point of telling you what flavour I am reviewing because this blend varies in size from flavour to flavour. The Unicorn Cookie Shake contains 3g of:
Fibersol-2 (maltodextrin), Tauric Acid, L-carnitine Tartrate, Medium Chain Triglycerides, Conjugated Linoleic Acid, Sunflower Seed Lecithin
FIBERSOL-2
Fibersol-2 is an indigestible form of maltodextrin made from soluble corn. Fibersol-2 acts as a low-calorie carbohydrate containing 90% dietary fiber. How? Well the maltodextrin is spray-dried using a proprietary method of controlled enzymatic hydrolysis, rendering the enzymes of the human digestive tract unable to break it down.
Now, since this is a 90% fibre, we can sort of gauge how much is in the blend via the label listing above. The protein type (WPI/HWP) usually amounts to .5-6g of fibre, so lets deduct that.
0.9-1g of fibre + 10% = 1-1.1g of Fibersol-2.
That leaves us with 1.9-2g for the rest of the ingredients.
L-CARNITINE L-TARTRATE
I’ve gone over this a bit in my GHOST Burn review, but lets touch upon it a bit here. Carnitine restores cellular function of the mitochondria, the powerhouse of our body that produces the energy we need to stay alive. As we get older, our mitochondria decrease in volume and function. Carnitine has shown promise in forestalling and even reversing this decline. This is also an effect seen in people who are overweight. Obesity causes an inflammatory process which can lead to oxidative stress, which then cause mitochondrial dysfunction. By supplementing with carnitine, we help the body get healthier with improved energy and vigor.
The lowest clinical oral dose of carnitine I’ve seen is 10 mg/kg of carnitine, around 750mg for the average person. The effects are more for wellness than composition at this dosage though, helping improve the heart.
In another study showing heart and exercise improvement, patients taking 500mg 3 times daily of the carnitine form propionyl-L-carnitine experienced a 450% increase in the average length of time they could exercise without experiencing any chest pains caused from the likes of poor blood circulation to the heart (another issue with being overweight.)
Talking about exercise benefits, let's talk about DOMs. In a study by Spiering et al., they concluded that not only l-carnitine helped perceived muscle soreness, but a 1g dosage is comparable to the benefits of a 2g dose.
For body composition benefits usually you do need around 2-3g of Carnitine per day, which you won’t reach with one serving of MuscleSport Lean Whey Revolution a day. You can’t argue though that there is enough carnitine to provide real cardiovascular and recovery benefits taking into account the data above.
Absorption of oral carnitine supplementation is poor at around 9-20% depending on whom you reference. L-carnitine l-tartrate (LCLT) is the most bioavailable of forms, being slightly higher, around 27%, so you can get away with using slightly less in this form.
Yeah yeah, let's get to it! How much do I think is in Lean Whey Revolution? Well, the next ingredient gives it away, MCT. MCT is a fat source and listed as 1g. That means that l-carnitine l-tartrate can not be less than a gram.
MEDIUM CHAIN TRIGLYCERIDES
We already know now there is 1g of MCTs in Lean Whey Revolution, or is there? The other compounds left in the blend are all fat types: MCT, CLA and Lecithin.
MCT oil is usually extracted from coconut oil, and has some credible research in weight reduction. MCTs have shown to stimulate the release of the hormones peptide YY and leptin, both which increase that feeling of fullness and satisfaction known as satiety. MCTs have also been shown to significantly reduce body weight and waist circumference, helping combat obesity. MCTs provide an instant source of energy, meaning it bypasses storage unlike most fat sources.
MCTs increase fat oxidation in the liver and other tissues. This breakdown of fat by the mitochondria then uses ATP produced for energy. Besides weight management, MCTs have other benefits that help the heart, the gut, cholesterol levels and inflammation.
The dosage is usually around a teaspoon a day to start off with, since high intake of MCTs can cause stomach discomfort. This amounts to 5g, so the dosing here is definitely on the low side.
CLA
I’m not a fan of this ingredient since there is no real credible research backing it, let alone at less than a gram per scoop. So let’s leave that for another article.
LECITHIN
This fatty acid can be supplemented as low as 500mg a day for cholesterol benefits, but it is as in a 1g blend with 2 other ingredients, so at most it is around 333mg. Lecithin has some data on heart health and stress too.
THE BLEND, WORTH IT?
Overall the Lean Muscle Matrix has a benefit, I wish they just stuck to MCTs though instead of adding the rest. The MCT seems to come from the creamer they used, which makes me think they added the lecithin in the blend to label dress it too (since lecithin is in most protein powders as it improves the wetting properties of hydrophilic powders such as low to zero fat protein). Hmmmm… Sneaky if true.
One plus though, the LCLT isn’t spiking the amino content since the protein (on the new clear tubs at least) is fully disclosed.
PROTEIN POWER
That leads onto, PROTEIN!
Lean Whey Revolution contains16.5g of cross-flow cold infused micro-filtered whey protein isolate yielding 14.85g of protein. Sounds fancy huh? Basically just a long way to say Cross-flow filtration. This process yields over 90% protein while retaining important milk subfractions like the ones listed in the protein below.
The second protein source is 12g of Hydrolyzed Whey Protein providing di-peptides, tri-peptides, oligo-peptides, alpha lactabumin, beta-lactoglobulin, immunoglobulin and glyomacropeptides. Basically the hydrolysed whey has many of the protein subfractions called peptides that have displayed anti-carcinogenic, immune-boosting and gastrointestinal benefits. Anyway,m this yields 10g of actual protein.
Lactose will be very low, so those who suffer from intolerance should be ok with Lean Whey Revolution.
IGNITOR®
To quote the makers of Ignitor “IGNITOR®, an amino acid release matrix, comprises a proprietary blend of proteolytic enzymes, that optimises the release of branched chain amino acids (BCAAs) and glutamine when added to protein formulations.”
Basically IGNITOR® provides a more efficient release of amino acids from whole protein forms, improving muscle protein synthesis and absorption.
TASTE
It is very hard to beat the flavouring of Lean Whey Revolution. Add in that some of the flavours come with real flavour pieces in them that actually contribute to the experience and you have a killer combo of cereal pieces and great tasting protein.
HIT OR MISS?
Overall I have to say that Lean Whey Revolution is a hit. Yes the added fats are pulling the wool over your eyes, but you do have 25g of protein in a category where formulas only contain 17g *couch* PhD *cough* and protein being the best macro for satiety.
It’s nice to see LCLT in a protein too instead of the usual CLA, Green Tea and ALCAR formula.
But that is not to say this is perfect. MuscleSport, you need to keep your blend content static guys and actually use enough of the ingredients to be actives and not just additives for your creamer.
Then, Lean Whey will be a real revolution.