Thorne Protein Powder Review (UPDATED 2024): Don’t Buy Before You Read This!

Thorne Protein Powder is a meal replacement shake offered in a whey or vegan version with over 20 grams of protein per serving. They both come in either chocolate or vanilla, but the ingredients in each are very different.

They recommend it for either athletes or people looking to lose weight. The vegan version in particular emphasizes a blend of vitamins and minerals, while the whey shake has limited amounts of nutrients. In both are natural sweeteners and there are 30 servings in each container. Scoops of it can be added to small amounts of liquids like water or juice. So many meal replacement shakes are currently offered that in our search for the best, we found 18Shake was the most effective. Customers enjoyed it for lean muscle mass and for lasting weight loss. Get more information to better understand 18Shake by visiting this link.

Thorne Protein Powder Ingredients and Side Effects

The whey protein isolate chocolate version contains:

Whey Protein Isolate	Alkalized Cocoa Powder	Flavors	Sunflower Lecithin	Evaporated Cane Juice Sugar
Xanthan Gum	Carbohymethylcellulose Gum	Stevia	Bromelain	Papain

Whey Protein Isolate: A rich protein source that is taken from milk. It is known to have a high amount of amino acids which the body uses for lean muscle mass and for other important body processes. This is readily absorbed and used by the body, and it offers a filling source of protein.

Flavors: A term for any kind of substance which adds a unique smell or flavor. This can come from many different unidentified ingredients, and it’s impossible to say if it would be allergen free. Sometimes this can come from things like soy, wheat, or corn and the makers of this brand do not specify where they extract this from.

Evaporated Cane Juice: Sweetener that’s taken from natural sugarcane. This is not actually a juice but a sugar syrup. Much like any other sweetener while it can provide a pleasant to drink taste, taking too much of it can be potentially dangerous. Weight loss is a problem with too much sugar, as well as tooth decay and other metabolic problems. There is a total of 2 grams of sugar per serving of the whey, and 4 gram of the vegan shake.

Stevia: Wholesome plant based sweetener which does not have the same impact on blood sugar or weight gain as do other sweeteners. The taste of this is often said to be pleasant, and it requires little usage in order for it to sweeten. This is considered a superior sweetener due to its ease of digestion and better health profile.

Carbohymethylcellulose Gum: Found within plants, this is often added in order to improve the consistency of a product. When added to shakes it can make it mix better, and make it more pleasant to drink. Some may be allergic to this and there is a possibility that it can lead to inflammation according to a study featured in Nature:

“emulsifiers impact… colitis and metabolic syndrome”

If you’d like to see the updated research on what the current best meal replacement shakes are, click here.

Thorne Protein Powder Quality of Ingredients

In their whey protein version it’s good they have a total of 21 grams of protein, but it’s lacking in any kinds of added nutrients. This disqualifies it from being a proper meal replacement shake, since a meal should have the nutrients needed for the body to remain healthy.

The vegan option does offer a richer source of vitamins and minerals. Btu there’s also more sugar at 4 grams per serving, and more calories at 170. This also has 22 total grams of protein but because it comes from pea and rice, it’s not as wholesome and rich in amino acids as whey.

The use of evaporated cane juice would have been better left avoided, since it can lead to weight gain if overeaten. For any weight loss shake to add extra sugar than what’s needed is only benefiting taste, but not weight loss.

Read all about these top rate meal replacement shakes to understand you options.

The Price and Quality of Thorne Protein Powder

The pricing varies on the kind chosen:

Whey Protein: $49 per 30 container serving.

Vegan Protein: $69 per 30 container serving.

Both are expensive for what you’re getting. The whey version is lacking many vitamins and minerals and currently only offers calcium, iron, sodium, and potassium in amounts of 6% or less. This would mean that if you wanted to replace 2 meals a day, you’d have to get your nutrients elsewhere. It does not make sense that they would price it this high when it’s completely lacking as a reliable meal replacement shakes. You’d be forced to pay extra in meals to have a varied enough blends of nutrients.

The vegan version has a lot of variety when it comes to nutrients, but the calories, sugar, and kind of protein use aren’t good enough. You’d expect to find less calories a less sugary shake which can make it easier to lose weight. It’s good that both versions of Thorne Protein Powder are natural, but that doesn’t necessary mean it’s of a good quality.

Get the necessary information to make it easy to decide which meal replacement shake is best for your needs.

Business of Thorne Protein Powder

They are known as Thorne Research Inc., and their best form of contact is:

Phone Number: (800) 228-1966

Address: 25820 Highway 2

Sandpoint, ID 83864

Email: [email protected]

The FDA sent a public notice in 2024 to warn consumers that a supplement by the company had:

“heavy metal toxicity”

They advised to not use this brand because of it.

Another FDA warning was sent in 2004 which warned that advertising for many products of theirs was not backed by proven research, and that it was marketed as a drug. They asked the company to update this and to stop making unproven health claims.

A return policy is offered but they fail to make it clear as to how long it’s for, all they request is to call the company to settle the issue. It would have been helpful had they described a bit more information to showcase what the window is for returns, since we couldn’t find any information about their policies online.

Many kinds of meal replacement shakes exist and only the bet were ranked and rated in our top 10 list.

Customer Opinions of Thorne Protein Powder

The following are different reviews found online of the whey version:

“like it for the quality cheap protein that’s in it”

“Not a big fan of the flavor”

“Good tasting and it was easy to drink for me”

“Ease to digest so I got what I needed from it”

Not many people reviewed this shake which is most likely use to the fact that the company reformulated it.

The vegan flavor quotes were not provided here but it was less favored as far more people said they didn’t like the taste. A concern for some was that it was difficult to mix and that it had a taste which was harsh. This is sometimes the case for vegan protein shakes since they rely on grains and legumes which can be more difficult to make taste pleasant. This is likely why there is more sugar in the vegan version than in the whey.

We provide all the necessary details to make it easy to understand which meal replacement shakes are truly the best.

Conclusion – Does Thorne Protein Powder Work?

Thorne Protein Powder has variety going for it as well as high amounts of protein. The problem with both the whey and vegan option is that each has a major problem making it difficult to take seriously as a reliable weight loss solution. With the whey there’s the complete lack of nutrients, making it a unlikely choice as a meal replacement shake. The vegan option has too many calories and sugar, and the kind of protein use isn’t as rich as whey. The price is also far too high for each, and the FDA related issues are concerning as it makes the company seem untrustworthy.

In our research we come across many meal replacement shakes and for weight loss and extra protein, 18Shake is the current best offering. What made it especially stand out are the great reviews related to the taste, ease of weight loss, and overall ease of use. This was described as having a rich and filling taste which could suppress appetite for hours, making it easy to enjoy the shake without immense hunger.

The ingredients in it are also rich in nutrients protein, and with only minimal calories and sugar. There’s also the great amino acid blend which is high enough to enrich the body for improved health. A lot more can be said about 18Shake which is why we recommend clicking this link to better understand what it has to offer for weight loss and nutrition.