Garden of Life Protein Review (UPDATED 2024): Don’t Buy Before You Read This!

Garden of Life Protein is a meal replacement and vegan friendly shake made with raw ingredients. Each serving offers a high 22 grams of protein from 13 raw sprouted sources.

Added enzymes and probiotics are included, and each serving offers 2.8 grams of Branch Chain Amino Acids.  Different version of vanilla and chocolate are offered, as well as an unflavored version in either a jug or individual serving size packets.

Out of all meal replacement shakes the one which had the best potential for weight loss was 18Shake. We favored it overall due to its high protein, low calories, rave user reviews, its formula which can promote lasting weight loss. To get more information on 18Shake, check out the link here.

GARDEN OF LIFE PROTEIN INGREDIENTS AND SIDE EFFECTS

The chocolate cacao flavor version of Raw Organic Meal offers the following additives:

Organic Pea Protein	Organic Sprouted Brown Rice Protein	Organic Amaranth Sprout	Organic Buckwheat Sprout	Organic Millet Sprout
Organic Cracked Wall Chlorella	Organic Quinoa Sprout	Organic Chia Seed Sprout	Organic Garbanzo Bean Sprout	Organic Lentil Sprout
Organic Adzuki Bean Sprout	Organic Flax Seed Sprout	Organic Sunflower Seed Sprout	Organic Pumpkin Seed Sprout	Organic Sesame Seed Sprout
Organic Cacao	Organic Chocolate Flavors	Organic Erythritol	Sea Salt	Organic Stevia Extract
Organic Vanilla Flavor	Organic Guar Gum	Organic Carob Bean Gum	Lipase	Protease
Aspergillopepsin	Beta-Glucanase	Cellulase	Bromelain	Phytase
Lactase	Papain	Peptidase	Pectinase	Hemicellulase
Xylanese	Lactobacillus Acidophilus	Lactobacillus Plantarum	Lactobacillus Bulgaricus

Organic Pea Protein: Pea is a legume which is used as a vegan friendly protein source. It has some rich amino acids, but since it is lacking in others, you’ll often see it mixed in with other forms.

The taste can vary but it is often described as being very neutral to what it’s added in.

Excess amounts of this can lead to gastrointestinal issues.

Organic Cracked Wall Chlorella: Algae which is treated by cracking the cell walls for improved absorption in the body. Chlorella has a rich amount of nutrients and it is often used to support overall wellness.

Side effects can arise however such as:

• Stomach cramping, stool discoloration and diarrhea.
• Nausea, gas and indigestion.

Because it is extracted from water, it’s also important to make sure that where it is taken from is free of any heavy metals or contaminants.

Organic Erythritol:  A calorie free sugar alternative that can be extracted from things like fermented foods and fruit. This is preferred by some over other sweeteners since it does not lead to tooth decay, and it has no effect on blood sugar levels.

There are potential negative effects including:

• Upset stomach, indigestion, and diarrhea.

Lipase: Naturally produced enzyme used to break down fats in the intestine. The stomach, mouth, and pancreas naturally make this, and it doesn’t have to be supplemented in additional amounts unless one has a condition which prevents the natural production of Lipase.

Aspergillopepsin: Natural enzyme that can be found within many kinds of species of mold.  Certain versions if this should be taken with caution since this can lead to serious side effects. Those with compromised immune systems are often advised to avoid it, since it can lead to worsened symptoms.

Beta-Glucanase: Found naturally in fungus, this is a chain of carbohydrate enzymes. Things like cellulose fiber and even yeast contain it, and it acts as an indigestible fiber.

Side effects have even noted as potential issues such as:

• Gas, abdominal distress, and indigestion.

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GARDEN OF LIFE PROTEIN QUALITY OF INGREDIENTS

The best part of this is the use of natural organic ingredients. Their supplements facts list also shows that each serving as a wide array of vitamins and minerals, though the vitamin A is only 4%, and the vitamin C is at 2%, both significantly low.

Calories are at 130 per serving for chocolate cacao, and there are 3 grams of fiber, 0 grams of sugar, and 22 grams of protein. They publish the full amino acid profile which is rarely offered but very important to determine if the protein is of a quality. Since they add so many different kinds of protein to this shake, it makes sense that it would be well-rounded enough to satisfy the body’s demands.

The added probiotic and enzyme blend is questionable as enzymes are typically already made by toe body in sufficient enough amounts. The probiotics also have to be preserved in a certain way, since heat and even digestive acids can break it down, making it potentially useless.

Review our list which breaks down the year’s very best meal replacement shakes.

THE PRICE AND QUALITY OF GARDEN OF LIFE PROTEIN

Direct sales are offered from the official website for $37.59 per 1 pound container.  This averages to 20 servings, so if you drink 2 shakes a day each jug lasts a total of 10 days.

The good thing about this brand is that it does not have any sugar, it’s organic, made with raw ingredients, and that it’s rich in vitamins and minerals. The added enzyme and probiotic does raise the price unnecessarily and here’s also some lacking vitamins and minerals.

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BUSINESS OF GARDEN OF LIFE PROTEIN

Their official company name is Garden of Life LLC and to reach them they offer the following:

Address: 4200 NorthCorp Parkway Suite 200

Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33410

Phone Number: (561) 748-2477

Email: [email protected]

They fail to add any information about a money back return policy, likely meaning they do not offer returns.

A voluntary recall was enforced in late 2024 after the company found traces of salmonella in their protein shakes.  They were also forced in 2004 to stop making unproven advertising claims. Because of this the company paid $225,000 to customers who were lied to, and they had to stop making any such claims in the future.

Their Better Business Bureau page has no complaints on it, but also no positive reviews.

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CUSTOMER OPINIONS OF GARDEN OF LIFE PROTEIN

The following are reviews we’ve located online:

“The new packaging they use is not only wasteful but it tricks the consumer into thinking they are getting more, when they’re getting less”

“Their new formulation is terrible; it doesn’t taste good or mix well”

“So many clumps in it and it had a very bad taste to it/ not smooth at all and I had to force it down my throat”

“I’m a fan of the taste just don’t like how it cakes on to things”

The reviews of this were progressively worse the more recent they were left, and this is because the company changed out their formula and they began to place it in side of a new container.

There were reoccurring issues with the lack of consistency since it ended up clumping and leaving a chalky texture, and apparently it did not end up tasting very good at all.  People did enjoy the fact that there are only natural ingredients, but consumers felt it was not masked well at all, and that it was difficult to drink.

Repeatedly consumers said they had to force themselves to finish it, and that it was not pleasant in any way.

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CONCLUSION – DOES GARDEN OF LIFE PROTEIN WORK?

There are a lot of positives and negatives to the formula .Though it relies on using only natural ingredients, people said that it certainly tasted like a natural formula since it was difficult to drink. The company has also had recalls and issues related to their claimed health benefits, which ended up in them having to pay off a major lawsuit. Because of the change in formula many said that the old Garden of Life Protein powder was preferably, and since taste played a major role in all the negative reviews, it’s clear that the company has made some changes which weren’t preferred by users.

The best meal replacement shake of the year according to our review team is 18Shake. This weight loss shake has a unique blend of ingredients including natural protein, high quality fiber for appetite suppression, few calories, and it can be mixed alongside fruit and water.

Consumers were pleased with the benefits provided since they were able to suppress their appetite for a long period, and many said that they lost weight and kept it off. We also rated it highly since the company hasn’t had any issues with production quality, nor have they had any recalls. Review 18Shake for you by checking out testimonials featured on their official website, as well as a brief description of the ingredients.