Tag: vitaluralabsreview

Product Reviews

Vitalura Labs Tiramisu Review

Sarah Miller, RD

Update 10/3/24: I was just on the Vitalura Labs website and it looks like the whey protein tiramisu is officially gone, but the vegan is still available for purchase! I know sometimes people are hesitant to try a plant-based protein powder but my experience has only been positive with Vitalura Labs. Like any plant-based option you need to add more liquid, but it mixes great to give you a smooth finish without a gritty texture. You can read my full review of their other plant-based protein powders to help you decide, but I promise you this tiramisu flavor is one you don’t want to miss.

As many of you may already know, I’m a big fan of Vitalura Labs supplements. The quality and flavors are unmatched and beat out anything currently on the market. As a Registered Dietitian, I’m sometimes hesitant to recommend supplementation and always encourage people to try and meet their nutrition needs through their diet. One brand of supplements that always delivers is Vitalura Labs.

Quick Reminders/Disclosures

The thoughts below are my own, I’m currently an affiliate of Vitalura Labs, and Vitalura Labs sent me the Tiramisu flavor to try (both in whey and plant-based). You can read some of my other reviews of their products (pre-workout, creatine and whey/plant-based protein powder) in previous blog posts.

Product breakdown

  1. Taste- Tiramisu. It actually tastes like drinking a tiramisu! That being said, I LOVE tiramisu and so do my friends and family who also tasted this delicious product. The consensus was overwhelmingly positive with everyone agreeing that it’s the best flavor Vitalura Labs has released! It’s also limited edition so if you’re even a bit curious, I highly recommend you purchase this flavor. My favorite way to drink this was shaken with Silk vanilla almond milk and creatine in my Vitalura Labs shaker bottle.
  2. Quality- this protein powder continues to meet the high standards we expect from Vitalura Labs. All of Vitalura Labs supplements are NSF certified so you know that their product doesn’t have hidden ingredients or missing ingredients. (New to supplementation and not sure why third-party testing matters? Read this post next). Just like their other flavors, this protein powder doesn’t have any weird after taste I’ve come to expect with stevia sweetened products. 
  3. Nutrition- Ok, so there is a 20 calorie difference between the whey protein and the plant-based protein tiramisu flavor. But 20 calories is honestly not a big deal. The biggest difference I’d recommend people pay attention to is the difference in sodium. If you’re not on a sodium-restricted diet this probably won’t matter to you, but many people who follow restricted sodium diets would need to be aware that the plant-based is a high sodium food.
    • Whey: In 1 scoop of powder, you get 120 calories, 0g saturated fat, 100mg sodium, <1g added sugar and 25g protein
    • Plant-based: In 1 scoop of powder, you get 140 calories, 0.5g saturated fat, 400mg sodium, 0g added sugar and 25g protein
  4. Cost- $39.99 for a bag with 15 servings (that’s only ~$2.66/serving!)

Final thoughts

If you’re interested in trying Vitalura Labs new limited edition Tiramisu protein powder for yourself, here’s a link to purchase, use code SARAHMILLER for free shipping!

I would definitely recommend this product and would be doing you a disservice if I didn’t again point out that it’s a Limited Edition flavor! When will the flavor be gone? If only I knew! Instead I’m like everyone else and hoping to keep this flavor in stock in my pantry for as long as possible!

Nutrition and Food, Product Reviews

Is Creatine Worth Supplementing?

Sarah Miller, RD

I’ve always been very choosy with my supplements both for safety and quality reasons but also for financial. There are many supplements on the market that can be overkill when someone is eating a balanced diet that result in creating expensive urine.

Why would I spend extra money on something that I’m already getting plenty of in my dietary habits? Additionally being picky has meant that many supplements just didn’t appeal to me since they didn’t have the third- party certifications I look for.

Except that I’m probably not getting plenty of creatine because of my choice of diet. I follow a vegan diet, and as I’ll explain later this means I would likely benefit from supplementation of creatine. It’s also worth noting here that creatine monohydrate is vegan-friendly. If you follow a vegetarian diet of any type you’ll also want to keep reading.

If you’re new to supplements or don’t really know the quality/safety specifics I recommend checking out my previous post Let’s Chat: Supplements to learn more.

Some Science

Creatine is a naturally occurring substance. Your body makes creatine in the liver, kidneys and pancreas and converts it into creatine phosphate (or phosphocreatine) and stored in your muscles where it can be used for energy. When you engage in short duration, high intensity bursts of activity (think HIIT, sprinting, weight lifting) phosphocreatine is used in your body.

Despite there being numerous studies looking at creatine’s ability to improve athletic performance, not all bodies are the same and therefore not everyone’s body responds to creatine the same way. Dietary intake of creatine can also influence your body’s response to supplementation. Some individuals may have more naturally occurring creatine in their body from their diet and therefore not see the same benefit from supplementation as someone who has a lower storage amount.

Vegans and vegetarians are a population who tend to have lower overall creatine stores; likely because of the omission of meat and fish from their diets. It has been demonstrated that increasing creatine through supplementation may be more beneficial for vegetarians (all types who avoid meat and fish) when compared to non-vegetarians.

Some studies have demonstrated that creatine supplementation can be helpful for people with muscle weakness due to illness. However, the majority of people interested in taking creatine are here because they want to improve their athletic performance.

It’s important to reiterate that creatine has been demonstrated to improve exercise associated with high bursts of energy in short durations and not necessarily in endurance based exercise. Study results looking into its ability to improve endurance based activity performance has been mixed.

My Experience

My first time trying creatine was honestly because Vitalura Labs released one. I immediately bought theirs to try, one because I practice what I preach and I want to support this amazing company, but two because I knew it would be top quality. Every product in their product line has been top notch with NSF certification so I knew their creatine would be no different.

Scoop size next to a coffee cup for reference.

I started taking it about 7 weeks ago. Honestly, at first I didn’t notice much. It was easy to mix into just about anything since it’s a small amount of powder.

But like any change it takes time to notice anything, good or bad. I kept with it and have now been taking it regularly for a little over a month. By about week 5 of taking 5g creatine daily I noticed a significant development that kept me going on the creatine train.

What I Found

While doing my usual lower body routine one day I decided to try increasing the weight stack, just to see if I could complete a rep or 2 at the higher weight. To my surprise, not only was I able to complete 2 reps, I was able to do my entire planned set at that higher weight. The weight isn’t a lot when compared to body builders and hardcore weight lifters, but it was a weight level that I have never successfully been able to lift for more than 1 set of 3 reps. Let me tell you, I was so excited that I immediately checked the weight stack again just to be sure that I wasn’t hallucinating.

Of course there’s a bit to unpack here. Obviously I’ve been very consistently working out and working toward a specific goal. I’m not belittling the effect that consistent strength work can have on your ability to lift more weight. What I think is important to share here is that I didn’t experience the expected and usual fatigue that would set in so quickly whenever I had previously tried to lift the same amount of weight. That ability to push more is where I give the creatine credit.

Another side effect that I did notice was a slight increase in my body weight, very likely due to water retention. This is a known creatine side effect and not one to fear. Water weight gain isn’t real mass and will leave when you stop using it. My own experience of stopping creatine to see if the water retention disappeared worked and I was at my “normal” weight within a week.

It’s important to note that the amount of water retention someone experiences is also relative and different for everyone. The water retention level that someone experiences will depend on their muscle mass and the type of muscle. The majority of creatine is found in your type II (aka fast twitch) muscle. Logically this makes sense as creatine has been found to improve athletic performance for shorter bursts of power. So if you’re someone who is powerful for shorter bursts of time you may find that you also retain a little more water.

As always I want to disclose that I’m an affiliate with Vitalura Labs. I was super excited to find that they sent me my own bag of creatine to try about a week after I bought mine. Thank you to everyone who shops through my links; if you missed it this post might help you understand how important you are.

Are you ready to try creatine with me? You can shop all things Vitalura Labs and even set up subscriptions of their products so you never run out. Use code “SARAHMILLER” for free shipping.

Nutrition and Food, Product Reviews

Vitalura Labs plant-based protein powder review

Sarah Miller, RD

I love to workout, but I have always struggled with consuming enough food post-workout to optimize my recovery. I’m a dietitian, I know how important it is, and yet more often than not I’m either skipping my post workout fuel or struggling to make sure I’ve consumed enough to give my body the fuel it needs to rebuild.

Part of the problem for me has always been the taste of protein supplements. Most of them are gross. Especially vegan protein supplements. They’re usually chalky, taste like dirt, or have way too much stevia to try and trick you into thinking you’re eating something that tastes like a dessert.

Enter Vitalura Labs

Anna Victoria, CEO of Fit Body Love Group and NASM certified personal trainer, released a plant-based vegan protein powder this week and being an FBG girl and dietitian, I had to try it. The thoughts below are my own, I paid for my own product.

I did my hamstrings and glutes workout today and for the first time ever I was looking forward to my post workout protein. Not just thinking about what I’d eat to refuel, I was legit looking forward to it. Let me tell you why.

Product breakdown

  1. Taste- it honestly tastes like the name. I ordered the vanilla gelato flavor and I have never tasted a protein supplement, plant-based or whey, that tastes as good as this flavor tastes. I blended mine with some frozen banana and unsweetened soy milk and topped with rainbow sprinkles. It’s like drinking a vanilla shake post workout. I have a huge sweet tooth and am still shocked that this product has somehow hit that craving for me AND provided nutrition. There are currently two flavors available: vanilla gelato and chocolate gelato.
  2. Quality- this protein powder is the “cleanest” I’ve seen on the market to date. The ingredients list is short and they’re NSF certified so you know that their product doesn’t have hidden ingredients or missing ingredients. They use organic pea protein and include rice and pumpkin seed protein to make sure you’re getting an optimal amino acid profile. I was nervous when I saw that it has stevia leaf extract, simply because I generally detest the aftertaste of stevia, but this protein powder doesn’t have that weird after taste I’ve come to expect with stevia sweetened products. 
  3. Nutrition- they nailed it. In 1 scoop of powder, you get 100 calories, 0g saturated fat, only 20mg sodium (this is amazing!), 0g added sugar and a whopping 25g protein. Read that sentence again and let it sink in for a moment. That is truly a magical recipe that they’ve created. The majority of protein powders don’t hold a candle to the nutrition punch the new Vitalura Labs protein powder gives you. It’s also plant-based making it acceptable to a wide audience, and when compared to many whey protein products on the market it still reigns supreme in its nutrition profile.
  4. Cost- some may think that $60 is a lot for a protein supplement. And yes, if it was one of the other brands currently on the market I’d agree with you. But this protein powder is of a superior quality, flavor, texture, and NSF certified. It is 100% worth that $60 price tag. Especially if you consider that there’s 30 servings in every container. That’s $2/serving. I can’t even get a gallon of gas for that cheap. 

Final thoughts

If you’re interested in trying Vitalura Labs new plant-based protein powder for yourself, here’s a link to purchase, use code SARAHMILLER for free shipping!

I would definitely recommend this product to anyone looking for a good post workout protein supplement or anyone who has higher protein needs than they’re able to meet through their diet.