Tuesday, 18 February 2025

Protein Powder

MET-Rx Natural Whey Protein Powder Supplement Review

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MET-Rx Natural Whey provides you with 23 g of protein, 5 g of carbohydrates, 2 g of fat, and 130 calories per serving, with a protein blend that combines Whey Protein Concentrate and Whey Protein Isolate.

Each 33 g scoop also contains over 5.5 grams of essential and nonessential amino acids, including Arginine, Alanine, and the full range of BCAAs (L-Leucine, L-Isoleucine, L-Valine). But with no Creatine Monohydrate or L-Glutamine, would an ‘all-in-one’ muscle building protein be better value for money?

In this review we’ll compare MET-Rx Natural Whey to two other top rated protein powders; Six Star 100% Whey Protein, and Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard. This includes ingredients, dosages, price, cost per serving, flavors, and customer feedback, to help you decide whether Natural Whey is the best protein for your fitness goals and budget.

We’ve also added recommendations for the best Glutamine, Creatine, and pre-workout supplements to use alongside Natural Whey, to help maximize strength and lean muscle gain, as well as endurance and post-workout recovery.

MET-Rx Natural Whey Ingredients

MET-Rx Natural Whey Ingredients

If you’re looking for a more affordable alternative to Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard Whey, this could be it.

MET-Rx Natural Whey has a macronutrient profile that’s practically identical, except for having 1 g less protein, 1 g more fat, and 10 more calories per serving. At the time of writing this review, a 5 lb tub of Natural Whey cost just over $43 ($0.64 per serving), while the same size tub of Gold Standard Whey was priced at $58 ($0.78 per serving).

As for the micronutrient profile (vitamins and minerals), sodium content is one of the lowest we’ve seen in a protein powder (55 mg, 2% DV), with average levels of cholesterol (40 mg, 13% DV) and calcium (109 mg, 11% DV).

Protein blend and BCAAs

The protein blend is a combination of whey protein concentrate and whey protein isolate, where the whey isolate helps keep the carb and fat content low, and whey concentrate keeps the price down.

Although it’s not a 2:1:1 ratio, Natural Whey also contains approximately 5 g of BCAAs (L-leucine 2.4 g, L-isoleucine 1.4 g, L-valine 1.3 g per serving. The full breakdown of essential and nonessential amino acids can be found below.


Essential Amino Acids
  • Histidine 437 mg
  • Isoleucine 1,417 mg
  • Leucine 2,406 mg
  • Lysine 1,966 mg
  • Methionine 467 mg
  • Phenylalanine 741 mg
  • Threonine 1,509 mg
  • Tryptophan 387 mg
  • Valine 1,310 mg


Nonessential Amino Acids
  • Alanine 1,099 mg
  • Arginine 531 mg
  • Aspartic Acid 2,426 mg
  • Cysteine 563 mg
  • Glutamic Acid 3,133 mg
  • Glycine 408 mg
  • Proline 1,356 mg
  • Serine 1,083 mg
  • Tyrosine 681 mg

Other ingredients listed on the label include cocoa, fructose, 170 mg of stevia extract (sweetener), and soy lecithin for improved mixability in water and milk. MET-Rx Natural Whey contains no acesulfame-potassium, which is up to 200 times sweeter than table sugar and considered safe by the FDA, but with some controversy over its safety.


MET-Rx Natural Whey Protein Powder

MET-Rx Natural Whey – Product Summary

  • 23g protein, 5 g carbs, 2 g fat, 130 calories per serving
  • Approximately 5g BCAAs from Whey for Muscle Recovery
  • Instantized for easy mixing
  • No Preservatives, Artificial Flavors or Colors
  • Low Sodium
  • Blend of whey protein concentrate and whey protein isolate
  • Stevia extract used as sweetener, with no sucralose or acesulfame-k

When is the best time to take it?

Recommended use
For adults, take one scoop, one to two times daily. Serious athletes should consume 1-2 scoops twice per day for maximum muscle support, with at least 1-2 scoops taken immediately after exercise.

MET-RX Natural vs. Six Star Whey

MET-RX Natural Whey
Protein: 23 g
Protein: 30 g
Carbohydrates: 5 g
Carbohydrates: 8 g
Fat: 2 g
Fat: 1 g
Calories: 130
Calories: 160
Protein density: 70%
Protein density: 71%
Container size: 2244 g
Container size: 931 g
Serving size: 33 g
Serving size: 42 g
Cost per serving: $0.64
Cost per serving: $0.95

MET-RX Natural vs. O.N Gold Standard

MET-Rx Natural Whey
O.N. Gold Standard Whey
Protein: 25 g
Protein: 24 g
Carbohydrates: 5 g
Carbohydrates: 5 g
Fat: 2 g
Fat: 1 g
Calories: 130
Calories: 120
Protein density: 70%
Protein density: 75%
Container size: 2244 g
Container size: 2250 g
Serving size: 33 g
Serving size: 32 g
Cost per serving: $0.64
Cost per serving: $0.78

What flavors and sizes are available?

With a serving size of 33 grams, each tub provides you with up to 68 servings. Following a recommended daily dose of 2 scoops per day, this should be enough for a 34 day / 1 month supply.

At the time of writing this review, each serving was priced at $0.64, which is more affordable than NOW Foods Whey Protein Isolate (approx. $1.00 per serving). The two protein powders have a similar ratio of BCAAs, but the MET-Rx protein has slightly more carbs (+4g) and fat (+1.5g) per serving.

We always recommend calculating the average cost per serving, across all sizes, before making a final buying decision.

Flavors

  • Chocolate
  • Vanilla

Save money with Amazon

If you’re looking to save money on your monthly protein powder order, you might want to consider the Amazon Subscribe & Save program.

Subscribe & Save allows you to unlock savings of up to 15% on a wide range of supplements, including MET-Rx Natural Whey Powder.

You can save 5% with a subscription to 1 product, or save the full 15% by subscribing to 5 products, provided they’re all delivered to the same address. The delivery schedule can be set from monthly, up to once every 6 months.

Although 5 products might sound a lot, if you already supplement with a protein powder, multivitamin, creatine, BCAA, and glutamine, the savings can soon add up.

Who are MET-Rx?

MET-Rx has been a market leader in sports nutrition for over 20 years. Their reputation has been built on delivering high quality supplements, such as protein bars, RTDs, protein powders, multivitamins, amino acids, and creatine.

Some of the current bestsellers include Natural Whey Protein Powder, Creatine 4200, and the MET-Rx Protein Plus bar, each of which has over 500 highly rated reviews on Amazon.

MET-Rx is also well known for its meal replacement powders (MRPs). The first version required you to mix powder from two canisters; one labelled ‘base’ and their other ‘plus’. This was later released as a single product, where the micellar casein component was removed.

Today, the MET-Rx meal replacement powder remains one of their most popular supplements. Each serving contains 3g of L-Glutamine, 38g of Metamyosyn protein, and more than 6g of BCAAs.

Protein Powder Buying Guide

Review Overview

Overall Review Rating

4.5 / 5

At the time of writing this review, each 33 g serving of MET-Rx Natural Whey was priced at $0.64, based on buying the 5 pound tub. This was around 20% cheaper than Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard Whey, but for 1 g less protein and 1 g more fat per serving.

The main differences being that MET-Rx Natural Whey doesn’t contain whey peptides or the Aminogen enzyme to breakdown protein more efficiently. You’re also much more limited on flavors, with 2 to choose from (vanilla and chocolate), compared to the 22 that are available with Gold Standard Whey.

However, overall we were very impressed with Natural Whey. The price is extremely affordable, and makes it one of the cheapest whey protein powders on the market, based on protein content.

The bottom line is that MET-Rx is one of the most established and trusted supplement companies in the industry, with over 25 years experience (founded in 1991). This is reflected in the highly rated reviews on Amazon.

Customers praise the great taste, the use of stevia as a sweetener instead of sucralose or acesulfame potassium, high quality protein blend, and fact that it’s cheaper than Gold Standard 100% Whey.

Although the powder contains soy lecithins, a small number of customers reported clumps in their protein shake after mixing. This was generally resolved with a few more shakes in a protein shaker with filter, or blender.