If you are in a hurry and just want to find out what the best vegan post workout for healthy gains is, then I’d recommend Performance Lab® Post as the best one.
When you’re vegan, it can be hard to find edible products to fit your lifestyle. The good news is that you won’t have that problem with post workout supplements.
There are plenty to choose from and figuring out the best vegan post workout supplement for you only requires a bit of research.
The hard part has already been done for you so keep reading to find out everything you need to know about vegan post workout supplements and the best ones on the market.
Here are the top vegan post workout for healthy gains we’ll be reviewing:
- Vega Sport® Recovery
- Garden of Life Sport Vegan Post Workout Powder
- Vintage Build Post Workout Supplement
- Organic Muscle Organic Replenisher Electrolyte Powder
- Performance Lab® Post
Vegan Post Workout Supplements: The Basics
Vegan products often get this stigma of being a special category of products. In most cases, this isn’t accurate.
Vegan products are regular products that use regular ingredients which happen to not be from animals or animal byproducts.
Post workout supplements are the same way. Every post workout supplement, vegan or not, is going to have the same basic makeup:
- A protein source (may be more than one)
- Nutrients and electrolytes
- Extracts, fruit, or other natural products
- Some may have natural or artificial flavors
The only thing that determines whether the supplement is vegan or not is the protein source.
Protein can be animal-based or plant-based.
As you’ve probably deduced, a vegan supplement is made from plant-based proteins. The next section dives into these proteins more.
Plant-Based Proteins
The protein is the most important part of the post workout supplement. This is what your body uses to repair your muscles after an intense training session.
If you’re working out, you absolutely need a good source of protein because the body doesn’t make protein on its own.
The body also can’t store protein, so you must ingest it when you need it.
When it comes to proteins, plant-based proteins have several advantages over animal-based proteins.
One of the best advantages is that they are significantly lower in fat and cholesterol than animal-based proteins. In fact, many plant-based proteins may be fat and cholesterol free.
Another advantage is that most plant-based proteins are hypoallergenic. Many people are lactose intolerant or have some type of mild allergy to dairy.
Even the non-dairy animal-based proteins can cause mild to moderate gastrointestinal discomfort. It’s rare that people have this reaction to plant-based proteins.
Plant-based proteins can also have a higher fiber content than animal-based proteins. This is great if you’re trying to lose weight because fiber helps to keep you feeling full longer.
You won’t be tempted to eat as much and sometimes fiber can have an appetite-suppressing effect.
Amino Acids
While proteins are what repairs your muscles, these proteins contain essential amino acids. These building blocks of protein are what really does all the work.
Don’t get these confused with the larger group of amino acids. There are 21 amino acids (possibly 22 – one is still up for debate by the scientific community), but the nine essential amino acids are the ones that the body can’t make.
Ironically, these are the ones that you need the most for muscle building and muscle repair which is why supplements are so popular.
Any post workout supplement you use must have amino acids whether it’s vegan or not.
Otherwise, it’s really not supplementing anything.
Sometimes the manufacturer may not specifically list the amino acids on the label (happens more often for vegan supplements), but the plants that are used will contain amino acids.
Electrolytes
Electrolytes are an important ingredient in any post workout supplement. This is because the body can’t make electrolytes and you tend to sweat them out when you exercise.
The more you sweat, the more electrolytes you lose.
Electrolytes are essentially what keeps the fluids in your body balanced and moving like it should.
They have an electric charge so you could think of them as the power source that your heart uses to pump the fluid around.
Electrolytes keep your pH level balanced, moves waste out of your body, and moves nutrients into your cells.
The five electrolytes are:
- Sodium
- Magnesium
- Potassium
- Chloride
- Phosphate
The two most important electrolytes to replace are sodium and chloride because you lose more of these when you sweat.
The other three are lost in a lower concentration when you sweat, but you still lose them.
Make sure that any post workout supplement you choose will replenish at a minimum sodium and at least one other electrolyte.
Nutrients
Some post workout supplements can be packed with beneficial nutrients.
First, you should note that these nutrients aren’t necessary to help you recover from your workout.
However, it doesn’t hurt to use a supplement with nutrients, especially since most people don’t get all the nutrients they need from food.
Common nutrients you may find in post workout supplements include:
- Calcium
- Vitamins A, B, and C
- Riboflavin
- Thiamin
- Folate
Flavors
Depending on the supplement form, it can come flavored or unflavored.
If you choose capsules, you don’t have to worry about flavors because there won’t be any. However, powders may come in a variety of flavors.
Depending on how clean you want your powder to be, you could go for natural flavors or artificial flavors.
If you’re reading this article, I’m willing to bet you’d prefer natural flavors. However, artificial flavors aren’t too bad (unless you have kidney problems).
Keep in mind that we’re talking about supplement powders here. The flavors aren’t going to taste like ice cream.
However, protein powders traditionally taste horrible, and plant-based powders are usually the worst of the bunch.
You’re a strong individual if you can drink unflavored vegan protein powder with water.
Another drawback is that plant-based protein powders don’t dissolve easily in liquid so the drink may have a bit of a gritty texture.
Top Five Picks for Best Vegan Post Workout
Choosing the right vegan post workout for you if you want healthy gains can be a challenge. To help you with the process, we’ve identified a few that may be worth starting your search with, along with our current recommendation.
Vega Sport® Recovery
Vega Sport® Recovery is a powder supplement that comes in two flavors: apple berry and tropical.
Many users have reported that the flavors are both good, but tropical gets the most hype.
The flavor is likely great because it has a high sugar content, so you’ll want to make sure you leave room for the sugar into your daily calorie count.
The protein sources used are four grams of pea protein and a half a gram of brown rice protein. Pea protein is a complete protein (meaning it has all nine essential amino acids) and the brown rice protein adds a bit of fiber.
The powder has some decent nutrients, including around 400% of the thiamin and riboflavin you need daily. It also has all but one electrolyte (folate).
Pros
- Has just about everything a post workout supplement should have.
- NSF sport certified
- Doesn’t have artificial flavors or preservatives.
Cons
- Has a high sugar content.
- High in calories (90 per serving).
Garden of Life Sport Vegan Post Workout Powder
The Garden of Life Sport Post Workout is a powder supplement that comes in one flavor – blackberry lemonade.
Many users reported that it doesn’t taste like blackberry lemonade, but the taste is light and manageable when it’s cold (meaning you should shake it with ice).
This powder has a lot less calories and sugar than the last powder so it’s better for people on a low-sugar diet (like diabetics).
This supplement uses pea protein, so you’ll be getting all nine essential amino acids. It also has a healthy dose of nutrients like vitamins B and C, riboflavin, and thiamin.
In fact, it has over 100% of the daily recommended amount of vitamin B6 which is important for metabolism. For electrolytes, it has sodium, magnesium, and folate.
The amino acids it contains aren’t listed individually, but they’re contained in the organic fruit and vegetable extracts.
For example, the organic apple pulp contains all nine essential amino acids. So does the organic baobab.
Pros
- USDA certified organic.
- Has a high amount of servings per container compared to the others.
- NSF sport certified.
Cons
- The flavor isn’t accurate.
- Doesn’t dissolve well.
- Only one flavor to choose from.
Vintage Build Post Workout Supplement
Vintage Build is made by Old School Labs, one of the most recognized companies in the supplements industry.
People know to expect high quality from Old School Labs and Vintage Build is no exception.
It’s a powder supplement that has very little calories and no fat, sugar, or cholesterol. You get three flavor options – fresh berries, lemon lime, or unflavored.
Vintage Build doesn’t have a lot of ingredients, but it has the exact ingredients you need in a post workout supplement.
To start, you have the three most important electrolytes: sodium, potassium, and chloride.
Then it has vegan versions of the branched chain amino acids (BCAAs) leucine, isoleucine, and valine. BCAAs do a fantastic job of repairing your muscles while promoting muscle growth.
The supplement has creatine, a substance that is like amino acids.
Creatine not only helps you work out longer before you’re fatigued, but it helps with muscle repair and improves muscle growth.
It increases cell hydration making it an ideal ingredient for a post workout formula.
Pros
- Made in the U.S.A.
- Has a high supply of creatine.
- Has BCAAs.
Cons
- Users reported that the flavors are very chemical-like.
- The bottle opening is narrow and can make it difficult to use the scoop.
Organic Muscle Organic Replenisher Electrolyte Powder
Organic Muscle Organic Replenisher Electrolyte Powder is a powder supplement that only comes in a watermelon flavor.
Most users gave the flavor an excellent review and claimed that it really tastes like watermelon.
The powder is low in calories and is completely sugar-free which is amazing given the great taste that it has.
There is one thing that sets this supplement apart from the rest on the list – it doesn’t have any protein in it.
This may sound a bit counterproductive, but the manufacturer specifically lists it as an electrolyte powder.
That makes this suitable for people who may have already had their fill on protein for the day. After all, your body will only use the protein it needs and the rest will come out in your urine, so there is no need to consume protein if you don’t need it.
As for electrolytes, it contains plenty of organic fruit and vegetables that all have moderate to high levels of electrolytes.
The ingredients are listed as two proprietary blends (rehydration and recovery), so it’s not clear how much of each electrolyte you’ll consume. However, you will get all five electrolytes.
Pros
- Made in the U.S.A.
- Contains all five electrolytes.
- Has an excellent natural watermelon flavor.
Cons
- Doesn’t have any protein.
- Only one flavor to choose from.
Performance Lab® Post
Performance Lab® Post is a post workout supplement that comes in capsule form. This means there are no flavors to be concerned about.
Performance Lab® Post is very health because it has no fat, calories, sugar, or cholesterol. It comes with 20 servings per jar and each serving is six capsules.
While this is a lot of capsules, you can finish the supplement a lot quicker than having to mix and finish a drink.
Performance Lab® Post is interesting because it only has nine ingredients. However, these ingredients are all high-quality, targeted ingredients that will give you the best post recovery you can get.
This is why Performance Lab® Post is the best vegan post workout supplement on the list.
While protein isn’t specifically listed, the supplement has key amino acids which is what you’d need the protein for anyway. It has beta-alanine and L-glutamine.
Both amino acids help improve muscle soreness and speed up recovery after working out.
Performance Lab® Post has three electrolytes – sodium, potassium, and folate (from the pomegranate extract). It also has a good supply of creatine.
Pros
- Only uses the highest-quality ingredients in the world.
- Contains creatine which is ideal for recovery.
- Doesn’t have a taste.
Cons
- You must take a lot of capsules for a full serving.
- It’s not organic.
Final Thoughts on the Five Best Vegan Post Workout Supplements
Performance Lab® Post is the best vegan post workout supplement on the list because of the superior ingredients as well as the excellent reputation of the company.
Their products work, plain and simple.
Despite this post workout being the best, the other four supplements are excellent choices as well. It could be that you don’t like taking pills.
It is also a bit pricey compared to the others. Perhaps you just like one better than Performance Lab® Post.
No matter which one you choose, you’ll be getting an excellent vegan post workout product.
