Pea protein powders are coming up strong in the world of health supplements. Compared to animal-based sources such as whey protein powders, plant-derived proteins (like our Organic Pea Protein Powder) are easier to digest, less likely to trigger gut inflammation, and may aid long-term muscle-building fitness goals.
Crucially, pea protein powder comes complete with all the essential amino acids, including branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) that every fitness enthusiast needs in their diet. Aside from being naturally free of dairy and gluten, most high-quality pea proteins also exclude additives, fillers, and synthetics that are often present in many animal-based protein supplements. Of course, this all depends on the manufacturing process of individual pea protein powders, which brings us to the next question, “How is pea protein made?”
How Is Pea Protein Made in General?
As the name suggests, pea proteins are made from the pea plant. But to transform it from the humble pod to the muscle-building protein powder, various steps take place in the manufacturing process.
The scientific literature gives us an inside look at how pea protein is made:
- The shells are removed before the peas undergo dry milling. During dry milling, air classification is used in which a spiral air stream separates the fine protein molecules from the coarse starch molecules. With repeated dry milling and air classification, this intensifies the protein content to produce finely milled pea protein concentrate.
- Wet processing then takes place to transform pea protein concentrate into pea protein isolate. The concentrate first undergoes solubilization in water or a chemical solution (typically acids and alkalis). At a certain pH level, the precipitated proteins are then extracted, neutralized (if acids and alkalis are involved), and dried to form pea protein isolate.
Due to the additional processing steps, pea protein isolates often contain a much higher protein content, averaging between 85-90%. In comparison, the protein content of pea protein concentrate usually averages at 70-85%.
How Is Pea Protein Made at Zen Principle?
The effectiveness of your pea protein powder is highly dependent on its quality, which, in turn, relies on its production process. That’s why at Zen Principle, we always talk about the behind-the-scenes of how our products are made to help you make well-informed choices.
In the case of our Organic Pea Protein Powder, we use organic yellow peas sourced from the U.S. and Canada. We avoid freeze-drying and heat-drying to prevent denaturation of the amino acids, vitamins, and minerals naturally present in raw peas. Instead, we gently dry the fresh peas at ideal low temperatures to preserve their precious nutrients.
Next, we grind the dried peas into a finely milled powder. Using food technology advancement, our filtration process isolates the protein and strips away the starch to create pure pea protein isolate. All that’s left behind is a healthy dose of soluble fiber.
From there, we quickly package the powder in a GMP-compliant (Good Manufacturing Practices) U.S. facility and ship it quickly to maintain absolute freshness. Rest assured that our pea protein is made in small batches under strict health and safety guidelines (we’re USDA-certified) to ensure top-grade purity and quality.
Courtesy of this production process, our hypoallergenic pea protein powder is naturally free of dairy, gluten, soy, genetically modified organisms (GMOs), as well as peanuts and their derivatives. What’s not included: added sweeteners, fillers, and chemicals. That’s why our pea protein is highly nutritious as the following numbers indicate:
- Calories: 125
- Protein: 24 grams
- Carbohydrates: 0.7 grams
- Fat: 3 grams
- Saturated Fat: 0.6 grams
- Dietary Fiber: 1.2 grams
- Potassium: 70 milligrams
- Calcium: 6% of your recommended daily allowance
- Iron: 21% of your recommended daily allowance
Ready to enjoy our Organic Pea Protein Powder as part of your everyday diet? Order it today!
I am old enough to remember when soy protein and soy protein isolate were very popular. They were putting soy protein in lots of vegetarian prepared foods and selling powders like crazy. And then something happened…
And what was that?
We know that peas are good to eat raw in moderation. Good to eat cooked, and dried peas need to be SOAKED so that they can be digested. Why is that? Because mother nature put a protective coating on the pea(seed) to preserve it until it got to the soil, where natural ingredients broke down the coating so it could germinate.
Are we going to find that more and more people become sensitive to processed peas like we did with soybeans?
Some societies (probably traditional Asian) developed enzymes in their bodies so that they are/were able to digest cooked soy beans. Mostly, the beans were fermented in order to become digestible. Many non-asian societies are not able to digest them.
Are you going to tell me that the chemical process in the isolating (maybe) the protein in peas is going to be safe in the long run?
My dear friend tried some creamer made with pea protein. She became instantly constipated. There may be more people out there who have guts that are becoming more and more sensitive to the processed foods (natural food industry no exception).
Most people are experiencing pea protein in vegetarian prepared foods now, not in powders.The source and quality of these ingredients are often unknown.