Five Protein Powders and Supplements I Buy on iHerb

It's Yoko, the food blogger who eats her way around the world.

In this post I'd like to share the protein powders and supplements I buy on iHerb.

What Is iHerb?

Some of you may be wondering, "What's iHerb?", so here's a quick rundown.

iHerb is an online shopping site.

Most people have probably used Amazon or similar sites.

iHerb works the same way, but it's especially strong on supplements and health food.

It isn't very well known in Japan, but the company is headquartered in California and has been selling more than 30,000 natural products from 1,200 brands for over ten years.

It ships to more than 150 countries!

The site is in English as you'd expect, but it also supports Japanese, so no worries if you're reading from there.

The app has translation for more than ten languages too.

Supplements are what I recommend most on iHerb

Supplements are my number one reason for using iHerb!

You might think, "Supplements are sold in Japan too," but the US is a supplement powerhouse.

Medical costs are high in the US, so people are even more conscious about supplements than in Japan, to avoid getting sick.

That means there are plenty of supplement makers, and competition drives up quality: lots of cheap products with a high content of active ingredients.

Compared with supplements in Japan, American supplements are made under strict quality standards called GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice).

On top of that, iHerb has outside labs check quality, and products that pass get an "iTested" mark.

There are even iHerb house-brand products.

I could write a whole post on this alone (lol), so I'll stop here. Except for vitamin C, which I go through a lot of, I use American-made supplements.

iHerb Coupon (Promo / Referral) Codes

iHerb has coupon (promo / referral) codes.

If an existing member refers you with a code, you get 10% off your first order and 5% off from your second order on, so I use a friend's code whenever I shop there.

If you'd like the discount, shop through this link (code already applied) → iHerb, or enter my code BLV228 at checkout.

Now let me show you a few things I bought recently!

California Gold Nutrition, Vitamin C Gummies, Gelatin-Free, Gluten-Free, Natural Orange Flavor, 90 Gummies

Blood-orange-flavored gummies packed with vitamin C.

California Gold Nutrition, Vitamin C Gummies, Gelatin-Free, Gluten-Free, Natural Orange Flavor, 90 Gummies (links to the product reviews)

They're candy, so unlike supplements they're easy to buy on impulse, which makes them a good pick if it's your first time on iHerb.

The texture is somewhere between jelly and gummy.

Your teeth go through them with a crisp bite, so they're not like Japanese gummies.

The orange scent comes from natural flavoring and is quite strong, but it grows on you and I can't stop eating them!

Three gummies give you 250 mg of vitamin C.

Your body can't store vitamin C, so I take low doses little and often.

An iHerb house-brand product

It's an iHerb house-brand product, so it carries the iTested mark too.

It has 4.5 stars from 2,482 reviews, and a lot of people seem to be hooked.

Lots of people rated it highly, and reviews said the flavor isn't American-sweet and Japanese people can enjoy it too, so I bought it for the first time. I couldn't figure out how to open the lid and thought I'd never get to eat it, lol. Once I finally got it open and tried one, I knew everyone from kids to grandparents would love it! It doesn't have a gummy chew, but the crisp texture is addictive, and I don't worry about giving it to my kids. It's so good that three a day isn't enough! I resist wanting just one more...! and close the lid every day, lol. If you're curious, I really recommend it (^o^)
Source: iHerb customer review

A good stand-in for snacks

If you want vitamin C, you're usually looking at supplements or fruit, but this is candy, so it's easy to eat!

It's honestly kind of addictive and I end up eating way too many... (lol)

It contains no milk, eggs, fish or shellfish, nuts, peanuts, wheat, soy or gluten, and is made in a facility that doesn't handle these allergens, so that's reassuring.

The lid is the type you push down and then turn, a slightly special design so kids can't open it on their own.

Reading the reviews, a lot of people give them to their kids. If I were a kid now, I'd wolf them down (lol).

Scivation, Xtend, The Original 7G BCAA, Mango Madness, 14.8 oz (420 g)

Next up is a mango-flavored BCAA (branched-chain amino acid).

Scivation, Xtend, The Original 7G BCAA, Mango Madness, 14.8 oz (420 g) (links to the product reviews)

BCAAs are the essential amino acids that fuel your muscles (a collective name for valine, leucine and isoleucine).

They're sometimes in sports drinks, but buying those every time is a hassle, so I mix this with water at home and take it to the gym.

Once you add water it turns a pretty intense pink-orange (lol).

Best taken together with protein

The effects you can expect from BCAAs include boosting muscle protein synthesis, suppressing muscle protein breakdown, reducing muscle damage and reducing lactic acid production.

I recommend drinking it before and during exercise! With less lactic acid, my stamina went up and I got less muscle soreness.

Protein is the material for building muscle, so if you want to keep the muscle you've worked for, it's best to take them together.

Dymatize Nutrition, ISO100 Hydrolyzed, 100% Whey Protein Isolate, Smooth Banana, 1.6 lb (725 g)

This is a banana-flavored whey protein. I always drink it after the gym.

Dymatize Nutrition, ISO100 Hydrolyzed, 100% Whey Protein Isolate, Smooth Banana, 1.6 lb (725 g) (links to the product reviews)

Protein is the basic building material of your body, but surprisingly few people get enough.

The recommended amount is about 2.0 g per kg of body weight per day, so someone who weighs 50 kg needs around 100 g.

Getting that from food is pretty hard: it works out to about five blocks of firm tofu, 17 eggs, or 4.5 chicken tenderloins.

Eating that much every day is basically impossible, but with protein powder it's easy.

With this one, a scoop with the included spoon gives you 25 g of protein.

Protein is probably the thing I'd recommend most on iHerb.

That's how many brands there are, with all kinds of flavors to choose from!

The selection is limited in Japan, so if you're a protein nomad, it's worth a look.

I also have a yogurt-flavored one from a certain well-known brand, but it's soy protein, which doesn't dissolve well in water.

So I mostly use it in cooking (like crepes).

Best dissolved in milk

Whey protein dissolves much more easily than soy protein!

The banana flavor is quite strong, so in milk it's completely banana milk (lol).

It's fairly sweet, so it works as a dessert too.

Now Foods, Biotin, Extra Strength, 10 mg (10,000 mcg), 120 Veg Capsules

Biotin may not be a familiar word. It's vitamin H, a water-soluble vitamin.

It's said to support protein synthesis and the immune system, and I heard it's good for skin and hair, so I take it.

Now Foods, Biotin, Extra Strength, 10 mg (10,000 mcg), 120 Veg Capsules (links to the product reviews)

My nails break less, and my hair feels like it has more body.

Drugstores in Japan hardly sell biotin on its own, so I recommend buying it on iHerb.

The dose is high too! One capsule has a whopping 10 mg.

I'd recommend it if you're concerned about your hair, nails or skin.

Madhava Natural Sweeteners, Organic Fair Trade Raw Blue Agave, Low Glycemic Sweetener, 23.5 oz (667 g)

Last is my food pick: agave syrup.

Madhava Natural Sweeteners, Organic Fair Trade Raw Blue Agave, Low Glycemic Sweetener, 23.5 oz (667 g) (links to the product reviews)

It's gotten more popular lately, and a lot of you probably use it already.

Agave syrup is made by reducing the sap from the stem of the agave plant, the same plant tequila comes from.

It's a low-GI food, so unlike sugar your blood sugar rises gently after you eat it, which makes it good for avoiding fatigue and controlling appetite.

It has no strong aftertaste and really tastes like classic syrup.

It's liquid, so it's easy to use in cooking! Lately it's been replacing all the sugar in my home cooking.

You'll hardly ever find agave syrup in a supermarket in Japan, while iHerb carries lots of big sizes, so I recommend it there.

There are still tons of other great products on iHerb, but I hope this was at least a little helpful!

Happy shopping!