ESSENTIAL Powder (Pure Amino Acid Formula) 18oz

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

• What does bio-equivalent mean?
  The term “bio-equivalent” simply means you get all the benefits that would occur had you consumed a certain number of protein grams (depending upon the EAA formula).

  You’ll notice that no protein number is listed on the supplement facts for ESSENTIAL. This is because essential amino acids are a further step down the protein line… they are the essence of what protein offers your body. You could look at regular protein like a truck carrying a load of essential amino acids. These acids must be unloaded by your digestive system and then uploaded into your muscles by your insulin hormone. Essential amino acids are the load itself. They don’t require the truck. A scant tablespoon serving size of ESSENTIAL is equal to what 90 grams of protein does in your body work and repair-wise.

• Can this be counted towards our meal, snack, or total protein for the day?
  ESSENTIAL can count toward your daily protein goal, however, it is important to keep in mind that protein grams per meal or snack are far more important than any daily total number. Four protein fuelings per day of a minimum of 25 grams are what research has revealed to be the most effective method for protecting and refueling your lean body mass. ESSENTIAL is swiftly absorbed into your muscles and utilized quickly so you still need to make sure to get your other important protein fuelings throughout your day. This will still be important even if you exceed your personal protein number goal sooner than your 4th meal by counting ESSENTIAL as its full 90 grams. If you use two full ESSENTIAL servings in a day, that amounts to 180 grams. You don’t have to worry about going over your protein goal by using ESSENTIAL because essential amino acids do not have negative side effects in your body but rather a plethora of positive ones. If super high daily totals bother you, you can instead simply count each serving of ESSENTIAL as complete which is 25 grams.
• Should I be taking ESSENTIAL at a certain time of day?
  Any time of day is fine! Some experience a nice energy boost so you might want to consider not taking it in the evening if you feel it might impede your sleep. Others have said that it seems to help them sleep better! Find your own best groove! We (Pearl and Serene) generally take it mid-morning as this is right after we work out. But we take it at this same time on mornings when we don’t work out as well. Therefore, we take it daily and sometimes more than once a day as we also use it for meals or snacks with low or no protein.
• How many times a day is recommended?
  While eating basic food protein is still crucial, you don’t have to worry about frequent use of ESSENTIAL. It is safe and healthy, so it is all up to your budget. You can save it for just fueling your workouts, or use it whenever needed throughout your day. Just always keep in mind that you still need the micronutrients, vitamins, and minerals that whole-food proteins provide. These foods also are more calorie-dense than EAAs; ESSENTIAL only contains 2 calories per serving so it should not be considered a full meal replacement, you need enough calories to sustain your metabolism. We suggest a beautiful balance. Don’t completely replace your whole food proteins with it but use it when meals or snacks are lacking in protein. We suggest a limit of two to three servings of ESSENTIAL per day and perhaps reduce it to just one to two servings (or more half sized servings) if you are frequently using any of our other optimized proteins.
• Can ESSENTIAL be used as a meal replacement?

  We don’t recommend using ESSENTIAL alone as a meal or snack as it does not have enough calories. Going too low in daily calories can lower metabolism and hinder sustainable fat loss. Use it as more of a supplement or meal helper.

• Can I do half servings?
  We suggest a full serving post-workout but for any meal that has some protein (but not a full 25 grams worth which is what you need), you can do a half serving of ESSENTIAL. Say your meal is broccoli and a sweet potato which has little to no protein. In this case, you will want the full or close to full serving to get your 3-gram bolus of leucine for the sake of your lean body mass.
• Will ESSENTIAL help stabilize blood sugar?
  Studies have shown that essential amino acids work wonderfully to help stabilize blood sugar and prevent spiking after a meal. However, each person is unique and blood sugar levels greatly depend upon your current state of blood sugar stability and what foods you pair with ESSENTIAL.
• Can ESSENTIAL Amino Acid Powder cause fatigue?

  For many, ESSENTIAL is energizing, and while most people won’t experience fatigue, here are two reasons that certain people might.

  1: LEA – which stands for Low Energy Available. Essential only has 2 calories for a full serving. Let’s say you use it as a snack and don’t eat enough other calories for your snack, you may not have enough calories to fuel your energy needs. Women are very susceptible to LEA.  If you are prone to energy slumps… add food when you use ESSENTIAL.

  2: Glycine – ESSENTIAL uses glycine as part of the proprietary delivery system. Glycine also has important lean body mass fueling benefits of its own. There is a good dose of glycine in the formula. Glycine is calming. For those who may be sensitive… it may be too calming. It works on the GABA pathway in the brain. That is why, for people with ADHD, etc… it can be a wonderful supplement. If this is the case and the glycine is making you feel too calmed to the point of being overly tired… try taking it in the evening.

  If it is fatigue-promoting for you, consider using it at night for repairs while you sleep and find another form of protein for when you work out… our Optimized whey or Plant protein would be good. They have other food-based amino acids in them, which would help negate an LEA state and less glycine overall.

• Is ESSENTIAL plant or animal-based?

  ESSENTIAL is plant-based and vegan!

• Can ESSENTIAL be added to hot drinks?

  Because we use select essential amino acids that are not denatured with heat, unlike certain proteins, it is perfectly acceptable to use ESSENTIAL in hot drinks.

• What happens if ESSENTIAL doesn’t dissolve straight away when I stir it in water?

  It is normal for essential amino acids to take their time dissolving. You will get the fastest results if you shake in a bottle rather than stir. If you would rather stir and prefer the powder to be fully dissolved before drinking (it doesn’t have to be fully dissolved to be utilized) then wait several more seconds after stirring the first time, stir again, wait for another few seconds and you should have your desired result.

• Can I put ESSENTIAL in anything else other than water?

  It all depends on what you want to use it for. If you are in your post-workout window, best to just mix it with water and chug it down. But for meals and snacks, ESSENTIAL can be mixed into kefir, Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, etc. Keep in mind it has a mild citrus taste so it might not work well with chocolate or peanut butter flavors.

• I’ve heard that essential amino acids can taste bad. What can I do if I don’t find them palatable?

  While we have tried many brands that are quite horrible, we find the lightly sweetened citrus flavor of ESSENTIAL to be pleasant and tasty.  If you’re not crazy about the flavor, or just want to get your dose in quickly, mix with a smaller amount of water (4-6 ounces), chug it, then chase with more water. Any on-plan flavoring is perfectly fine to use and mixing it with lemon juice and a doonk of stevia is delightful! Another option is to add one of our Trim Healthy Hydrates flavors when you mix.

• Can ESSENTIAL be added to an all-day Sipper?

  It depends on your reasons for using ESSENTIAL. If post-workout fueling, you want it in fast so delaying your muscle repair by sipping for hours is not a good idea. Get it down fast! If you are using it as added protein to your meal, a similar idea applies… you certainly don’t have to chug it with your meal, but you don’t want to take hours to drink it. Finish it up when you finish your meal. However, if you want to add it to an All Day Sipper to keep a steady flow of essential amino acids coming in all day, that is fine. It is not digested like a food fuel, so it won’t interfere with digestion or your metabolic cycle.

• Can my children and teens use ESSENTIAL?

  We always want children and teens to get necessary vitamins and minerals from whole foods when they can, and we wouldn’t want ESSENTIAL to replace all their food protein. Some children, however, can be finicky eaters and may not always get the nutrients they need. A half serving of ESSENTIAL for small children or a full serving for teens can be a great way for them to have the building blocks to grow with strength and energy and a fantastic way to fuel sporting activities or strength training. Obtaining a healthy body composition (fat to muscle) early in life can influence their adult life. Making sure they get ample lean muscle as a child can have a positive impact on their metabolic future. All ingredients are considered safe and healthy for children.

• Is ESSENTIAL safe for pregnancy and nursing?

  We’d rather you focus on whole-food protein sources so you and your baby can get all the minerals, vitamins, and micronutrients that you can during this season. While many women report fantastic pregnancies using EAAs, we believe pregnancy should be a time for nurturing your baby rather than focusing on gaining back lean body mass. Protein is so important during pregnancy. Whole food sources may have smaller amounts of bioavailable protein than EAAs, however, they contain more overall nutrients. For post-workout, we think pregnant women may be best suited to our Pristine Whey Protein isolate. Having said this, many women struggle with protein intake during pregnancy so ESSENTIAL may be of help in certain cases, please talk it over with your medical practitioner.

  Less caution is needed when breastfeeding, however, we advise not going over one serving a day. We don’t want you to neglect other proteins that you need in the form of whole foods for making breast milk.

• I’ve heard that certain forms of protein can be hard on kidneys. Should I be concerned?

  The free-form amino acids in ESSENTIAL have more than five times the bioavailability of regular forms of protein which provides extremely high bio-equivalent amounts of protein from just one serving. And you’ll do this without kidney strain. Some research has even shown that an essential amino acid supplement may help patients stop the progression of renal failure. Using ESSENTIAL is like getting the protein amounts from eating a massive steak or chicken breast but in just one tablespoon! And you don’t have to chew anything or burn all those additional calories. Free-form amino acids are already broken down into their most basic form, so your body does not have to rely on the digestion pathway, and your kidneys are not taxed.

• Is ESSENTIAL heavy metal tested?

  All essential amino acids in this formula are tested for heavy metals and must always pass with flying colors. Sadly, many other EAA formulas are derived from sub-standard sources of amino acids. (We know this because it took us a long time to find a high-quality source of pure amino acids).