Our ReviewMuscleMedsCarnivor
Carnivor is certainly a different approach to protein consumption, or is it? Beef has long been a fantastic source of protein for building muscle, so we reviewed Musclemeds Carnivor to see how it shaped up.
Carnivor’s protein matrix includes Hydrolyzed Beef Protein Isolate, Creatine Monohydrate and BCAA‘s including L-Leucine, L-Valine, L-Isoleucine. This provides 23 grams of protein in a 36.4gram serve. Surprisingly they have managed to do this without any cholesterol content, which is unusual for a beef protein powder. The creatine is also a nice addition that should increase stamina with additional bursts of strength when needed.
In addition to the protein matrix, Carnivor also includes what they call the Anabolic Nitrogen Retention Technology. This includes Glutamine-alpha-ketoglutarate which aids protein synthesis but also has roles in cell growth. Ornithine-alpha-ketoglutarate is also added and is especially useful for stimulating the body to build muscle and other tissues, especially when the body is in a stressed state. Alpha-ketoglutarate is used to help stimulate protein synthesis and has an anti carbolic effect, meaning it prevents muscle cells breakdown. And finally, Alpha-ketoisocaproate has been included and has been shown to enhance high-intensity exercise performance and reduce exercise-induced muscle damage.
Cocoa, Natural and Artificial Flavors, and Salt have been added for the chocolate flavor. Silica has been included mainly to make the powder flow easily and to help with mixing. Acesulfame potassium and Sucralose are artificial sweeteners.
Maltodextrin, Xanthan Gum and Sunflower Lecithin are added as thickeners and to provide a creamy texture.
Carnivor also includes a long list of ingredients as an antifoaming agent. These include propylene glycol mono, monoglyceride of fatty acid, polyglycerol oleate, RDB soybean oil, dimethylpolysiloxane, hydrophobic silica, polysorbate 60k, sorbitan monostearate and paraffin.
That’s a big list with lots of ingredients including artificial ingredients you may want to avoid. Having said that, this product is packed full of science all geared towards muscle development.
For a delicious protein shake, mix 1 scoop of Carnivor with 6-8 fl. oz. of cold water in a shaker bottle.
The taste of chocolate was not too bad but very sweet, perhaps a bit too sweet for us. We could detect a bit of a meaty flavor too, however, the chocolate probably masked it a fair bit. I’m not sure the vanilla flavor would do quite so well as masking its natural beef isolate flavor.
Mixing was a little difficult and we found the best results by using a blender.
For all the tech involved with this product, its cost is surprisingly low when compared with similar whey products.
We think it represents excellent value for what is a unique and high tech product.
This is a higher-tech product which we think is well designed but comes with some artificial ingredients we would rather do without. If you’re motivated by high tech and don’t care much for all-natural products, then that may be fine for you. Price is also good, the taste is not so much. If you want to try something different or you’re lactose intolerant, then this may be your answer and it does offer good value for money when compared with similar whey products.