Recently I’ve been getting headaches a lot. They begin in the afternoon, around 14:00, and don’t go away until I’m asleep. They’ve been going on for just over a month (and also the the month or so after my Asia Adventures), on the days that I work out. I assumed it was just more neck issues.
But I realised that on one day that I worked out, I didn’t have a headache. What was different? It turned out that on that day, I had tried the Reactiv protein powder (the natural, NZ-based one). And I had mixed it with water instead of milk.
It’s not a coincidence. I have replaced the milk in my protein shake with rice milk yesterday and soy milk today, and worked out on both days, and I have not yet had a headache. This is after one month of headaches on workout days.
So unfortunately, that may be the end of my protein adventures – for now. I prefer soy milk but it has a strong flavour, making any further protein flavour tests difficult to compare with my previous tests. In future, after I get used to the taste I may start the experiment from scratch.
So with everything I have learned from my protein flavour tests, what have I decided?
- Optimum Nutrition’s Delicious Strawberry flavour was tied as my favourite, despite it not mixing completely smooth
- I will try Reactiv’s whey again, with (soy) milk, probably adding cinnamon or cocoa
- I will definitely try Balance Vanilla again; it was delicious and tied for my favourite flavour, next to ON’s Delicious Strawberry
- Powders marketed towards women have fewer calories, and also less protein; I probably would not choose female-centric powders because of the lower protein content
I Pick Things Up 