Organic Sprouted BROWN RICE PROTEIN
By Dawn Thorpe Jarvis , M . S ., R . D ., L . D . N . Garden of Life ® Senior Director of Nutrition Science & Educational Content
ATGarden of Life °, our journey into protein products began in 2001 with
Goatein ®, a goat ’ s milk whey protein . Today , we are proud to offer our customers top-selling brands , including RAW Protein , RAW Fit ® and RAW Meal in which the main source of protein in each of these is Organic Sprouted Brown Rice Protein , along with a dozen other organic sprouted proteins .
SO , WHY ORGANIC SPROUTED BROWN RICE PROTEIN ?
In recent years , there has been a huge increased demand for clean , plant-based proteins amidst concerns about animal-sourced proteins . Unlike dairy products , Organic Sprouted Brown Rice Protein does not contain antibiotics , hormones and drugs routinely given to livestock . Additionally , this plant-based protein does not contain any lactose ( milk sugar ) and does not need to be pasteurized to destroy pathogens ( commonly found in milk ). Pasteurization utilizes high temperatures which denature proteins and kill off beneficial probiotics and enzymes . Our Organic Sprouted Brown Rice Protein is considered RAW because it is carefully produced at low temperatures ( below 115 º F ) to prevent heat damage to the proteins and to preserve probiotics and live enzymes . This also means that it is a highly digestible protein , as the living enzymes and probiotics naturally support healthy digestion .
Organic Sprouted Brown Rice Protein was also selected because it ’ s a high-quality protein containing all the essential amino acids in ideal proportions , including the highly prized branched chain amino acids ( valine , leucine and iso-leucine ) needed by the body to build and repair muscles and other tissues . This makes our organic brown rice protein comparable in protein quality to any animal protein . This is accomplished by using all three layers of the whole grain ( the endosperm , germ and bran ) as each layer has a unique profile of amino acids which complement each other to provide a complete profile .
Organic Sprouted Brown Rice Protein is suitable for vegans and vegetarians , and is free of common food allergens such as dairy , soy and gluten .
However , the most important reason is that our Organic Sprouted Brown Rice Protein is dual certified , meaning that it ’ s both Certified USDA Organic and Non-GMO Project Verified . ( Check for the USDA Organic Seal and Non – GMO Project logo ; very few products have them .) We believe dual certification is the ultimate standard for quality today , meaning no herbicides , pesticides or fungicides have been sprayed on these crops , which can never be grown from genetically engineered seeds .
Rice , by nature , chelates minerals and other substances from the soil , including naturally occurring heavy metals . All of our proteins are rigorously tested to meet specifications . In 2014 , we committed to reducing heavy metals in all of our rice protein products and worked diligently to test multiple sources and suppliers around the world . It ’ s taken us time to create enough supply for all of our products , but we ’ ve done it — and we ’ ve converted all of our organic rice protein products to this new , lower-metal , organic , non-GMO sprouted brown rice protein .
At Garden of life , we take the phrase CLEAN protein very seriously .