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Arbonne Protein Powder and Shakes Reviews
While doing research for this article and looking at Arbonne protein powder reviews online, I had some reservations.
I’m friends with people who sell it, and they’re generally very passionate about Arbonne’s shakes and other products. And I sell a plant-based protein powder of my own, so this opens the door for potential bias.
So first off, let me say I have always thought of Arbonne as a good company that has helped a lot of people lead healthier lives.
But the goal of every review I write is to present the facts based on my analysis of the nutrition label and ingredients list.
Read on to learn what I discovered about Arbonne protein powder and shakes.
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Arbonne Protein Powder Review
Similar to my other reviews, I am reviewing Arbonne protein powders based on health and nutrition … NOT taste.
This is what I look for in a healthy protein powder:
- Organic, real food ingredients
- No allergens or inflammation-causing soy, dairy, or gluten
- No fillers, natural flavors, or gums
- Protein per serving
- Protein sources
- No added sugar or other artificial sweeteners used
Here’s an analysis of the ingredients Arbonne uses in its protein powders:
 |  | ||
| Arbonne Feel Fit Pea Protein Shake Mix | Arbonne Essentials Daily Protein Boost | ||
| Calories | 160 | 50 | |
| Grams of Protein | 20 | 10 | |
| Protein Source(s) | Pea protein, rice protein, cranberry protein | Pea protein, rice protein, cranberry protein | |
| Grams of Sugar | 7 | 0 | |
| Free of “Natural” Flavors | No | Yes | |
| Free of Gums & Thickeners | No | Yes | |
| Organic | No | No | |
| Vegan | Yes | Yes | |
| Cost Per Gram | $.06 | $.06 |
The Arbonne Essentials Daily Protein Boost actually looks like a pretty good product and I like the protein blend. It’s unflavored though and not organic, so you might need to blend it with a little fruit if you like it a bit sweeter.
Arbonne also has an “Ingredients Policy” page that states:
Being Certified Arbonne Clean ™ begins with the ingredients that we use, taking the best from nature, and embracing the idea that healthy living starts from the inside out — what we choose to include in a product is just as important as what we choose to put on our skin or in our bodies. We choose carefully, so you can feel safe in the knowledge that we’ve done the research.
After reviewing the ingredients in Arbonne’s protein powders and shakes, my problem is not what they formulate without, as stated above … it’s what they formulate their protein powders with.
If you dig into the ingredients list on Arbonne’s flavored protein powders and shakes, there are a few red flags you should be aware of:
1. Some Arbonne Protein Powders Have 7 Grams of Sugar
Cane sugar is the #2 ingredient after the protein blend in Arbonne Essential Protein Powder (now called FeelFit Pea Protein Shake). Huge red flag. Might as well drink a milkshake.
2. Arbonne Essentials Protein Powder Has “Natural” Flavors
Natural flavors may contain hundreds of ingredients, and most of them are not natural. Read my article “What Are Natural Flavors?” if you want to know more about this mystery ingredient.
Bottom line: “natural” flavors can contain hundreds of different ingredients that food companies don’t have to disclose to you. Many of these are chemicals in standard “flavors.” Not saying Arbonne uses them but it’s worth asking them where their flavors come from and how they’re made.
3. Arbonne’s Proteins Have Gums, Fillers, and Other Highly Processed, Artificial Ingredients
Arbonne Protein Powders (and most others on the market) contain processed thickeners, fillers, gums that may cause gut health issues.
Arbonne FeelFit Protein Powder Nutrition Facts and Ingredients
Ingredients: Arbonne Protein Matrix Blend (pea protein isolate, cranberry protein, rice protein), cane sugar, cocoa, natural flavors, gum arabic, sunflower oil, chicory root, stevia leaf extract, xanthan gum, flax seed, guar gum, modified tapioca starch, dicalcium phosphate, tricalcium phosphate, rice hulls, water, sodium ascorbate, tocopherol, silicon dioxide.Arbonne Essentials Daily Protein Boost Nutrition Facts and Ingredients
Let’s wrap this up …
Arbonne Protein Powder Reviews Summed Up
Based on my nutrition and ingredients analysis, I recommend avoiding Arbonne FeelFit Protein Shake Mix (formerly Arbonne Essentials Protein Shake Mix). Arbonne Essentials Daily Protein Boost is a decent product because it contains no sugar or other additives … based on the ingredients and nutrition facts, this is the Arbonne product I would recommend.
Your summation mixes up the Arbonne Protein Shake Mix and the Daily Protein Boost. Previously, your comparisons show that the Boost is the one without sugar, gums, etc. so I’m guessing that’s the only one you would use, not the Protein Shake Mix.
Thanks for letting me know about this … I fixed it. Arbonne Essentials is the one with zero sugar and junk ingredients. That’s the only one I recommend.
New to your blog, can you tell us which you do recommend. I struggle with sugar and know it hurts me when it comes to inflammation. Any suggestions on nutritious shakes for very active gardeners who will give me what I need when I don’t have time to eat (because I’d rather garden)
Well I’m clearly biased but Pure Food, of course. Here’s why.
I’ve been on the Arbonne detox program for 6 days. At the end of the 1st day, I broke out hives! It has spread out on the arms, breast , thighs and stomach (but mainly the arms!!) Could it be the powdered shakes? I don’t want to quit the regimen but these hives are TERRIBLE! Anybody else get hives during detox?
Yikes, Peggy, that definitely means your body’s having a reaction to something in it.
Thank you, I too had looked at the ingredients and was disappointed. As soon as I took the shakes I became gassy and uncomfortabe. I always watch my sugar intake. Then I saw the fillers and the sugar cane and all the fillers etc. I was told to add more greens to balance it. That isn’t right in my mind. I wanted to eat clean and thought this was a good source for my protein shakes. Disappointed and feeling a little duped.
I hear ya, Robin. 9 and 11 grams of sugar is absurd, not to mention all the other stuff.
Are you addressing ARBORNNE here? Or Orgain? Your post is conflicting.
“1. Arbonne Shakes Have Way Too Much Sugar
The sugar content in Orgain Shakes is crazy high:
Arbonne Protein Shake Mix: 9 grams
Arbonne Ready to Drink Shake: 11 grams
Cane sugar is the #2 ingredient in each of these products after the protein blend. Huge red flag. Might as well drink a milkshake.”
It was a typo…thanks for letting me know. It’s fixed.
I have tried many protein powers and Arbonne is the only one that taste good and mixes well. Yes, there are other powers that may have better ingredients BUT if I can’t get them down or they don’t stay down due to the taste and/or it’s inability to dissolve, I’m not going to use them. So, Arbonne has been the lesser of the evils, so far. Can you recommend another product with good taste and dissolves well?
Marsha – in order to dissolve well, most protein powders add gums and fillers. Since I don’t evaluate powders on the basis of taste, I’m probably not the best person to answer that question. My product doesn’t have these things, so it’s a little grittier. If Arbonne works for you, then by all means keep using it.
So, Arbonne essentials greens balance is good?
Looks like a decent greens blend to me, David. Ask what their heavy metal counts are there…some of those fruit/veggie powders can be really high.
I started taking the arbonne shakes then I started having tenderness in my breast my doctor said to stop the shakes and see if it would go away & it did but now that I started again I have the tenderness again. Is there something wrong?
I’m not a doctor, Lisette, but it sounds like your body is sending you a message. I’d stop taking Arbonne immediately and go get it checked out again to be safe.
Thanks for an informative article. Unfortunately it confirmed my concerns. I had ordered two bags of the powder mix and wished I had read the ingredients list before doing so. I will say this mix is so far the only mix I found palatable and experienced no side effects such as bloating. However since I’ve been trying to eat cleaner I was startled by the ingredients list on the Arbonne bag. They’re way too expensive to have all this sugar and junk in them, and the ingredients should be organic at that price. Keep up the good work!
Thanks, Charmaine. Appreciate ya.
I have just completed the 30-day ‘cleanse’ (which it isn’t), and was also alarmed by not only the sugar content, but also by the sweeteners! Just by taking the daily powders I was consuming 18g of sugar alone, that being 540g over 30 days. And new research is emerging about the stress placed on the pancreas producing high levels of insulin as the body takes in the sweetness of, for example, stevia. But the Arbonne reps just say “it’s zero calories”. Arbonne do not acknowledge the sugar/sweeteners problem in their products. One thing this diet will not do is retrain your palate away from sweet foods. Their claim about gaining new food habits for life are somewhat far-fetched. My advice would be to save your hard-earned money and spend it on a blender, a good recipe book, and organic food for the month.
Pretty good advice there!
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Arbonne products do not carry the organic label because it is a U.S. based designation and their ingredients are sourced globally. They work diligently to source high-quality, sustainable ingredients and when an ingredient is determined to be compromised or not sustainable, they change up the formula. I do agree, this particular formula is relatively high in sugar, however they do take our complaints into consideration and have just released a new formula with I believe only 1g of sugar. Full disclosure, I am a registered consultant though I don’t actively work the business. I’m not so deluded as to believe it’s perfect but considering all the really bad alternatives on the market, Arbonne will get my money every time. They also have a 45 day money back guarantee, so if people are feeling “duped” they should probably reach out to their consultant to discuss that.
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Chicory is the item that probably is causing the gassy feeling some are describing in the Arbonne product. Did some research and during the detox regimen, if you are sensitive to inulin (a naturally occurring sugar). Some people have been shown to have inulin allergies (hives is suggestive of that!). https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inulin Overall Arbonne’s protein powder has been changed to reduce cane sugar in favor of stevia (plant sweetener) in their new “Simply 1” line. I had a chicory sensitivity if I consumed too much of it (Arbonne has “gut health”) powder and I could not use it because of that. Blame the right ingredients for the problems. 😁
Chicory has high inulin sugar. Forgot to connect those dots 😉
I just bought this pea protein powder and it says less than 1 gram of sugar. And, it tastes good!
Is Pure Foods 3rd party tested? Are younGMP certified?
Is Pure Foods 3rd party tested? Are your products certified?
Hey Elle. Yes, we’re 3rd party tested and yes we’re GMP-certified.