Legion Athletics Casein Protein Review: Is It Worth It?

Taste:	(5.0 / 5)
Price:	(4.5 / 5)
Mixability:	(4.0 / 5)
Ingredients:	(5.0 / 5)
Consistency:	(5.0 / 5)
Overall:	(4.8 / 5)

A while back I wrote an article about casein protein. Although casein is certainly not as popular as whey, it’s still an important supplement to consider investing in if you are looking to maximize your bodies ability to maintain muscle mass.

While both whey and casein are derived from milk, their difference lies in their digestion rates. Whey digests rapidly while casein digests slower and more evenly. This is important for times when you will likely go hours without being able to eat or squeeze a shake in.

I have and do currently use casein protein powder. Many major supplement companies that produce a whey protein do not produce a casein protein, which can make it difficult to find a quality one.

One company that I have recently discovered, which produces a very high quality casein protein, is Legion Athletics. They produce some very impressive supplements with great reviews. I had been looking for a new casein protein and was extremely excited whey they recently came out with one.

I have been using their casein protein for a little over a month now and feel after trying it out for a bit, I am ready to bring you the Legion Athletics Casein Protein Review.

About Legion Athletics

Legion Athletics is a supplement company founded by a guy named Mike Matthews. If you have been reading fitness blogs and books for a while, you have likely heard of Matthews.

Matthews wrote the popular books Bigger Leaner Stronger and Thinner Leaner Stronger. On a side note I own both of the books and they are awesome. I definitely recommend them if you are looking for real advice on working out and dieting.

I actually didn’t know that Matthews was the founder of the company when I first began looking at their supplements but was quite excited once I found out, as he is a well- respected fitness authority who gives authentic advice.

“we’re committed to creating supplement formulations that are 100% backed by peer-reviewed scientific research, to using education and not hoopla to promote them, and to providing a fantastic value and customer experience.”- Legion Athletics story.

After looking at the supplements produced by Legion, they are certainly creating supplements in line with their mission statement. I am super impressed with most of the supplements they produce.

Legion Casein + powder

Legion’s casein protein is produced from grass-fed Irish cows. Real grass-fed cows. The kind you see openly grazing in the field as they should be. The cows are raised on small dairy farms in Ireland.

 

 

Legion states that they do not like to use the “grass-fed” label on their supplements because it can be misleading. I can agree with that because the term “grass-fed” is not currently regulated and I think a lot of companies are taking advantage of it.

While learning about Legion’s casein powder, I learned that Ireland is known for producing some of the best quality dairy in the world. Ireland has stricter regulatory policies for dairy than the USA which ultimately creates a higher quality milk from a healthier cow.

Legion states that their casein has a milder and creamier taste than casein produced in the USA due to the quality of the milk used to make it.

It’s evident that Legion worked hard to ensure that their casein (and whey) are produced from the highest quality milk available to them. I am extremely impressed that Legion invests the time and money into sourcing their protein from Ireland. It’s clear that they want to produce a high quality supplement.

Micellar casein

There are two types of casein available to produce a powder from which are micellar casein and calcium caseinate.

Micellar casein is the superior from of casein as it digests slower than calcium caseinate and is not denatured during processing like calcium caseinate is. What that means is that Micellar casein retains something called “micelles”, or small bundles of protein.

When protein is exposed to heat, many of the important amino acids and immune boosting substances are damaged. The reasons you are taking a protein powder to begin with is for the amino acids it contains. Undenatured protein is far superior to denatured protein powder.

That being said, I am happy to say that Legion casein is created using micellar casein.

Taste

I purchased the Milk Chocolate flavor of Legion casein. They currently only have two flavors of casein available being chocolate and vanilla.

I tend to favor chocolate flavored protein which is a good thing for this review because it means that I have tried a lot of them. If there is one thing I have tried a ton of, it is chocolate protein powder.

The taste of this protein is awesome. Within the first taste, I knew this was something special. This is by far, the best tasting protein that I have tried in a long time. It actually tastes like chocolate.

 

 

Once you make the switch from low-quality chemical filled protein powder to a high-quality naturally flavored one, you realize quickly that you will usually sacrifice some taste. The sad reality is that protein filled with toxic chemicals usually tastes really good. Those companies invest a lot of time and money into the taste. They do not have to be concerned with the ingredients as they use as long as it tastes good.

Most natural protein powders taste “ok” in my experience. Typically nothing special. I have just come to accept that and it really isn’t a big deal for me. Not that I don’t care about taste however, I will endure something tasting bad if I know that it is good for me.

Very few natural protein powders have tasted what I would call outstanding but I think I would definitely put this one in the outstanding category.

Legion Casein+ is sweetened with stevia. Stevia is now very common so I think most people have experienced it before. That being said, I did not find it overly sweet like other supplements flavored with stevia.

Consistency

Within the first taste, I immediately noticed how much creamier this casein was than other ones that I’ve tried. The texture is much thicker and actually similar to a real milkshake. Like the delicious ice cream filled kind you get on a hot summer day.

 

Like Legion states, the consistency of this protein is definitely different from ones I’ve tried made in the USA. It’s one of the thickest ones I’ve had for sure.

I prefer my protein shake to be on the thicker side, to be honest. Watery protein just doesn’t feel right and grosses me out a bit.

I am happy to report that this protein mixes very well with water. It does not come out quite as thick as when mixed with milk but it still comes out fairly thick when compared to other proteins.

The milk chocolate flavor has 5 ingredients being: non-gmo micellar casein protein, cocoa powder, natural flavor, sea salt and stevia leaf extract. 

That’s it. No artificial preservatives, no artificial colors, no artificial flavors. Nothing artificial at all.

I really like the ingredient profile for this protein. It does not contain anything other than is absolutely needed. The fewer ingredients the better.

Nutrition facts

Here’s a breakdown of the numbers for the important nutritional categories:

Calories: 110

Total fat: .5 grams

Sodium: 105 mg (5 % DV)

Total carbohydrates: 3 grams

Total sugars: 1 gram

Calcium: 732 mg (60 % DV)

Protein 25 grams

Overall, that’s a great nutritional profile for a protein powder. The fact that it is low-carb and low-sugar makes this a great option for those on low-carb and ketogenic diets.

Price

Legion’s casein protein powder is currently $40.00 on their website and $39.97 on Amazon.

I think that is a very fair price for this protein although, there are other casein protein powders avilable that are cheaper.

While I usually prefer ordering from Amazon due to convenience, it would be worth ordering from Legion’s website if you are going to be ordering several of their supplements as they will typically give you 10 % off of your order if it reaches a certain amount.

Pros and Cons

Like all supplements, there are pros and cons. The pros far outweigh the cons for me on this one however, there are a few cons I know are important to people.

Pros

• Great taste
• Consistency
• Casein quality

Cons

• Mixability- One slight issue I found with this protein is it’s mixability. I think it has to do with the fact that it is thicker than traditional protein. No matter how much or how little water/milk I used to mix it, I can never seem to get it to mix perfectly. Some of the powder also seems to clump towards the top of my shaker. Personally makes no difference to me but I know people are picky with how their protein mixes.
• Price- While this is very comparable to similar casein proteins, it is more expensive than many of the commercial ones. I think that the quality of the protein is worth the extra money for sure but I know many are on a tight budget and cannot always afford the little bit extra cost that high quality supplements bring.

How to take it

The vast majority of people take casein right before bed. This is how I use it although, I will consider taking it if I know that I will be going a long time without any other kind of protein in my system.

My suggestion would be to take one serving (one scoop) as close to bed as possible to ensure that it will be working as long as possible while you are sleeping.

Overall

I like this casein powder a lot and would definitely recommend it to someone who is in the market for it. I like the powder and company so much that I will most likely be trying their whey protein powder next when my current one runs out.

What I have noticed is that the morning after taking casein, I am not as hungry as I am usually and I feel better overall. I’m assuming that it’s due to the fact that my body and muscles were fed properly as I slept and did not starve all night.

What I like most about this powder is the taste, consistency and knowledge that it is produced from high quality milk. That gives me peace of mind when taking it that I am consuming something that is not only good for my muscles but good for my health as well.

Have you ever tried casein protein before? I would love to hear your experiences and questions about it.