Is Ancient nutrition Whey Protein ultra-processed?

21 oz , Protein powders Sold in the United States

Yes, it's ultra-processed

1 Unprocessed
2 Kitchen staple
3 Processed
4 Ultra-processed

Signs of ultra-processing in its ingredients:

Sweetener
E322 Lecithins
E960 Steviol glycosides

8 ingredients
3 additives

Less processed protein powders

Almond Protein Powder Bob's Red Mill 1 ingredient · no additives NOVA group 1
Hemp Protein Powder Manitoba Harvest 1 ingredient · no additives NOVA group 1
Simple Plant Protein Powder Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Orgain 6 ingredients · no additives NOVA group 1
Unflavored plant based protein Truvani 3 ingredients · no additives NOVA group 1

Less processed isn't automatically healthier, so compare the labels for what matters to you, such as sugar or salt.

Ingredients

Ultra-processing Processing signs are highlighted

Grass Fed Whey Protein Concentrate, Regenerative A2, A2 Nonfat Milk Protein Concentrate, Eggshell Membrane Collagen, Natural vanilla flavor with other natural flavor, monk fruit extract (ultra-processing marker), stevia leaf extract (ultra-processing marker), sunflower lecithin (ultra-processing marker)

Additives: E322 Lecithins , E322i Lecithin , E960 Steviol glycosides

As written on the pack

Grass Fed Whey Protein Concentrate, Organic Regenerative A2/A2 Nonfat Milk Protein Concentrate, Eggshell Membrane Collagen, Natural vanilla flavor with other natural flavor, monk fruit extract, stevia leaf extract, sunflower lecithin

What makes it ultra-processed

Cosmetic additives

Added to change how the food looks, feels or tastes, not to keep it safe. A hallmark of ultra-processed food.

E322 Lecithins Lecithins are fatty substances extracted mostly from soybeans, sunflower seeds or eggs, used as emulsifiers to keep fat and water mixed, for example in chocolate.
E960 Steviol glycosides Steviol glycosides are sweet compounds extracted and purified from the leaves of the stevia plant.
Sweetener Sweeteners give sweetness with few or no calories, many at hundreds of times the strength of sugar.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 149 protein powders

From least to most processed, this one ranks 37th. 95% of the protein powders here are ultra-processed.

Ranked by NOVA group, then by the number of ultra-processing signs, additives and ingredients. Our ordering, not part of NOVA.

All 149 protein powders, least processed first

About this information

Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 0816401027436, last edited 2 August 2026), available under the Open Database License. If something is wrong or the recipe has changed, you can correct it there.
Photo: Open Food Facts contributors, CC BY-SA 3.0.
The NOVA group is an automated estimate from crowdsourced data: a missing or mistyped ingredient can change it.
General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.