#TeamCSN Review ALRI HumaPro

GOOD NEWS FOR VEGANS AND LACTOSE INTOLERANT (And all of us really!): ALRI HumaPro is an amino acid complex supplement that can be ingested with a high (claimed 99%) amino acid per g complex, isolated from vegetable protein for human use and with no animal enzymes or additives used in the manufacturing process, and is therefore suitable for use by those who have a lactose intolerance or follow a vegetarian/vegan diet. Search the net for HumaPro and a lot of forums have doubts about HumaPro due to its questionable statements and marketing strategy. However I’m here to review the product not their marketing department! HumaPro uses an amino acid complex similar to that found in other essential amino acid (EAA) supplements on the market from animal derivatives and also in a variety of whey protein products. EAA’s are important for muscle growth, this has been proven scientifically and I will not endeavour to explain the essential and non-essential amino acids and their actions. It is important to note that essential amino acids are those that need to be ingested through diet as they cannot be ‘manufactured’ by the body.  HumaPro provides a scientifically suggested amount of EAA’s for muscle growth with an appropriate amino acid content. HumaPro claims to ‘exceed the limitation of a whole food source protein PDCAAS score of 1 by 500%’. The Protein Digestibility Corrected Amino Acid Score (PDCAA) is a measure of the quality of a protein related to its amino acid profile, however is still limited and should be used with caution. This score was developed from essential amino acid intakes for children (which has been argued would be much higher than in adults due to their need to provide for their accelerated rate of growth). The PDCAAS value is in reference to the digestibility of the protein source and is commonly used for measurement of the quality of protein in nutritional studies. The value obtained was referred to as the protein digestibility corrected amino acid score (PDCAAS). This method has been adopted as the preferred method for measurement of the protein value in human nutrition, for reference whey protein, egg and milk has a maximum score of 1.0. So if this statement is true it can be seen this product is of a very high quality indeed.For those who are interested, below is the calculation of the PDCAAS score for those who are interested (taken from Young and Pellet, Plant Proteins in relation to human ptrotein and amino acid nutrition, 1994)

 

So what about the other ingredients? HumaPro contains bitter melon and coffee berries, both of these have strong antioxidant properties and influence glucose regulation and insulin sensitivity  alongside a vitamin complex which is designed to support muscle growth and increase cell metabolic activity, so there’s and added bonus compared to some other EAA’s . Bitter melon has been used as an alternative treatment for diabetes due to its insulin regulating properties however research is still inconclusive and dosages yet to be determined. This has been demonstrated in a research setting using rat models, it has also demonstrated potential to regulate fat deposition in those with a high fat diet. In conclusion despite HumaPro’s marketing issues at times, Humapro is a top quality, highly engineered vegetable source protein that fills a niche in those with dairy intolerances or strict vegetarians and those looking for low salt/sugar/fat additives that is high in amino acid profile scores compared to other protein/amino acid sources. HumaPro  is comparable to other EAA supplements and arguable manufactured at a higher quality with added extracts that influence anabolic activity in muscle tissues. Paul Rimmer BSc, MSc