Who wins in the battle of Plantfusion vs Vega One. Let’s look at the pros and cons of two meal replacement products – Plantfusion Complete Meal and Vega One All in One.
If you want to see my preferred choice, scroll down to the bottom of this article.
Who are Plantfusion?
I like the story of Plantfusion and they are certainly a reputable company. Some huge brands tend to mass-produce their shakes and skip out on healthiness.
Not Plantfusion…
Plantfusion was created for the sole purpose of providing 100% plant-based goodness.
Plantfusion is the vision of two health-aware foodies. Phil Vigeant grew up working in his family’s health food store.
He was a college athlete and took a great interest in fitness food.
Greg Cooper also grew up working in a family health food store. He was also involved in college athletics and became interested in fitness food. Both worked for many years in the Natural Products Industry.
The great selling point for me was that the product had to be 100% plant-based and free from ingredients that cause allergies.
This would mean not using products like soy, dairy or gluten.
The two traveled the world looking for the perfect products and suppliers.
I personally love their aim to provide healthy, nutritious and great tasting meal shakes.
Who are Vega One?
Vega One is also the vision of two health-aware athletes. Brendan Brazier is a professional triathlete. He was aware that “good nutrition turned good athletes into great athletes”.
He experimented with plant-based nutrition meals and found that they boosted his sporting performance.
After teaming up with Charles Chang, they created the first Vega product, Whole Food Health Optimizer. The company continues to grow and produce natural plant-based meal shakes.
Once again a solid company built on two people who produce shakes for the health-conscious nuts like myself.
PLANTFUSION COMPLETE MEAL
My findings on DV % for Plantfusion.
Plantfusion Complete Meal offers a very high amount of Vitamin B6 (710%) compared to Vega one (45%). B6 helps your brain function and can reduce the effects of memory loss as you get older.
The levels of Riboflavin are also much higher in Plantfusion Complete Meal. In Plantfusion there are 9mg which makes up 690% of your daily value.
Plant fusion and Vega One both have a similar amount of Vitamin C which boosts the immune system and helps to repair tissues.
VEGA ONE
My Findings on DV % for Vega One.
What stood out is Vega One offers higher amounts of Vitamin D (100%) compared to Plantfusion (45% of DV).
The body needs Vitamin D for the absorption of calcium which makes strong bones. It also offers a high amount of Vitamin C.
This boosts the immune system and helps to repair the body.
Vega one also contains higher levels of magnesium being at 25% of your daily value compared to Plantfusions 2%.
Magnesium has a number of benefits. These range from lowering blood pressure and fighting depression to containing anti-inflammatory properties.
Why are some Daily values over 100% for Vega One and Plantfusion?
You may notice some daily values being higher than 100%. For example, biotin contains a whopping 500% of your daily value.
However, do not be alarmed.
The daily value is simply a reference and not a set limit. The daily value is the amount needed to meet the nutrient requirement of 97% of healthy individuals. So it’s not even necessarily even the optimal amount.
In addition, everyone’s body digests vitamins differently.
To make sure all the vitamins are absorbed, over 100% of DV is normally included.
This is why Vega One, Planfusion and other meal replacements can have vitamins that far exceed the daily value.
Is it dangerous to consume vitamins over 100%?
Well…apparently the worst that could happen is probably loose stool.
MACRO comparison – Plantfusion vs Vega One
The Composition of Protein, Fat, Sodium and Carbohydrates between Plantfusion and Vega One is very similar.
One thing I did notice is that Plantfusion contains More calories than vega one at 200grams compared to Vega Ones 170 grams. A marginal difference.
However, my opinion is that the few calories are actually a plus. You don’t want to feel starved after having a shake that is supposed to replace a meal.
The sodium content is also slightly higher in Plantfusion. Making up 17% of your daily value compared to Vega Ones 10%.
Nonetheless, these numbers are so small it hardly makes a difference. The 390 mg of sodium in Plantfusion is basically less than a tablespoon of salt. About 5g makes up a tablespoon of salt.
Are these ingredients Good or Bad?
Sugar
Sugar can consist of glucose, sucrose, and fructose. These elements are usually found in sugar beet or sugar cane. Sugar also comes from dates. Also from other natural products like honey and in the stems and leaves of many plants.
Some meal replacement products add Stevia as a sweetener. This is a natural sweetener. It is a safe and healthy sugar substitute that can sweeten up foods.
It does not have negative health effects linked to refined sugar. Too much sugar causes your blood sugar levels to rise and drop. This causes headaches, cravings and mood swings.
More severe issues can include heart disease, diabetes, and putting on weight.
Sugar content in Plantfusion?
Plantfusion Complete meal- claims to contain less than 1g of sugar, which is nearly nothing!
The minimal Sugar content in plantfusion is from stevia and natural flavourings.
Vega one Sugar Content?
Vega One – lists 1g of sugar from stevia leaf extract
So, both Vega One and Plantfusion complete meal are very low in sugar.
Stevia is the perfect sugar alternative. There is even some research showing that stevia can even regulate insulin and blood sugar levels.
So if you see stevia, do not be alarmed.
It’s great that Plantfusion and vega one chose one of the best sugar alternatives in stevia.
Protein
Drinking a meal replacement must give you a good percentage of the daily protein that your body needs. Both Plantfusion Food and Vega One offer a serving that gives 30% of your daily protein requirement.
Plantfusion Complete Meal– The protein in this drink is made up of pure plant-based protein. This comes from peas, artichokes, organic sprouted quinoa, organic sprouted amaranth, and algae protein. Complete protein foods contain all 9 of the Essential Amino Acids needed by the body.
Plant-based proteins also come from greens like kale and watercress. Pea protein and amaranth are complete proteins. Artichokes and algae protein do not contain all 9 amino acids. To balance this, the manufacturer adds the missing Amino Acids into the blend. Plantfusion complete meal is made in a Triple Certified Facility.
Vega One All in One – The protein in Vega One comes from plant-based ingredients. These are peas, alfalfa, hemp, pumpkin seeds, golden chlorella, sacha inchi, and flax.
Where the proteins lack all 9 Amino Acids, the manufacturer infuses them into the blend for a complete profile.
Vega sources its products from plantations that use fair labor practices. They also source products from Fairtrade International and Rainforest Alliance certified farms.
Vitamins and Nutrients
Vitamins and Nutrients are found in fresh fruits and vegetables.
Plantfusion Complete Meal– Contains 21 whole-food vitamins and minerals. These include Vitamin A, C, D, E, K, B12, and B6.
Vega One – offers 50 percent of your daily needs of vitamins and minerals. Sources include broccoli, kale, spirulina, strawberries, and more.
Artificial additives
Both products are dairy-free and gluten-free. Both are also suitable for vegan diets.
Plantfusion Complete Meal– Dairy-free, soy-free, gluten-free. Also free of many other major allergens. NON-GMO verified. No artificial flavors or preservatives.
Vega One All In One – Gluten-free, dairy-free, no whey or soy ingredients. No artificial flavors or preservatives. NON-GMO verified.
Does Plantfusion contain heavy metals?
Heavy metals in food come in the form of lead, cadmium, mercury, and others. Too many heavy metals in food can be very dangerous to your health. In reality, many foods contain low doses of heavy metals. They occur naturally in products such as brown rice, leafy green vegetables, and fruits. These plants absorb heavy metals from the soil as they grow.
Plantfusion states that their product originally contained brown rice. Brown rice is very high in heavy metals, As such, they removed brown rice from the blend. They continue to test their products to ensure safety levels of heavy metals.
Vega (US) responded to a survey done in 2018 about heavy metals. They say that their products do not contain heavy metals that exceed the regulatory levels.
From these comments, one can guess that both products contain some low levels of heavy metals. These would be found naturally in plants and vegetables.
Organic or not organic?
Organic foods are grown in a farming system that does not make use of any man-made fertilizers or pesticides. They also do not use growth regulators or livestock feed additives. They are also totally free of GMO’s – genetically modified organisms.
In order for a product to receive Organic Certification, 95% of the ingredients must be organically certified.
Plantfusion states that although they use only the finest natural ingredients, this blend is not yet 95% organic. As such, it is not yet certified. So, it cannot claim to be USDA Organic.
In a similar way, Vega One also claims that many of the ingredients are organic. But, again, not all. As such, Vega One cannot claim to be USDA Organic.
Vega has launched a new product called Vega One ® Organic All-In-One Shake. This product does claim to be fully organic.
Which shake has better ingredients?
Both shakes offer a good range of ingredients that work as a meal replacement. They are very closely matched when it comes to vitamins and nutrients. Both provide 30% of your daily required intake of protein in the form of plant-based proteins.
They are both dairy-free and gluten-free. Both have no artificial additives.
Plantfusion complete meal has slightly more fat, 7g compared to 5g per serving. It offers 200 calories per serving. Vega One has less at 170 calories. Both drinks are very low in sugar. But, Plantfusion has zero sugar which is a plus.
What about flavors?
Drinking a meal replacement is great, as long as it tastes good. No one wants a drink that tastes awful. It doesn’t matter how healthy it is for you!
Plantfusion flavors
Plantfusion Complete Meal is available in two flavors, Chocolate Caramel and Vanilla. These flavors come from cocoa and other natural products. Stevia is a plant that is often added to drinks to make them taste sweeter. This is a natural sweetener. It has no bad health effects.
If you are not familiar with vegan powders, you may want to first try using them in a smoothie. Many people said that the chocolate flavor was not what they expected. Some said that the texture was a bit chalky and even grainy.
I would say that the Vanilla flavor is the better one to add to fruit or veggie smoothies. The chocolate flavor is great in a decadent chocolate smoothie.
Vega One Flavors
Vega One offers a more exciting choice of flavors. How about Berry, chocolate, Coconut Almond and French Vanilla? They also have Mocha, Plain Unsweetened and Vanilla Chai. Natural ingredients and natural sweeteners also add to the flavors.
A few people complained that the new Vanilla did not taste great. It seems that the recipe has changed from the old Vanilla. It tasted better.
Lovers of Chai Tea enjoyed the Vanilla Chai flavor. Some users enjoyed mixing the Mocha flavor with almond milk.
Many people used the powders in smoothies. A large number of people complained that the texture was gritty and grainy. It also seems that the Chocolate flavor is very sweet.
Both have a grainy, chalky texture when mixed.
That’s why you need a decent shaker bottle and really shake well.
What about recipes?
Get creative and use these powders in your other recipes. They are ideal for a large number of different uses.
A great way to use the powers is to mix them into smoothies. You can then add in your favorite fruits and veggies.
You can also add Chocolate flavored powders to traditional chocolate brownies. They also mix well into chocolate chip cookies. Make the perfect vegan hot chocolate using the Vega One Chocolate mix. How about making ice-cream or a decadent coffee-blend?
The Vega One website has loads of tasty recipes for you to try. The Plantfusion website does not offer many suggestions.
Which is better value for money?
To workout the cost per serving I use the below formula:
Price/No of Servings
The prices can change. However, the last time I checked, 20 servings of Plantfusion came to
$2.79 per serving (55.99/20).
The current price of Vega One All-In-One Nutritional Shake, 19 servings, 30.9oz (total 16.0oz) is $46.19. This comes to $2.43 per serving.
The price of both products is very similar and may vary from time to time. Normally the difference in cost per serving is very marginal and only a few cents.
Quick Review
Here are the main pros and cons of Plantfusion Complete Meal vs Vega One All In One.
Both meal replacements offer a good balance of protein, nutrients, and vitamins. Both drinks are dairy-free and gluten-free. They are also free from artificial colorings, preservatives, and sweeteners. Both are suitable for a Vegan Diet.
PLANTFUSION COMPLETE MEAL
Pros
- Good source of plant-based proteins
- Good source of essential vitamins and nutrients
- Added Amino Acids where missing from the protein
- No sugar
- Is suitable for a Vegan diet
- Better value for money
Cons
- Not certified as organic
- The taste takes some getting used to
- For some the texture when mixed is chalky and grainy
- Only offers 2 flavors
VEGA ONE
Pros
- Good source of plant-based proteins
- Good source of essential vitamins and nutrients
- Is suitable for a Vegan diet
- Vega has a product certified as totally organic
- Has many flavors
Cons
- The taste takes some getting used to
- The texture when mixed is chalky and grainy
What are others’ opinions?
As with most products, there are people who are fans and others who are not. The biggest complaint with both products was the taste. Some people did not enjoy the taste at all.
However, other people added the powder into smoothies and that made the shakes taste better. They also used the powders in baking and cooking.
In general, people are happy with the nutrient content.
They are happy to use the product as a meal supplement when working out or doing sports. It keeps them feeling energetic. People who used it as a meal replacement said that both products kept them feeling full for up to 4 hours.
A few people had stomach cramps when using the Vega One product. This may have been an allergic reaction to the Savi Seed.
Check Fellow Reviews On Amazon
PlantFusion Vs Vega One – Who Wins?
For me, Plantfusion Complete Meal wins!
Firstly, it has zero sugar.
Then, Plantfusion offers registered trademarks of Select Source™, Flavor Pure™ and Purity Promise™.
These guarantee a better product. This is important for me when it comes to concerns about organic foods and heavy metals.
The flavors of Vega One are a problem for a lot of people. Many said how much they did not enjoy them. Plantfusion just tastes better. Flavor is important when choosing a meal replacement that you will use on a daily basis.
Read Customer Reviews On AmazonSimilar articles:
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