The carob is a flowering evergreen tree located across the Mediterranean region, which is most commonly cultivated for its edible carob pods.
Although a bit of an underdog in the health industry, this superfood is not only a sustainable source of protein, but is also nutrient-dense, and contains a vast array of compounds that can benefit our health.
Better yet, Designer Physique delivers a one-of-a-kind carob seed protein powder, consisting only of 100% raw ground carob pods. This is one of the few truly raw products on the market, besides our hemp protein powder.
Designer physique source carob pods from Spain, which produce the highest quality carob orchards due to optimal environmental growing conditions (Tous et al., 2009).
Before we digress too much, let’s delve into why you should be using nutrient-dense functional superfood.
Carob contains a good source of Essential Amino Acids
First and foremost, let’s talk about Carob’s high-protein content.
Unlike some protein powders on the market, carob contains seven of the essential amino acids (threonine, methionine, valine, isoleucine, leucine, phenylalanine, and lysine) at adequate concentrations required by the human body, according to World Health Organisation (WHO) standards (Ayaz et al., 2009).
That being said though, there is still a high value in other plant-based protein powders, although most often, many plant-based protein powders contain a blend of plant ingredients. This is usually done to reach optimal amino acid levels, although it seems carob could potentially achieve this alone.
In addition to the correct ratio of amino acids found in carob protein powder, studies also demonstrate a high uptake in the gastrointestinal tract. This means carob protein has a high level of digestibility and has a low allergenic profile (Mamone et al., 2019).
To summarise, Carob protein powder alone could be all we need to get the right ratio of amino acids that is highly absorbed by the human body and is also allergy-friendly!
Carob is an excellent source of micronutrients
One amazing attribute to carob is its super nutrient-dense profile of various minerals.
It is also an excellent source of potassium and calcium, with concentrations of potassium reaching 970mg per 100g, and calcium reaching 300mg per 100g.
Putting this into perspective, 1 cup of milk contains 1200mg of calcium, and one portion (100g) of dry weight carob has almost the same equivalent.
To top this off, carob’s nutrient-dense profile also includes iron, copper, zinc, and manganese, with iron being the highest behind potassium and calcium (Goulas et al., 2016).
Yet another reason to supplement with this nutrient-dense superfood.
Carob is a good source of soluble and insoluble fibre
One thing you’ll find in Carob is its substantially high levels of soluble and insoluble fibre.
In fact, Designer Physique’s Carob Protein Powder provides a whopping 26g of fibre per 100g, which is extremely high in comparison to any other plant or whey protein supplement.
What this means is, in addition to getting a good serving of protein in our post-workout shake, it also makes it easier to achieve our daily fibre goals too.
Fibre provides us with a wealth of health benefits including cholesterol metabolism (Valero-Muñoz et al., 2017), better appetite control and may even enhance our fat-burning capacity (Gruendel et al., 2006).
Carob could be a more sustainable ingredient
Lastly, and possibly the most important aspect of carob from an environmental standpoint, is its potential to be a more sustainable ingredient.
Carob powder is a rich blend of sugars, proteins, and minerals, making it a pretty versatile superfood that’s coupled with less industrial processing.
This allows Carob to not only be a high-protein nutrient-dense supplement but also become a useful and healthy ingredient in commercial cooking.
Not only is it also a good cacao and sugar substitute in some cooking recipes, but may even allow for more nutrient-dense gluten-free products (Boublenza et al., 2019).
The Takeaway
Carob protein powder not only contains a highly digestible amount of protein per serve, but also high levels of various minerals, fibre, and other compounds that positively benefit our health.
What’s even better, Designer Physique does a one-of-a-kind Vege Pro-Carob Protein that is absolutely unprocessed and allergy-friendly, containing 100% ground carob pods of the highest quality sourced from Spain.
If you’re looking for the next plant-protein powder that packs a nutrient-dense punch, Carob protein is the one for you.
References
- Ayaz, F. A., Torun, H., Glew, R. H., Bak, Z. D., Chuang, L. T., Presley, J. M., & Andrews, R. (2009). Nutrient content of carob pod (Ceratonia siliqua L.) flour prepared commercially and domestically. Plant Foods for Human Nutrition, 64(4), 286-292. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11130-009-0130-3
- Boublenza, I., Boublenza, I., Boublenza, A., Madji, S., Fabiano-Tixier, A., & Chemat, F. (2019). Carob as source for sustainable ingredients and products. Green Chemistry and Sustainable Technology, 257-275. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-3810-6_10
- Goulas, V., Stylos, E., Chatziathanasiadou, M., Mavromoustakos, T., & Tzakos, A. (2016). Functional components of carob fruit: Linking the chemical and biological space. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 17(11), 1875. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms17111875
- Gruendel, S., Garcia, A. L., Otto, B., Mueller, C., Steiniger, J., Weickert, M. O., Speth, M., Katz, N., & Koebnick, C. (2006). Carob pulp preparation rich in insoluble dietary fiber and polyphenols enhances lipid oxidation and lowers postprandial Acylated Ghrelin in humans. The Journal of Nutrition, 136(6), 1533-1538. https://doi.org/10.1093/jn/136.6.1533
- Mamone, G., Sciammaro, L., De Caro, S., Di Stasio, L., Siano, F., Picariello, G., & Puppo, M. C. (2019). Comparative analysis of protein composition and digestibility of Ceratonia siliqua L. and Prosopis spp. seed germ flour. Food Research International, 120, 188-195. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodres.2019.02.035
- Tous, J., Romero, A., Hermoso, J. F., Ninot, A., Plana, J., & Batlle, I. (2009). Agronomic and commercial performance of four Spanish carob cultivars. HortTechnology, 19(2), 465-470. https://doi.org/10.21273/hortsci.19.2.465
- Valero-Muñoz, M., Ballesteros, S., Ruiz-Roso, B., Pérez-Olleros, L., Martín-Fernández, B., Lahera, V., & De las Heras, N. (2017). Supplementation with an insoluble fiber obtained from carob pod (Ceratonia siliqua L.) rich in polyphenols prevents dyslipidemia in rabbits through SIRT1/PGC-1α pathway. European Journal of Nutrition, 58(1), 357-366. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00394-017-1599-4
