EAS Pro Science Finish Review

Pro Science Finish Protein Powder

Pro Science is a EAS line of products that's developed by Abbott Nutrition which offers advanced recovery proteins and sports supplements. The Pro Science line of products is targeted towards serious athletes and help provide them the nutritional requirements of their training. One of the highlights of EAS Proscience products is the inclusion of a few interesting ingredients such as beta alanine and other amino acids such as taurine and l-glutamine.

Disclosure: For full disclosure, I must mention that I was contacted by a marketing representative for the Pro Science products. A request was made test out and review several Pro Science products, and I was happy to oblige. Please note, however, no payment or other forms of compensation were received in any way, and you can be sure that this review, like all other reviews on the site, are free from bias and free from manufacturer influence. I received two packets of Pro Science Finish - one chocolate and one strawberry.

From the information packet I received from the marketing representative who contacted me to write reviews on the Pro Science supplements, some of the select Pro Science products are "certified by a third party testing organization. In addition, select Pro Science products are certified through the NSF Athletic Banned Substance Certified for Sport Program." - quoted directly from the information package I received along with the samples. The certification ensures that products do not contain any substances banned under the program and that product labels accurately state product ingredients.

This review is for EAS Pro Science Finish, which is a protein powder supplement, which I had just finished testing out.

EAS Pro Science Finish Ingredients

Before anything else, let's first list the ingredient details of Pro Science Finish. See below:

Other Ingredients: Whey Protein Concentrate (Whey Protein Concentrate, Soy Lecithin), Microencapsulated Structured Lipid (Medium Chain Tryacylglycerols, Canola Oil, Whey Protein Isolate, Gum Arabic, Maltodextrin), Potassium Chloride, Red 3, L-Glutamine and Beta- Carotene, Taurine, Sucralose, Acesulfame Potassium, Carrageenan, Salt (Sodium Chloride), Potassium Phosphate, Calcium Phosphate, Oat Fiber, Beta-Alanine, Natural and Artificial Flavors, Dextrose, Milk Protein Isolate, calcium caseinate, Corn Maltodextrin, Red 40 Lake, Potassium Citrate, Sodium Phosphate, Xanthan Gum, Vitamin and Mineral Blend (Biotin, Folic Acid, Magnesium Oxide, Vitamin A Palmitate, Calcium Pantothenate, Ascorbic Acid, Zinc Oxide, Potassium Iodide, Riboflavin, Ferrous Fumarate, Copper Sulfate, Cyanocobalamin, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Thiamin Hydrochloride, Boron Proteinate, Selenium Amino Acid Chelate, Molybdenum Amino Acid Chelate, Manganese Gluconate, Chromium Citrate, di-alpha tocopheryl acetate, niacinamide) Warning: Some individuals may experience a mild flushing sensation. Reducing or dividing the dosage may reduce or eliminate this sensation.

Looking at the ingredient list details, Finish looks like a pretty standard protein supplement providing 35g of whey protein, 25g of carbohydrates, and 5g of fat for a total of 290 calories per serving. It also includes a long list of vitamins and minerals. While the ingredient list looks pretty standard, a standout ingredient worth noting is beta alanine, but unfortunately, the amount of beta alanine contained is not disclosed. The significance of beta alanine is that it is beta amino acid that helps boost carnosine levels and delays the onset of muscle fatigue. Supplementing beta alanine has been found to increase carnosine in muscles and decrease fatigue. Studies have also suggested that beta alanine helps increase body mass, although it is still unclear why beta alanine supplementation increased body mass. [1]

There is a high concentration of carnosine in skeletal muscles, and it is synthesized from the amino acids L-histidine and beta-alanine, and the beta alanine is also the rate limiting precursor of carnosine, meaning that carnosine levels are limited by the amount of available beta-alanine. [2] Studies have shown that consuming beta-alanine can substantially increase carnosine content of human skeletal muscles by as much as 80%. The importance of carnosine is that it leads to improved performance in high intensity exercises in both trained and un-trained individuals. Individuals with high proportion of fast-twitch fibres are found to have a high concentration of carnosine. Women and vegetarians tend to have lower amounts of muscle carnosine, while athletes such as elite sprinters are found to have very high levels of muscular carnosine. [2]

The importance of carnosine is that it is found to play a significant role in muscle pH regulation - where intramuscular acidosis (increase in acidity of the blood) has been attributed to being a main cause of muscle fatigue. Because beta-alanine is the rate-limiting factor of carnosine synthesis, studies have found beta alanine to increase muscle carnosine and thus increase total muscle buffer capacity improving physical performance and delay muscle fatigue during high intensity exercises. Symptoms of paresthesia (tingling or numbness sensation on the skin) have been reported with doses higher than 800mg of beta alanine. However there are no important side effects reported with beta-alanine supplementation, and it seems to be a safe supplement. [3]

There is no shortage of studies done on beta alanine effects on muscle carnosine levels and on its beneficial effects on sports performance. Suffice to say that including beta-alanine in EAS Pro Science is a good choice, but the unfortunate thing is that there's no mention of how much beta alanine is included in each serving of Pro Science Finish.

My Review of EAS Pro Science Finish

I received just two packets of Finish protein - one chocolate and one strawberry - hardly enough to notice any changes or effects of the supplement. They really should be a bit more generous with samples when requesting reviews. =) In any case, I did not notice any flushing or tingling sensation on my skin after consuming Finish, and because of the limited samples, I can only comment on the taste qualities of the protein supplement.

I found the shake to be quite thick and creamy, even mixed with only water. It's much thicker and more creamy than most other protein supplements, so this may or may not be a good thing depending on personal preferences. I don't mind thick shakes, but my personal preference is for more light tasting and refreshing types of protein shakes for post workout, but everyone's different.

The strawberry flavor was quite good. Initially it had some minor clumps, but a little extra shaking did the trick. The strawberry taste is quite good, not too sweet, and just right. I'm usually not a fan of strawberry flavored protein shakes, but I was able to tolerate this one. The chocolate flavor was also thick and creamy. It has a good consistency, and it's not too sweet, and has a good chocolate flavor.

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1. J Strength Cond Res. 2010 Apr 7.
Six Weeks of High-Intensity Interval Training With and Without beta-Alanine Supplementation for Improving Cardiovascular Fitness in Women.
Walter AA, Smith AE, Kendall KL, Stout JR, Cramer JT.

2. Sports Med. 2010 Mar 1;40(3):247-63.
Muscle carnosine metabolism and beta-alanine supplementation in relation to exercise and training.
Derave W, Everaert I, Beeckman S, Baguet A.

3. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2009 Dec 9.
The Role of beta-alanine Supplementation on Muscle Carnosine and Exercise Performance.
Giannini Artioli G, Gualano B, Smith A, Stout J, Herbert Lancha A Junior.

April 2010