Adaptogen: Adaptogens are substances that have been traditionally considered to help the body adjust to stress (or stress factors) by increasing an individual’s ability to adapt.
Amino Acid: All protein is made of amino acids. Some are essential (ones you need to get from your diet) and some are non-essential (ones your body has the ability to make out of other amino acids).
Bacillus Coagulans: A dairy-free, spore-forming probiotic.
BCAA: Short for branch chain amino acids, which are three essential amino acids that help support protein synthesis:
Leucine
Isoleucine
Valine
Chlorella: Chlorella, an unicellular, microscopic, fresh-water green algae. Vega chlorella is grown on an island South West of Okinawa, the southern-most tip of Japan just East of Taiwan; roughly a 7 hour flight from Toyko.
Clean: At Vega, clean means Non-GMO Project verified, gluten-free, vegan, and made without artificial flavors, colors or sweeteners.
Electrolyte: These minerals, primarily sodium and to a lesser extent potassium, calcium, and magnesium, help to regulate our fluid balance, blood pH, heart, nerve and muscle function.
Informed Choice: The Informed Choice program provides assurance that the products with the logo have been tested for substances on the World Anti-Doping Agency list of banned substances and is safe for athletes to use.
Keto: Keto is short for ketogenic. A ketogenic diet (KD) falls under the umbrella of low-carb diets (LCD). While LCD are subjectively defined, KD generally means diets that restrict carbohydrate intake to a maximum of approx. 50 grams or 10% of total energy per day. The remaining calories come predominantly (60-80% or more) from fat, and the rest from protein.
MCT: Short for Medium Chain Triglyceride. At Vega®, we source MCT oil from coconuts.
Melatonin: A hormone that is naturally made by the pineal gland, which is a small endocrine gland in the brain. It regulates your body’s circadian rhythm (a.k.a. your internal clock).
Maca: A root vegetable native to Peru. Native Peruvians have eaten maca for thousands of years. Grown at 14,000 feet in an extreme climate of freezing cold, fierce winds and intense sunlight, maca is resilient. Herbalists believe that resilient plants are especially valuable; from a herbological perspective, maca’s resiliency is unmatched.
Natural Flavors: At Vega, our Natural Flavors are from the extract of plants. These extracts come from a variety of plant-based sources such as spices, fruit or fruit juices, vegetable or vegetable juices, herbs and roots. We use extracts from a variety of sources because that’s the best way for us to create the flavor you’re after when you grab a tub of your favorite Vega® Product off the shelf. Please be assured that these flavor blends are always plant-based and don’t include MSG.
NSF Certified: NSF International is an independent and accredited organization that tests products for over 270 athletic banned substances, and ingredients such as heavy metals. The NSF label certifies that what’s on the label is in the product and includes ongoing testing of the product formulation, labels and bi-annual audits of our manufacturing facility to ensure Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) compliance.
Organic: We source organic ingredients where possible. We maintain a focus on small scale, North American suppliers wherever possible. We believe in finding suppliers that have similar core values to Vega with whom we can build long-lasting partnerships. These suppliers may provide us with organically grown raw materials free from herbicides and pesticides but might not have their organic certification. If a product is certified organic you will see USDA Organic (for products sold in the US) and Canada Organic (for products sold in Canada) on the label.
Prebiotic: Prebiotics are dietary fiber that help promote the growth of beneficial gut bacteria.
Probiotics: Probiotics are “good gut bacteria” that are beneficial for your digestive system, or your gut.
Spore-Forming Probiotics: Spore-forming probiotics, like bacillus coagulans, are strains that have the ability to form hard shells around the bacteria and protect them from harsh, environmental factors like hot temperatures and acidic environments.
Vegan Action: All Vega products are vegan certified through Vegan Action. Vegan Action verifies that all certified products are made without any animal ingredients or by-products including dairy, eggs and honey. Vegan Action is a non-profit organization that uses supplier verification to certify that products are vegan. This is based on criteria for ingredients and the manufacturing facility specific to Vegan Action requirements While we don’t use any animal ingredients or by-products in our products, our shakes are manufactured in a facility that also processes peanuts, dairy, soy, egg and tree nuts. It may share some of the same lines with products that contain these ingredients. All our facilities follow GMP, and strict sanitation practices are followed to ensure risk for cross contamination is minimized.
