ioPea® is a modified version of Pea Protein, and has a wealth of research showing it to be great for increasing the bioavailability of your protein. It does this with the use of plasma, which alters the protein without damaging it, which in turn makes it more efficiently used by the body. It is not necessarily an ingredient on it’s own, it is an actual process that is added during the manufacturing of protein, and in turn makes a high quality protein.

According to a study done on different sources of protein, plasma-treated (io) was shown to be comparable to Hydrolyzed Whey Protein, which is always touted as one of the fastest and most bioavailable proteins money can buy. This study was a double-blind, randomized, crossover trial comparing 4 separate sources of protein, including Pea Protein, Plasma-Treated Pea Protein, Hydrolyzed Whey Protein, and Plasma-Treated Hydrolyzed Whey Protein. 

The study above concluded that Plasma-Treated Pea Protein was as effective as Hydrolyzed Whey Protein in terms of bioavailability. This is very impressive, as Hydrolyzed Whey Protein Isolate has always been known as one of the most bioavailable proteins money can buy, and is touted for being easy on the digestive system. It does this with the use of plasma, which alters the protein without damaging, which in turn makes it more efficiently used by the body.

Why is this important? Well, Pea Protein is a very commonly used source of protein when it comes to plant based sources, and one issue with Pea Protein is that it is not very bioavailable when compared to traditional sources of protein such as Whey, Egg, Meat, and Soy.

However when plasma-treated, it becomes as bioavailable as Hydrolyzed Whey Protein Isolate. This is a big step for the plant protein market, and hopefully we see more of this process with other plant protein sources.