POPSUGAR reports its important to consider the ingredients and your personal health goals when purchasing protein powder.

POPSUGAR spoke to Jason Machowsky RD, CSSD, RCEP, CSCS, exercise physiologist at HSS, who discussed what protein powders should and should not contain. Machowsky noted, "The ingredient list should be as short as possible," consisting of no more than two or three ingredients. "Keep it simple. It's really one of best things you can do," he added.

Machowsky suggested you should avoid sweeteners in powders and instead get the sweet taste from natural sources (i.e., fruits), and cited whey protein is the preferred protein powder of choice. “We tend to favor whey protein as the most rapidly broken down and absorbed type," he said, which means this is digested and absorbed into the body and muscles faster than other types of protein.

"Generally, you want to have 0.3 to 0.4 grams of protein per kilogram of bodyweight per given sitting," noted Machowsky, which could be about 15 to 20 grams for someone who identifies as a woman and upward to 30 grams for someone who identifies as a man. A common misconception is that you need to consume as much protein as possible to increase muscle mass, however this isn’t necessarily true. “I tell people, 'You want to have enough protein to stimulate muscle protein synthesis, but more isn't necessarily better. Adequate protein in the presence of adequate calories or fuel is really what's going to stimulate muscle protein growth,'” concluded Machowsky.

Read the full article at POPSUGAR.com.