Beware of Protein Powder/Shakes

wesleyamltd said:
Interesting point of view, Fetishfrog.

Did you give any consideration to the supplement companies shareholders and other stakeholders that may feel differently about their customer base dying or getting sick from product use and the stigma associated with that situation?

Would you care to share which companies are excluded from your sweeping generalization?
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In rereading my post, I realize I implied something I did not mean to. I didn't mean to suggest these companies didn't care about their consumers. I did mean to suggest they all care about quarterly profits. My wording was wonky and misleading.

I do think, given the lack of regulation in the supplement industry, the long term impacts of supplements is poorly studied and understood. Since there is no regulatory requirement to do so, companies typically don't.

One exception I've seen is creatine, which has myriad peer reviewed studies.

All that said, we've seen a number of notable examples in other industries where people have chosen profits over the long term health of their consumers.

The pharmaceutical industry famously has Oxycontin and Celebrex from the recent past, and they are insanely heavily regulated. The auto industry has never chomped at the bit to implement much of anything without being forced by regulation. Seatbelts, airbags, emmissions controls, crash crumple engineering all came at the hands of regulation and all save lives. I mean, the whole point of this topic is that protein supplements were found to have high concentrations of lead, especially the plant based proteins, and you can guarantee the plant based protein supplements were marketed as healthy and in some cases, healthier than animal based supplements. Whoops.

So I remain a bit skeptical.
 
fetishfrog said:
In rereading my post, I realize I implied something I did not mean to. I didn't mean to suggest these companies didn't care about their consumers. I did mean to suggest they all care about quarterly profits. My wording was wonky and misleading.

I do think, given the lack of regulation in the supplement industry, the long term impacts of supplements is poorly studied and understood. Since there is no regulatory requirement to do so, companies typically don't.

One exception I've seen is creatine, which has myriad peer reviewed studies.

All that said, we've seen a number of notable examples in other industries where people have chosen profits over the long term health of their consumers.

The pharmaceutical industry famously has Oxycontin and Celebrex from the recent past, and they are insanely heavily regulated. The auto industry has never chomped at the bit to implement much of anything without being forced by regulation. Seatbelts, airbags, emmissions controls, crash crumple engineering all came at the hands of regulation and all save lives. I mean, the whole point of this topic is that protein supplements were found to have high concentrations of lead, especially the plant based proteins, and you can guarantee the plant based protein supplements were marketed as healthy and in some cases, healthier than animal based supplements. Whoops.

So I remain a bit skeptical.
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That’s fair and I understand why you’re skeptical and that’s healthy.

But I do think your points would have more strength if you kept them specific to protein supplements containing heavy metals and how they impact the consumer. Protein supplements have been widely studied and are considered safe, however, this is in regard to unadulterated complete protein supplements. In order to maintain objectivity it is important to consider protein supplement companies based on their own merit.
 
Henry said:
Worse.

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On the surface this is very compelling but I feel like it deserves more sourced research, pubmed, NIH, most recent CR…. Compare the results with toxicity thresholds and metabolic persistence. Sometime with priority studies you only get a Birds Eye view of the subject matter not necessary nuanced. This in no way means they are study isn’t valid it just needs perspective.
 
wesleyamltd said:
On the surface this is very compelling but I feel like it deserves more sourced research, pubmed, NIH, most recent CR…. Compare the results with toxicity thresholds and metabolic persistence. Sometime with priority studies you only get a Birds Eye view of the subject matter not necessary nuanced. This in no way means they are study isn’t valid it just needs perspective.
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yeah, my quote was from the last CR review.
 
Henry said:
Worse.

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I've been working out most of my life. I have also been drinking protein shakes, for the last 10+ years, or so. In the last year or two, I've been experiencing chronic muscle and joint pain. I attributed it to age (61), which I'm sure a lot of it is. However, looking at the symptoms of elevated levels of lead, arsenic, etc., in the body, I'm really starting to wonder now. I think I'll stop the protein shakes for a bit and see what happens. I realize it will take upwards of a month or so for lead, for example, to leave the blood stream and soft tissue, assuming that's what it is. I'll have to wait 'til my 86th birthday for it leave my bones!! :tearsofjoy::tearsofjoy:

Looks like we can add spices to the list!

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/lead-cinnamon-fda-recall-2025
 
Henry said:
yeah, my quote was from the last CR review.
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As I said there needs to be more information. I’m not saying you have to give me more evidence or even convince me but a solitary CR is not enough samples to have a complete picture.
I’m interested in where this leads and will look deeper later or tomorrow for my own wellbeing.

Thank you for adding to the conversation! 😀
 
For spices, I have generally switched to the "Simply Organic" brand. They have been doing well (in lab tests) for all their products.
 
FYI, the results in that recent viral post are based on a preposterous assumption of safety (basically, they took the lowest known harmful dose of lead, and then divided it by 1000, and called that the "safe limit". The 1000x is entirely arbitrary).

The consensus is that whey-based powders are generally fine (but always best to stick with trusted brands, ON is a good one except their additives may be a concern for some), and that vegan powders should be used sparingly because they do have much higher lead levels. It is sadly unavoidably when concentrating the protein in things like peas and rice, which pick up lead from the soil.

For vegans, consider using tofu instead.
 
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