Beyond the muscle gains: What’s in your protein powder?
Source: EWG / By JR Culpepper (EWG)
Protein powder has been a staple of body builders and gymgoers for years, and recently it’s become a cultural phenomenon.
But your post-workout snack could come with a side of potentially harmful chemicals.
Promoted through a mass of social media influencers, body-building culture has never been so popular. Gyms all across the country are removing treadmills, bikes and other cardio equipment to make room for more bench press, squat and free weight areas.
With the focus on muscle gains comes fascination about optimized protein intake, skyrocketing the protein powder business into a $24.6 billion industry.
People commonly use it in smoothies, but it’s also trendy to use in oats, yogurt and even pancakes. Protein cookies and protein pasta have become common in supermarkets, and if you’d prefer a light, protein-infused beverage, you can try out the protein water.
But more protein isn’t always better.
Excess protein doesn’t necessarily give you more muscle, and an overly narrow focus on protein could lead you to consume significant amounts of extra calories.
Or it could lead you to eat more protein-heavy animal products, which have been linked to cardiovascular issues and other health harms.
While many companies make claims about their powder, they may not all be true. Protein powders are classified as dietary supplements, which means they are not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration in the same way food and drinks are. The companies themselves are responsible for verifying the safety of their products. The same is true of health claims made about their products – they’re not confirmed by the FDA.
How much protein should you eat every day?
Before you rush to buy a protein powder, consider whether you really need it.
The recommended dietary allowance is set by the Food and Nutrition board of the National Academy of Sciences to prevent nutrient deficiency. For the average person, that guideline is 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight. So for a person weighing 150 pounds, that’d be about 54 grams of protein, the rough equivalent of two chicken thighs or about 3 cups of lentils.
Some people recovering from illness or injury, exercising regularly or experiencing age-related muscle loss may benefit from higher protein intake. People in these groups typically need more protein than the average person, and supplementation can ensure that they consume enough protein to build back their muscle fibers.
The average adult male consumes about 96 grams of protein a day, and the average adult female about 70 grams, according to a report by the Agriculture Department and the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.
Food naturally offers more nutrients than just protein, which is why most experts recommend trying to consume enough protein without supplements, to avoid underconsuming any nutrients.
One of these nutrients is fiber. Scientists say 95% of Americans consume less fiber than recommended. Making a point of eating protein-rich foods like lentils, beans and chickpeas can help you reach your protein goals with the added benefit of more fiber.
Potentially harmful additives
If you would like to use protein powder, take time to look at the ingredients label. Many brands contain artificial food dyes, sweeteners and other potentially harmful chemicals. They’re additives that don’t occur in nature and add no nutritional value.
As the protein supplement market expands, so are the flavor options. Some companies collaborate with well-known brands to make their protein powder mimic the flavors of foods typically marketed to kids, such as Cosmic Brownies, Jet-puffed Marshmallow Birthday Cake and Fruity Pebbles.
To mimic these foods, protein powder brands use artificial dyes to add eye-catching colors and artificial sweeteners to improve their flavor without using sugar. Petroleum-based artificial dyes have been associated with various health harms, including behavioral and developmental issues in some children and the potential for increased risk of cancer.
Protein powder is notorious for giving some people stomach problems, including stomach aches, bloating and diarrhea. Artificial sweeteners such as sucralose, erythritol and aspartame are known to worsen these issues.
And some sweeteners may contribute to increased risk of certain heart diseases or other health harms.
Heavy metals
Potentially harmful heavy metals are another source of concern about what’s in protein powders.
The Clean Label Project, a food transparency nonprofit, recently tested 160 products from 70 of the top-selling protein powder brands. The results showed that 47% of these products exceeded California’s Proposition 65 exposure safety guidelines for toxic metals, such as lead and cadmium.
Cadmium has been linked to kidney toxicity, bone damage and cancer. Lead is widely known to cause irreversible brain damage and behavior and learning problems.
Whey-based protein powder tended to have lower levels of metals. Even so, 28% percent of whey products tested above California’s Prop 65 safety threshold for lead.
The best choice for you
Protein supplementation can be helpful for someone who participates in sports at a high level or competes in endurance sports, such as running or biking. Most people, even athletes, can meet their protein requirements without relying on protein powder.
If you decide to use protein supplements, here are some tips:
Read the label to avoid products with artificial dyes and sweeteners. Try to stick with simpler flavors, which usually contain fewer ingredients and possibly fewer artificial dyes and sweeteners. They may have fewer ingredients and rely on artificial dyes and sweeteners less.
A shake does not replace a meal. A meal with whole foods has more added nutrients, like fiber, and provides support throughout the day better than a shake alone can.
Look for third-party verification to ensure that a product has been tested for safety and that claims about its ingredients and absence of harmful additives have been verified.