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You're Probably Drinking Really Bad Protein Powder

Arnold

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Get Shredded!
You're Probably Drinking Really Bad Protein Powder

Let me throw this hypothetical at you: How would you know if the protein powder you're using is any good?

It's not like poor quality stuff would make you feel any worse, and if you didn't add any muscle during the time you were using it, you'd likely blame it on your diet, your training program, or even your mom and pop for passing on some rotten genes.

Your protein powder is probably the last thing you'd blame, but unfortunately, that's exactly what some scurrilous protein manufacturers are counting on.

Your Honor, Let Me Present My Case
I've been involved at some level in the design, manufacture, or marketing of various high-quality protein powders for almost 30 years. While making good protein powders was a moral imperative, it was also a selfish endeavor because I wanted to personally use protein powder that works as advertised.

I'm a lifter and I want to be healthier, so there's no way in hell I'd want to contribute my efforts or expertise to something that didn't meet my needs.

But I've seen some things, ugly things, along the way. Below are a few of them and I've broken these various tactics down into two categories: "misdemeanors" and downright "crimes."

The misdemeanors are things that weren't exactly dishonest, but end up costing you extra money for no reason, while the crimes I describe are exactly that – crimes – done with nothing but profit in mind and no regard for the consumer. Hopefully, this info will help protect you from making poor protein powder purchases in the future.

Fair warning, though: At the end of the article, I'm going to act in a self-serving manner and tell you that the protein powder you should use is the one made by Biotest, the company I work for, but I'll do it in good conscience because I know it's a terrific, honest product.

Misdemeanor – Ready-to-Drink (RTD) Protein Products
The idea of grabbing a cold can of a pre-prepared protein drink out of the gym cooler as you head out the door is hugely appealing, but these drinks pose a couple of problems.

First of all is the high price, but you're not really paying for any exotic, muscle-building proteins contained in the formulation. Instead, you're paying for water.

Let me explain. The main ingredient in these products, by necessity, is water. Water weighs a lot. Water costs a lot to ship. What you're paying for is directly related to what UPS or the USPS or Fed-Ex charges for shipping heavy items.

Gasoline costs money. Jet fuel costs money. The meth long-distance truckers use to stay awake costs money. The herniated discs the workers suffer from having to hoist the heavy boxes and pallets on and off trucks costs money.

To make up for those added expenses, manufacturers are forced to use lower-quality proteins. Additionally, the FDA requires that RTDs be pasteurized, so it'd be of little use to include expensive proteins in the first place because the heat from pasteurization would destroy a lot of the delicate peptides, glycomacro- and otherwise, that make certain proteins highly desirable.

Don't get me wrong, you're still getting protein from these drinks, but as far as nitrogen-retention and all that other good, muscle-building stuff, it's not much better than the protein in your nana's SlimFast.

Crime – Using Chinese Proteins
China has long been a place where you can buy really cheap protein powder. They pay their workers really poorly and they don't have to conform to any of those pesky regulations that plague American companies, so manufacturers can charge low prices and still make big profits. The trouble is, the lack of regulations allows them to cut a lot of corners.

A few years ago, Consumer Reports did a study on 15 popular whey protein powders – several of which originated in China – and found that regular use of these products could expose their consumers to toxic levels of heavy metals including arsenic, cadmium, and lead.

Not all of that contamination was intentional, though, as at least one-fifth of all farmland in China is contaminated with these aforementioned heavy metals and the cows can't help but turn into walking chemical waste dumps.

What appears to be intentional, though, is the other contaminants routinely found in Chinese protein powders, among them melamine, a chemical compound used in the production of glues, laminates, adhesives, and flame-retardants. It does not grow muscle.

While this problem was supposedly taken care of after a huge, stateside ruckus, no one's recently bothered to see if the use of melamine has resumed. It's a mess. Then there's the specter of other contaminants. Various non-protein "health" products from China have also been found to contain heavy metals, pharmaceutical drugs, and even DNA from endangered species like snow leopards.

I can't even venture a guess as the reason for that last one.

Of course, with the advent of the trade war and the imposition of a 25% tariff on Chinese whey proteins, American manufacturers might soon be seeking alternative sources to these previously cheap Chinese proteins. Let's just hope that the next thing they use is a little less ruinous to health.

Crime – Using Garbage Proteins
Raw whey protein concentrates (WPC) come in different "strengths," much like erectile dysfunction drugs or mouthwash. At the low end of the scale is WPC34, which is only 34 to 36 percent protein and between 48 to 52 percent lactose. At the high end is WPC80, which is 80 to 82 percent protein and only 4 to 8 percent lactose.

Guess which one protein powder companies use when they want to save money? Guess which ones are likely prevalent in the "really good deal" two-pound tubs you see on the shelves at the drugstore?

Misdemeanor – Organic, Grass-Fed Protein Powders
At first glance, protein powder from grass-fed cows sounds like a great idea. It's bound to be healthy, right? Sure, more essential fatty acids, no antibiotics, and no bovine growth hormones to make weird tumors sprout from your body. And forget about sprinkling it around the floorboards to kill vermin because it's also pesticide free.

But here's the thing: Virtually all legitimate, quality protein powders are antibiotic free and pesticide free, just like grass-fed, organic varieties.

Isolating whey, especially the top tier varieties, is a delicate, laborious process. You have to effectively separate out and concentrate individual whey components while removing almost all fat and fat residues. That process removes any potential contaminants like antibiotics and even pesticides.

The end result is a product as clean as any grass-fed, organic protein powder, so it's ridiculous to shell out more money for grass-fed versions that are likely riding high on the aura of purity and health associated with all things grass-fed and natural rather than science.

And while it's true that milk from grass-fed cows has a better fatty-acid profile than milk from corn or grain-fed cows, the difference is negligible. Dietitian and sports nutritionist Sean Casey points out that in the processing of standard whey protein, manufacturers take out almost all the fat, leaving maybe about 2 grams per serving.

Using a little math, he calculates that the average 25-gram serving of protein from the milk of grass-fed cows would contain roughly 8 mg. more essential fatty acids than an equivalent amount of protein powder derived from conventional cows.

If you consider that a serving of high-quality, concentrated fish oil capsules contains over 3,000 mg. of essential fatty acids, 8 extra mg. of essential fatty acids is hardly enough to thump your chest about. Paying extra for grass-fed protein is pointless.

Oh, one last thing regarding organic protein powder: the alleged lack of bovine somatotropin (bST, or growth hormone). Here's the thing: ALL cows produce growth hormone naturally, and the levels of it found in milk range from zero to 10 parts per billion, but more importantly, the levels of bST found in the milk of cows treated with the drug hasn't been found to be any higher than levels found in cows not treated with it. So there.

Misdemeanor – "Fake" Caseins
People generally choose casein over whey because they want a slow-digesting protein that provides the body with a steady influx of amino acids while not dramatically raising insulin levels.

The trouble is, bargain basement proteins that you often find at drug stores next to the hemorrhoid cream are often composed of sodium or calcium caseinate, which are absorbed by the body as quickly or more quickly than whey proteins. As such, they cause a rapid rise of insulin and likewise don't provide sustained levels of amino acids.

While they're not exactly fakes, they're certainly not doing the job caseins are supposed to do. They're like the knock-off Gucci purse your girlfriend picked up at the flea market that pops a stitch every time she opens it.

Crime – Protein Spiking
Protein, amino, or nitrogen "spiking" is the practice of selling supplements spiked with cheap fillers that are passed off as complete protein. Complete proteins are of course made up of the nine amino acids the body can't make, and we need complete protein to build muscle.

But that's not what you get in some protein powders. According to reports, one company's protein powder allegedly contained only 19 of the 40 grams of protein per serving it claims to have. Another company claimed 27 grams of protein on the label but tested out as containing only 12. Yet another company claimed 50 grams on the label. The actual amount? Nineteen grams.

Think about it. You're probably aiming to get a certain amount of protein per day and a portion of that probably comes from a protein supplement. You jot down 150 grams of protein in your food log coming from one of these protein powders, but in reality you're only getting 57. Think that might throw off your planned macros just a bit?

What these scoundrels are doing is reducing their manufacturing costs by only putting in a bit of whole protein and then "spiking" it with cheap amino acids like taurine, glycine, glutamine, and even creatine.

Companies get away with it because the amount of protein in a product is measured by the amount of nitrogen it contains. Protein is made up of amino acids and all amino acids contain nitrogen, but the normal tests don't differentiate between complete proteins and amino acids, hence the discrepancy between label claims and reality.

While these individual amino acids are all important in human nutrition and using them to supplement your amino-acid intake is sometimes reasonable, counting them as complete proteins that your body can use to build muscle is a muscle-losing proposition.

The prosecuting attorneys stepped in and some companies got in big trouble for all this chicanery, but we still need to remain vigilant to this sneaky, immoral practice.

Okay, What Protein Powder Should I Use?
As you can glean from the preceding, I've seen what some companies have done to make crappy protein powders, or protein powders/drinks that cost more than they should for reasons that are either inaccurate, dishonest, misleading, or have nothing to do with the quality of their product (organic protein powders/RTDs).

As such, I know what things count in making a good protein powder.

Here's where I get a bit self-serving. While I didn't create Biotest's Metabolic Drive®, I played a small role in its development and I'm adamant that it remains one of the best – possibly the best – protein powders on the market.

And you can be damn sure it's not guilty of any of the protein crimes and misdemeanors I've listed above. Quite the contrary, it's made of the highest quality, most advanced, best muscle-building proteins available.

For one, it contains a substantial amount of micellar casein, which is composed of soap bubble-like molecules (micelles) that form a bolus in the stomach when we consume them. As such, they digest really slowly.

It's really hard to make a protein powder from micellar casein. You have to handle it with kid gloves and leave the milk proteins largely unmolested. As I'm fond of saying, it's almost like catching snowflakes in Maine and shipping them intact to California with a truck driver who stops outside a bar in the Mojave Desert to slam down a few tequilas.

That's why micellar casein products are relatively rare and have a higher price.

It's well worth it, though, because micellar casein is the only protein that's been shown to be anti-catabolic (Boire, 1997), meaning not only does it increase protein synthesis, it helps prevent muscle breakdown during and after intense exercise.

But let me tell you why we chose whey isolate instead of one of the other two types of whey. Whey concentrate contains the greatest amount of immunoglobulins (proteins that help the body put a hurt on viruses and bacteria), but it's the poorest muscle-building subspecies of whey proteins.

Whey hydrolysate, on the opposite end of the whey spectrum, is the most expensive type of whey. It contains no fat or cholesterol and is quickly digested, but sadly it contains no immunoglobulins.

That makes whey isolate, for most purposes, the best choice of the three types of whey protein. It's fast acting, gently membrane-filtered to minimize lactose, carbohydrate, and fat, and then instantized for superior dispersibility. It's ideal for jumpstarting the muscle-building process and it also retains a portion of the previously mentioned immunoglobulins.

The fact is, the proteins used in Metabolic Drive® are so pricey that the product would be prohibitively expensive if we sold it at stores, possibly costing two or even three times what you can get it for through the on-line Biotest store.

That's because when you sell your product in stores, you have to mark it up big-time to pay for all the middlemen and the shelf space and Larry the stock boy's insurance. So, when you see a two-pound tub of protein on the shelf that sells for under 30 dollars, you pretty much know that it's composed of some of the worst proteins in existence. Treat it like radioactive waste.

Oh yeah, one more thing: A few years ago, Men's Health gave Metabolic Drive® an award for "Best Tasting Protein Powder," if things like that matter to you.
 
I'm old school and I never understood what's so special about any Whey protein product since ALL of it is derived from dairy sources, and egg protein is supposed to be the best on the planet for human beings since it's the closest to what our bodies need. But another thing I've noticed is specifically about this Biotech whey protien. I was just on their website and one of the ingredients in their protien is SOY. I read an article that stated that 98% of all soy here in the USA is produced in the USA and is actually poison, and the only good SOY comes from Japan.

Sorry, but I don't have a link to that article but it stated that up until several years ago, SOY here in the USA had to be desposed of as a toxic waste since it's a by-product of some manufacturing processes and companies actually had to pay to have it removed, and that there was a loop hole in the law found that allows companies to now sell it to food manufactures and get paid for it rather than to have to pay for it to be removed like they once had to. Anyway, look on the ingredients list of this Biotech protien and you'll see soy on the list......

https://en.biotechusa.com/products/premium-proteins/iso_whey_zero/
 
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I used to buy a lot of Biotest supplements. While I do think they are decent quality, I quickly realized they are great at marketing their products. Like the write-up above.

The standard tag line...

Watch out for all the crappy products out there...and oh by the way our products are the best.
 
What about Naked Casein protein? Is it good ?
 
Here's the CR article from https://www.consumerreports.org/dietary-supplements/heavy-metals-in-protein-supplements/ ... dunno if it's visible without subscription:


Arsenic, Lead Found in Popular Protein Supplements


Here's what you need to know about the popular powders and drinks, and whether they're necessary for most people

By Jesse Hirsch
Last updated: March 12, 2018
39.2K SHARES


Whether for weight loss, muscle building, or simply as a convenient quick meal on the go, many Americans turn to protein powders and drinks.

But a new study shows that many of the top-selling powders and drinks may contain concerning levels of heavy metals such as arsenic, cadmium, mercury, and lead, and toxins like bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical found in some plastic containers and food can liners.

These substances have been linked to cancer, brain damage, and reproductive issues.

The new study from the Clean Label Project, (a nonprofit organization that examines labeling safety issues) found that virtually all of the 134 products tested contained detectable levels of at least one heavy metal and 55 percent tested positive for BPA.

“These toxins accumulate in your body and can stay there for years,” says Tunde Akinleye, a test program leader in Consumer Reports’ Food Safety Division. “Frequent consumption of foods that contain them can have adverse health effects over the long run.”

This is not the first research that has shown high contaminant levels in such products: A 2010 Consumer Reports’ study detected arsenic, cadmium, lead and/or mercury in samples of all the 15 powders tested.

What the Study Showed

The Clean Label Project measured the levels of heavy metals, BPA, pesticides, and other contaminants (more than 150 in all) in protein powders and drinks.

The contaminant levels were measured in a single serving of the products. Those amounts varied, so the lab used the serving size listed on each product’s label (e.g., “two rounded scoops”). However, Jaclyn Bowen, executive director of Clean Label Project, points out that many consumers use protein products multiple times per day.

Overall, the products made from sources of plant protein such as soy or hemp fared worse than those made from whey (milk) or egg, containing on average twice as much lead and measurably higher amounts of other contaminants.

Plant-based proteins may have higher contamination levels because the plants are especially prone to absorbing heavy metals from soil, says Sean Callan, Ph.D., a neuroscientist and director of operations at Ellipse Analytics, the lab that tested the protein products.

Whey and egg proteins may have lower levels of heavy metals because the source of the contamination would likely be the feed given to the animals. Callan suspects the animals' digestive systems diffuse some of the toxins.

Also important: Buying a product with an "organic" label did not reduce the chances of getting a contaminated product. In fact, organic protein supplements had higher levels of heavy metals, on average, than nonorganic.

“That probably has more to do with these products being plant-based than being organic,” says Callan.

The Worst and the Best

In its analysis, the Clean Label Project assigned each product a score for four individual elements: heavy metals, pesticides, contaminants like BPA, and nutrition. Then it calculated an overall score. The heavy metal levels accounted for 60 percent of the overall score because their effects have been shown in studies to pose greater harm to health.

The five products that received the poorest overall scores in this test were:

  • Garden of Life Organic Shake & Meal Replacement Chocolate Cacao Raw Organic Meal
  • Nature’s Best Isopure Creamy Vanilla Zero Carb
  • Quest Chocolate Milkshake Protein Powder
  • 360Cut Performance Supplements 360PRO Whey Chocolate Silk Premium Whey Protein
  • Vega Sport Plant-Based Vanilla Performance Protein
Consumer Reports asked each of the five to comment on the study. Only Garden of Life responded and it declined to comment.

The five products that got the best overall scores were:

  • Pure Protein Vanilla Cream 100% Whey
  • Performix Pro Whey Sabor Vanilla Protein with Amino Beads
  • BodyFortress Super Advanced Vanilla 100% Whey Protein
  • BioChem Vanilla 100% Whey Protein
  • Puori PW1 Vanilla Pure Whey Protein
The fact that the higher-scoring products are made with whey makes sense, in keeping with Callan’s theories on plant-based vs. whey-based proteins and their differing absorption of toxins.

However, the vanilla aspect is more curious, and possibly coincidental. Bowen has one possible theory, though: The cacao plants used to make the chocolate in some flavored supplements are susceptible to absorbing heavy metals.

CR’s Akinleye says it would be very difficult to create a system where protein powders contained absolutely no trace of any heavy metals. Given this goal, he says, you have to measure how each product stacks up against the others.

“When you have a protein supplement that is very, very clean,” he says, “that proves, to the companies with high levels of heavy metals, that it is possible to do better.”

Do You Need Protein Powder?

Given the number of protein powders and drinks on store shelves, you might think that Americans are woefully deficient in this nutrient. However, the vast majority of people get plenty of protein from the foods they eat, says Maxine Siegel, R.D., who heads CR’s food testing lab.

Protein products typically contain between 15 and 25 grams of protein per serving (although some do contain more). By comparison, a 5-ounce container of plain, nonfat Greek yogurt has around 17 grams of protein, and 3.5 ounces of chicken breast has 31 grams. Protein needs range from 0.4 to 0.6 grams of protein per pound of weight a day (that would be 64 to 96 grams per day for a 160-pound person).

“That’s not a difficult amount to get in your diet, if you include natural sources of protein such as legumes, nuts, low-fat dairy, fish, and lean meats,” says Siegel. “You’ll benefit not just from the protein itself, but from all the other nutrients found in whole foods.”

So even though some protein supplements have lower contaminant levels than others, you probably don’t need to be taking them anyway, says Siegel.

Additionally, supplements in general are only loosely regulated. Though they fall under the purview of the Food and Drug Administration, the agency classifies them differently from drugs. The companies that make and sell them aren’t required to prove that they’re safe, that they work as advertised, or even that their packages contain what the labels say they do.

As always, consult your physician before taking protein—or any dietary supplement.
 
2010 study from: https://www.consumerreports.org/cro/2012/04/protein-drinks/index.htm

As = Arsenic
Cd = Cadmium
Pb = Lead
Hg = Mercury



What's in your protein drink

Here are the average amounts of metals we found in three servings of these protein drinks. The maximum limits for them in dietary supplements proposed by the U.S. Pharmacopeia are: arsenic (inorganic), 15 micrograms (µg) per day; cadmium, 5 µg; lead, 10 µg; mercury, 15 µg. Amounts at or exceeding those limits are in bold. Experts said three servings a day is common.

Product (powder unless otherwise indicated)Amount in 3 servingsProtein (g/3 servings)Test results
AsCdPbHg
BSN Core Series Lean Dessert Protein Shake Chocolate Fudge Pudding105 g633.33.72.50.3*
BSN Core Series Syntha-6 Ultra Chocolate MilkShake132 g664.22.65.41.1
Designer Whey 100% Whey Protein Chocolate78g543.91.62.40.9
EAS Myoplex Original Rich Dark Chocolate Shake (liquid)1,500 mL12616.95.1*--
GNC Lean Shake Chocolate144 g277.03.94.9-
GNC Pro Performance AMP Amplified Wheybolic Extreme 60 Chocolate237 g1805.42.52.5-
Jillian Michaels Natural Whey Protein Vanilla Cream Shake81g451.9-1.2-
Muscle Milk Chocolate210 g9612.25.613.50.7*
Muscle Milk Nutritional Shake Chocolate (liquid)990 mL6614.3-6.8-
Muscle Milk Vanilla Crème210 g9611.22.012.2-
MuscleTech Nitro-Tech Hardcore Pro-Series Vanilla MilkShake96 g751.2-0.4*0.9
Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard 100% Whey Extreme Milk Chocolate96 g722.51.71.00.2*
Optimum Nutrition Platinum Hydro Whey Velocity Vanilla117 g901.5---
Six Star Muscle Professional Strength Whey Protein French Vanilla Cream117 g782.3---
Solgar Whey to Go Whey Protein Powder Natural Vanilla Bean60 g480.6*---

Clarification: (-) Element was not measurable in all samples tested.

*In some samples of this product, this metal was below measurable levels and could be as low as zero. For those products, the average was calculated using zero as the value for samples in which metal could not be measured by the analytical method used.
 
I’ve been considering switching to ON protein now it’s official thanks for the info.

2010 study from: https://www.consumerreports.org/cro/2012/04/protein-drinks/index.htm

As = Arsenic
Cd = Cadmium
Pb = Lead
Hg = Mercury



What's in your protein drink

Here are the average amounts of metals we found in three servings of these protein drinks. The maximum limits for them in dietary supplements proposed by the U.S. Pharmacopeia are: arsenic (inorganic), 15 micrograms (µg) per day; cadmium, 5 µg; lead, 10 µg; mercury, 15 µg. Amounts at or exceeding those limits are in bold. Experts said three servings a day is common.

Product (powder unless otherwise indicated)Amount in 3 servingsProtein (g/3 servings)Test results
AsCdPbHg
BSN Core Series Lean Dessert Protein Shake Chocolate Fudge Pudding105 g633.33.72.50.3*
BSN Core Series Syntha-6 Ultra Chocolate MilkShake132 g664.22.65.41.1
Designer Whey 100% Whey Protein Chocolate78g543.91.62.40.9
EAS Myoplex Original Rich Dark Chocolate Shake (liquid)1,500 mL12616.95.1*--
GNC Lean Shake Chocolate144 g277.03.94.9-
GNC Pro Performance AMP Amplified Wheybolic Extreme 60 Chocolate237 g1805.42.52.5-
Jillian Michaels Natural Whey Protein Vanilla Cream Shake81g451.9-1.2-
Muscle Milk Chocolate210 g9612.25.613.50.7*
Muscle Milk Nutritional Shake Chocolate (liquid)990 mL6614.3-6.8-
Muscle Milk Vanilla Crème210 g9611.22.012.2-
MuscleTech Nitro-Tech Hardcore Pro-Series Vanilla MilkShake96 g751.2-0.4*0.9
Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard 100% Whey Extreme Milk Chocolate96 g722.51.71.00.2*
Optimum Nutrition Platinum Hydro Whey Velocity Vanilla117 g901.5---
Six Star Muscle Professional Strength Whey Protein French Vanilla Cream117 g782.3---
Solgar Whey to Go Whey Protein Powder Natural Vanilla Bean60 g480.6*---

Clarification: (-) Element was not measurable in all samples tested.

*In some samples of this product, this metal was below measurable levels and could be as low as zero. For those products, the average was calculated using zero as the value for samples in which metal could not be measured by the analytical method used.
 
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