Is there LEAD in Your Protein Powder?!
Tracy always wants to bring you the latest findings and this one is no exception. Let’s get straight to it. A widely shared report has been published investigating some of the leading protein powders out there.
Published by Consumer Reports on October 14, this investigation looks at the amount of lead in protein powers. You can read the full report right here. Its extremely thorough but here are some extracts from it that we felt were key:
“Lead was the main heavy metal that emerged as an issue. About 70 percent of products we tested contained over 120 percent of CR’s level of concern for lead, which is 0.5 micrograms per day”
“Two plant-based protein powders contained enough lead that our experts advise against consuming them”
Products the report recommended to completely avoid:
- Naked Nutrition’s Mass Gainer powder: contained 7.7 micrograms of lead per serving, approximately 1,570% of CR’s level of concern for the heavy metal.
- Huel’s Black Edition powder: contained 6.3 micrograms of lead, approximately 1,290% of CR’s daily lead limit.
Some of the products the report stated in their findings, were better to consume daily:
- Owyn Pro Elite High Protein Shake
- Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard Whey
- BSN Syntha-6 Protein Powder
- Momentous Whey Protein Isolate1
Although all these products have their individual merits, here are Move Daily we particularly favour Optimum Nutrition, Momentous. and Legion.
HOWEVER, as with most reports and research such as this, it is important to bring the nuance in to it. We always want to present you with a well balanced view, so you are empowered to come to your own health conclusions.
A vital point about this study is that they set their level at 0.5 micro grams of lead per day. However, the FDA set’s theirs at 12.5 micro grams per day and the European food safety standards is at 44 micrograms per day. Of course, we would always want to minimise intake of lead – that’s a given, but it does bring an element of pragmatism and common sense, to the report findings.
The clear conclusion from this is that we all need to be as aware as possible, what we are putting in our bodies. Eat a whole food diet, as much as is practical for you personally and your life-style, and consider protein supplements as just that – a supplement to what you eat, not the mainstay. When reports such as this come out, absolutely we need to pay attention but we also need the context of the results. That is critical for your own decisions on your own health.
Dial in Genuine Help on Protein
30SOLID, our annual challenge all about establishing excellent and impactful healthy habits, is here again. This year, we have a daily habit all around protein and so it’s particularly relevant to any of our community who are concerned or challenged by the report around the quality of some of the protein supplements out there. We are able to provide nutrition support via Coach Kim, your very own Nutrition Coach, as well as decades of experience from Tracy, who is exceptional at harnessing protein from whole food sources. Of course, that’s not all 30SOLID has to offer – you can read about it via this link – but we know many of you will feel unsettled by the report, so we wanted to highlight this safe and reliable space for you that’s coming up.
Join Tracy and Guests on Move Daily Talks
This week, as protein is our key topic, we wanted to re-share a hugely informative podcast Tracy did with Dr Stuart Phillips, long time friend of Move Daily. Here Stuart and Tracy discuss building muscle in menopause and why protein matters, as part of a well rounded approach. You can listen right here, or watch via YouTube.
This Weeks Workouts!
Here is your handy reminder of the current week’s workouts. All of the workouts are available either free via the YouTube channel, or are the Members Exclusive workouts, which you can access if you sign up to our Membership. Don’t forget that the workouts are released across the week and so make sure you are signed up for YouTube notifications by subscribing to the channel.
