What is in your protein drink?

[Beadingnurse 116]

I posted this information on another thread but copied it over here with a title that will make it easier for folks to find. I looked up this article in Consumer Reports because someone posted that they did an article on Protein Drinks. The article on Protein drinks (July 2010) is scary. I didn't type the whole article here but I tried capture the main issues. My comments are in blue...the rest are direct quotes from the article.

"Some protein drinks can even pose health risks, include exposure to potentially harmful heavy metals, if consumed frequently. All drinks in our tests had at least one sample containing one or more of the following contaminants: arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury. Those metals can have toxic effects on several organs of the body. For most of the drinks we tested, levels of those contaminants were in the low to moderate range, when we could detect them at all. But with three of the products, consumers who have three servings daily could be exposed to levels that exceed the maximum limits for one or two of these contaminants in dietary supplements proposed by the U.S. Pharmacopeia (USP), the federally recognized authority that sets voluntary standards for health products..."

"The amount of lead in a single daily serving of eight of the protein supplements we tested would require that the products carry a warning in California. State legislation known as Proposition 65 mandates that manufacturers notify consumers when products contain toxic substances at levels the state say pose even a low cancer or reproductive risk."

"But federal regulations do not generally require that protein drinks and other dietary supplements be test before they are sold to ensure that they are safe, effective, and free of contaminants, as the rules require of prescription drugs" A lot more was written about regulations or lack thereof that I will skip over to get to the results.

" We purchased 15 protein powders and drinks mainly in New York metro area or online and tested multiple samples of each for arsenic, cadmium, lead and mercury. The results show considerable range, but levels in three products were of particular concern because consuming three servings a day could result in daily exposure to arsenic, cadmium or lead exceeding the limits proposed by the USP"

"We found that three daily servings of the ready to drink liquid EAS Myoplex Original Rich Dark chocolate shake provides an average of 16.9 micrograms (mcg) of arsenic, exceeding the proposed USP limit of 15 mcg per day, and an average of 5.1 mcg of cadmium, which is just above the USP limit of 5 mcg per day. Concentrations in most products were relatively low, but when taking into account the large serving size suggested, the number of mcgs per day for a few of the products we tested was high compared with most others tested."

"The samples of Muscle Milk Chocolate powder we tested contained all four heavy metals, and levels of three metals in the product were among the highest of all in our tests. Average cadmium levels of 5.6 mcg in three daily servings slightly exceeded the USP limit of 5 mcg per day, and the average lead level of 13.5 mcg also topped the USP limit of 10 mcg per day. The average arsenic level of 12.2 mcg was approaching the USP limit of 15 mcg per day, and the average for mercury was 0.7 mcg, well below the USP's 15 mcg per day limit. Three daily servings of Muscle Milk vanilla Creme contained 12.2 mcg of lead, exceeding lead limits, and 11.2 mcg of arsenic. A fourth product, Muscle Milk Nutritional shake Chocolate (liquid), provided an average of 14.3 mcg of arsenic per day from three servings."

"Cadmium raises special concern because it accumulates in and can damage the kidneys, the same organs that can be damaged by excess protein consumption. And it can take 20 years for the body to eliminate even half the cadmium absorbed today.

The products they tested are in a chart which I will try to reproduce. Here are the maximum daily levels of the heavy metals for reference: arsenic 15 mcg; cadmium 5 mcg; lead 10 mcg; mercury 15 mcg; The values after the name of the product are the amounts in micrograms of the heavy metals listed in the order at the top. PM me if this doesn't make sense.

Product Name (heavy metal values) Arsenic Cadmium Lead Mercury

BSN Core Series Lean Dessert Protein 3.3 3.7 2.5 0.3

Shake Chocolate Fudge pudding

BSN Core Series Syntha-6 Ultra 4.2 2.6 5.4 1.1

Chocolate Milkshake

Designer whey 100% Whey Protein Chocolate 3.9 1.6 2.4 0.9

EAS Myoplex Original Rich Dark Chocolate shake 16.9 5.1 - -

GNC Lean Shake Protein 7.0 3.9 4.9 -

GNC Pro Performance AMP Amplified 5.4 2.5 2.5 -

Wheybolic Extreme 60 Chocolate

Jillian Michaels Natural Whey Protein Vanilla 1.9 - 1.2 -

Cream Shake

Muscle Milk Chocolate 12.2 5.6 13.5 0.7

Muscle Milk Nutritional Shake Chocolate 14.3 - 6.8 -

Muscle Milk Vanilla Creme 11.2 2.0 12.2 -

MuscleTech Nitro-Tech Hardcore Pro-Series 1.2 - 0.4 0.9

Vanilla Milkshake

Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard 100% 2.5 1.7 1.0 0.2

Whey Extreme Milk Chocolate

Optimum Nutrition Platinum Hydro Whey 1.5 - - -

Velocity Vanilla

Six Star Muscle Professional Strength 2.3 - - -

Whey Protein French Vanilla Cream

Solgar Whey to Go Whey Protein Powder 0.6 - - -

Natural Vanilla Bean

Hope you can interpret the chart as I have typed it. It is worrisome to read about all of these heavy metals in our protein drinks and I wonder about all of the ones that they did not test. I haven't tried any of the products on this list but I'd love to know what is in mine. It is probably worth your time to get a copy of this from your local library if you don't subscribe.

[MeMeMEEE 206]

great idea to put it in it's own thread! I sure won't be buying an EAS!!

[ezlsm 1]

Wow! That's good information! Thanks for posting. I also was unaware that excess Protein consumption can harm the kidneys. I guess "damned if you do, damned if you don't" applies.

[Beadingnurse 116]

Wow! That's good information! Thanks for posting. I also was unaware that excess Protein consumption can harm the kidneys. I guess "damned if you do, damned if you don't" applies.

I know! I am nurse and probably should have known that although it isn't in my area (excuses!) but it makes me worry a bit about overdoing it on the Protein levels. I am sure there is an optimal number that we should get each day but I don't know what that number is!