Got that sinking feeling? It could be the lead in your protein shake.
Your Back Page correspondent is an unreconstructed omnivore.
While in recent years we’ve taken steps to reduce the amount of animal products in our diet, attaining the moral high ground of veganism, or even scaling the foothills of vegetarianism, is still a bridge too far.
All that faffing about with beans and leafy greens in a bid to replicate the protein intake of half a sausage sandwich just doesn’t seem worth the effort.
Of course, one could take a short cut and chug down one of those deliciously expensive protein shakes so beloved of athletes and gym junkies.
But even that, as it transpires, is not without its risks.
According to a new analysis released last week by US-based non-profit watchdog group Consumer Reports, those protein powder and shakes may well hide a disturbingly high concentration of toxic chemical number 82, commonly known as lead.
In fact, of the 23 products tested by the group, more than two-thirds of them contained more lead in a single serving than the level deemed safe for daily consumption.
Two products in particular, Huel’s Black Edition powder and Naked Nutrition’s Vegan Mass Gainer, had levels of 6.3 and 7.7 micrograms of lead per single serving respectively, well over 1000% higher than the levels deemed safe by Consumer Reports.
Yikes!
It is important to point out at this stage that neither of these products is readily available on the pharmacy shelves in Australia – however, thanks to the marvels of e-commerce platforms you could import them if you really wanted to.
What the analysis does underscore, however, is that in the US the Food and Drug and Administration (FDA) does two-fifths of bugger-all to regulate dietary supplements across the board, including these lead-laden protein powders.
Instead, the Americans rely on the manufacturers voluntarily submitting their products to third-party testing. Unsurprisingly, most don’t. This creates a “buyers’ beware” scenario on steroids.
The Consumer Reports boffins had a particularly focussed warning for vegans who might be tempted to use these supplements.
Their analysis found that plant-based products had nine times the amount of lead found in dairy proteins such as whey. And while the dairy products tested the best, half of those still had enough lead contamination to caution against daily use.
On the bright side, the watchdog did tell folks who might be using these products not to panic. Well not yet, anyway.
Even the supplements with the highest lead levels were “far below the concentration needed to cause immediate harm”, they said.
The key takeout was for consumers to ask themselves how much protein do they really need in their diet in the first place?
If you have a balanced, healthy eating regime already in place, then there really should be no reason to shell out your hard-earned cash to profit-orientated protein powder spruikers who aren’t even prepared to have their products independently tested to check for nasties.
So while meat may be murder for some, lead poisoning is not such a good look either.
Send organically grown additive-free story tips to Holly@medicalrepublic.com.au.
