Article is here: Protein Powders and Shakes Contain High Levels of Lead - Consumer Reports
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Great article.
Whey protein powder for the win!
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I was having some stomach issues, so decided to try pea protein. Rather than buy from my trusted source that is expensive because they do a lot of testing, I bought one on Amazon just to see how it treated my stomach. Unfortunately, I chose Naked brand thinking it was a healthy option from the marketing 
Lesson learned!
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My wife sent me some screenshots of CR’s Instragram post about this. What also got my attention, and made me additionally question the whole thing, was this point:
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Ah the joy of the US having a virtually unregulated supplement industry. I’ve been using Anthony’s Pea Powder to bump things up during the day, but it really does look like one of those “You get what you pay for” situations. Now Nutrition’s stuff costs more, but the purity is better?
I think if you’re here on the TR forum, you’re probably not just “average” but woa that average number being 1/3 of my daily target…yikes.
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I think the AACC podcast suggests people who work out more get more protein. 1-1.8g per kg (1 kg is approx 2.2 pounds) is what the pod says. Who knows though.
Yeah, I’m used to seeing numbers for athletes, so this low number for “average” adults kind of shocked me. I’d still imagine “average” adults should focus on more protein per calories consumed, especially as the birthdays increase.
Recommendations are set on the low end, to keep you from having deficiencies, right? Not what hard working athletes need to thrive. I’m trying to get 150g+ per day.
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I’ve been using the Owyn Elite plant based shakes for a while…they’re pretty good, and great to see they’re recommended 1 per day.
Been drinking the same chocolate protein for over 10 years… Still taste just as shit as it always has, but it gets the job done.
I’ll mention that Oat Milk as a fluid has been a positive change to the flavor and texture.
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Thanks for this context. I generally like CR, but this kind analysis leaves a lot to be desired. Without some solid reasons for making their “level of concern” 6x more stringent that medical guidance for children.
That said from a quick look at the article there are plenty of choices that have much lower levels of lead, and I think calling out a product that has 8 ug of your daily 12.5 ug lead limit in a single serving is valid. Especially when there are a fair number of products in the 1 ug range (ie those under 200% of the CR limit). I don’t have to buy some gold plated protein powder to avoid “unreasonably” high (even if not directly harmful) levels of lead.
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I’ve been using Huel and Huel Black for years pretty much daily post ride and do regular quarterly blood work and haven’t seen any abnormalities and I’ve even done BLL. I think it might be useful to err on the side of caution for people that have other risk conditions probably, but I think their “level of concern” is pretty aggressive. Each person is individual, and should evaluate their risk individually, and should annual blood work at a minimum to make sure that the things they’re doing are right for them.
Yup - saying that 2 servings of this in one day would put you over the limit is true and useful information. I think this is concerning as it is without their 1600% stuff.
Reminder that CR is an activist group, not a scientific or medical organization, and has been caught with their pants down being bad a science or just straight up spreading misinformation in the past, specifically around foods and toxicology. Last year it was an article spreading a bunch of misinformation about pesticides on produce that everyone lost their minds about despite it being a complete load of bollocks. Reading what actual medical experts have said about this so far, it seems like this report is likely more of the same.
If you are concerned, focus on looking for products that are certified by 3rd party independent testing, specifically from NSF which is probably the most recognized and respected independent testing agency.
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Also a very good breakdown by Dr Andrea Love: https://www.instagram.com/p/DP2hpEmDgH6/?img_index=2
Consumer Reports uses the very unscientific and incredibly chemophobic Prop 65 levels for lead, which were set in 1989 without any scientific basis.
Scientifically-grounded exposure guidelines, the interim reference levels (IRLs), are based on exposure levels that convert to blood lead levels.
The IRLs are 8.8 µg per day for reproductive age females and 12.5 µg for general adults. These are 17.6-times and 25-times higher daily exposure levels compared to the Prop 65 levels, respectively, and are extremely conservative.
A daily exposure level of lead of 12.5 µg equals a blood lead level of 0.5 µg/dL. Adverse health effects attributed to lead exposure in adults are not seen until blood lead levels reach 10–20 µg/dL.
In the US, adults have lead blood levels around 0.5-1.5 µg/dL — lead is part of our planet. The incredibly conservative IRLs are designed to keep us safe.
These protein powders aren’t poisoning you—but we SHOULD be regulating the supplement industry.
Why isn’t the supplement industry regulated? You can thank politics for that too, when the 1994 Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act was passed. That removed all regulatory oversight of supplements from the FDA, and opened the floodgates to a multi-billion dollar industry.
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I was going to post this same thing. Here is a link to her article
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Optimum Nutrition vanilla ice cream flavor tastes, well, like ice cream, especially when mixed with milk and ice. Bonus that it’s frequently on sale at Costco.
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