+ 3 Why Your Whey Protein May Be Bad For You
I recently learned that most of the whey protein supplements out there contain product from China, especially the big brands. Supposedly China is well known for contaminants like melamine in their protein concentrates.
Why is this important?
Well, melamine is a molecule that is used to make plastics. This molecule has been found to have been contaminated and "cut" in with protein powder from numerous brands.
Why do they cut protein concentrates with it?
To test for protein content of a product, they measure the nitrogen content, as proteins contain nitrogen. The more nitrogen, the more protein. Melamine has nitrogen and is cheaper by far than the real milk protein. So by adding it, the product will test as though it contains a lot of protein, when in fact, it has been cut significantly.
Why is this bad for me?
Drinking high amounts of melamine adversely affects kidney and bladder function. Ever notice that bodybuilders sometimes have poor kidney function? Perhaps their choice of protein powder is one of the reasons.
Even Swanson Ultra "grass-fed whey protein," which supposedly advertises itself as coming from free-range cows in New Zealand has admitted that a part of their product comes at least partly from China. I knew the price was too good to be true!
It's not just in protein. It's also been found in baby formula and pet food: http://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/post.cfm?id=why-is-melamine-in-ba...
Protein powder does not have to undergo any kind of FDA regulations. Adulterated content can pass through for merchandising with little to no oversight.
What does this mean?
Beware of the protein product that you have, if you have laboratory access and have the means to test for melamine in various brands, then by all means do it and show us the results. Try to eat real protein from actual meats, cheeses, and carbs as often as possible.
I personally am only ever going to purchase local whey from this point on, such as from here: http://www.amazon.com/Source-Organic-Whey-Protein-Non-GMO/dp/B007B7UGHM/...
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If anyone is interested I can recommend several labs that will do a mass spec assay with target compounds or HPLC assay for 50-100 a test. Personally I just eat a lot of locally farmed protein, I ate too much soy and whey protein shakes in the 90's .
davemiller555Yes, sometime whey protein is bad for us! And this link is very use full for us thank you for sharing it. Really interesting to read it.
StevebOne World Whey Protein is the world’s first 100% cold temperature processed and all-natural Whey Protein
http://www.one-world-whey.com/
Muscle Pharma (Combat Protein) Emailed me back this response: "Our source of protein is not from china. Thank you for your question. "
And got this from ON
Thank you for choosing Optimum Nutrition. The dairy based ingredients that Optimum Nutrition uses to make its protein products are sourced domestically and internationally, including Australia, New Zealand, and countries within the European Union. We currently do not source or purchase any dairy proteins from China.
Best of health!
Consumer Affairs Rep 02380
Optimum Nutrition/ABB Performance
1-800-705-5226
Excellent. Thank you for updating with this important information. +1
People have been asking about what brands of protein are free of melamine. This is what I found so far on my search:
"I got this email from ALLMAX Nutrition...
Protein Advisory
ALLMAX protein producs contain absolutely zero protein sourced from China
Protein country of origin for each product is as listed below
ISOFLEX: 100% Sourced from the United States
ISOfemme: 100% Sourced from the United States and New Zealand
QUICKMASS: 100% Sourced from the United States and New Zealand
ALLWHEY: 100% Sourced from the United States and New Zealand
IsoNatural: 100% Sourced from the United States"
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=111590731
I also found a bulletin by Cytosport assuring there is no melamine in the product:
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=1539201&d=1222...
Although Cytosport is also the same company that produces Muscle Milk, this means there is definitely pretty high trace levels of arsenic and mercury in their brand of protein.
You could also make your own vegetable protein powder using lentils, brown rice, and oats in a blender for relatively easily. 1/4 cup of powder would be 8 grams of protein: http://backtoherroots.com/2013/03/25/homemade-protein-powder-its-cheap-i...
Damm. is ON gold standard tainted??
This sounds like a bad sales pitch for your crappy brand of protein you're trying to sell here.
I'm not trying to sell anything. I wouldn't profit at all even if you bought that brand of protein. I work in finance, I am not in the personal training business or supplement business. And I don't sell crap on Amazon to make money. This isn't Dr. Oz's show, LOL!
Would it make you feel better if I took the link out? The only reason I included it in is if in case somebody asked about which brands I knew of that don't contain any adulterants. The only brand that I can say for sure doesn't contain any is the one that I am planning on purchasing online... but really any locally sourced whey would do.
edit: Additionally, if I were selling something geared towards audience members here, I would have purchased ad space by now and offered to sponsor pro competitors who surf here to go on my products. I would have also used the terms "organic" and "grass-fed" numerous times in my post. I would be a much smarter businessman than making a thread that maybe 15 people are going to read. LOL
How about from TrueProtein/TrueNutrition? I've looked over a few posts dated back to 2008, when a lot of this "melamine" hype began. Apparently they (around that time) switched to different export sources located in Europe (France), but have also seen talk about getting their Calcium Caseinate from New Zealand, which is one of the largest exporters in the industry.
I've been using True Nutrition for a while, so I also would like to know. However, I have not found anything as of yet, claiming their latest sources.
Cheap Whey Protein - http://myprotein.com
Basically, if it's cheap, it's most likely from China. If you aren't sure about a source that you use, you will want to email (or call) the manufacturer directly to find out how pure their source is.
I should add, often they do not reveal any secrets they have until you are very persistent (and even then you might not get a straight answer). The way that I found out Swanson Ultra Grass-Fed Whey Protein contained Chinese products was by emailing them directly. They evaded my questions the first several emails, but then finally indirectly admitted that part of their products come from China.
So, you WILL need to email them back and forth a few times and be very adamant before they reveal anything bad about their company to you.
The other thing is that even if they directly do not cut their products with Chinese gear, it doesn't mean it contains absolutely no melamine. For example, maybe they are cutting their products with a cheaper American whey brand that contains melamine, and they simply aren't aware of it. So the best thing to do is ask how pure their product is and whether it contains a cut of ANYTHING ELSE.
Trophywife23melamine is not plastic...i work at a chemical plant. melamine is made with ammonia and urea..not plastic..lol
Sorry that was a misrepresentation on my part. It is molecule that is used in many plastics and tupperware products.
I've almost given up on protein except right after post workout when I can't stomach anything else. Real food vs protein supplements is like night and day. If you want to grow you need to eat wholesome foods period!
me too, ive gone from 3-4 shakes a day to 1 only after a work out and ive notice no difference in strength except ive cut up and my abs are now visible.
saving £40 a month
well, i'll be damned... them fuckers!
basturds..