Health Alert on Proteins from Consumer Reports – A Rational Perspective
I will tell you that I've been highly skeptical of the lab work Consumer Reports has done over the years, and this one is no different.
This story reminds me of their car seat story they did a few years ago, when they subjected car seats to their “scientific” study, sending the seats through tests that multiplied forces the safety seats were subjected to. And then, of course, child car seats failed the tests, sending parents into a frenzy.
Now, CR has done it to fitness-minded folk. What the heck are we to do if:
- Protein powders aren't safe?
- We don't even need protein supplements in the first place?
- Protein destroys your kidneys?
Of course, the 3 questions above are complete BS. Most (like 99.9 percent) of protein supplements are safe, containing much lower doses of the heavy metals called out in the report than ordinary food like spinach and shrimp.
If you want to build muscle, you have to eat a diet higher in protein than your average sedentary pencil-pushing office manager. You just do.
Finally, a high protein diet does not harm your kidneys. Read the article at the end of this post for more details on this one and the others. It's written by Shawn Phillips, a nutritional industry insider and expert. He's very candid in his assessment of the test, its results, and its apparent bias against the supplement industry.
In the event you’ve been in a media black out and missed it, there’s buzz about the article “Health Alert: Protein Drinks” featured in the July 2010, issue of Consumer Reports Magazine. The article (links at bottom of post) presents the results of tests done for arsenic, cadmium, lead and mercury on 15 different “protein powders.”
I use quotations around “protein powders” to call attention to the fact that Consumer Reports used more than just proteins and powders in their tests. They included meal-replacements, including Myoplex, and some were ready-to-drinks, which are clearly not powders. The first of several oversights in the article.
