The Truth Behind Protein Drinks
The billion-pound industry you’re wasting money on
Let's talk facts! The global protein supplements market size was valued at 20.47 billion USD in 2021 and is estimated to rise at a compound (CAGR) of 8.5% from 2021 to 2030 and reach 42.81 billion USD by 2030!
Why does this annoy me?
The first protein powder which arrived in the late1800’s was not actually made for the fitness industry. It was a dried milk — powder treatment known as Plasmon, created in German hospitals to help restore the strength of undernourished patients.
Many German Physicians did agree with this, viewing Plasmon as a miracle substance!
This is no surprise! In a series of trials run by Virchow, men had supposedly survived several days of hard labour and little sleep on Plasmon alone.
This changed when a group of British businessmen 1899 secured the exclusive rights to sell Plasmon outside of Germany. In 1904 it was then marketed as an athletic aid not just to elite athletes but to average joes alike.
Guess what?
They were not interested in medicine, but in money.
‘International Plasmon Limited’ sponsored athletes and physical culturists to market Plasmon to the general public.
This ‘Physical culture’ has continued to grow since then. More recently, the Keto and other low-carb diets have driven a boom in protein supplements.
All you need to do is just eat the stuff!
A lot of foods have protein and it’s not just meat! Foods like eggs, nuts, cheese, milk, pulses even fruits to a small degree and vegetables like Asparagus, spinach; ever see popeye with his big guns! and let’s not go there with the ever-expanding meat alternatives for vegetarians and vegans! My personal favourites are Linda McCartney, Quorn and recently Richmond. Yes, that’s right! The known pork sausage brand now offers a meat-free option.
It doesn’t stop there, meat-free proteins like tofu can make for an amazing meal, like tofu laksa noodles. Yum yum!
Check out this recipe for tofu laksa noodles here
Now I can understand you want to speed up recovery and promote muscle gain but unless your working out multiple times a day; whether weight training or running, stressing about chucking down a protein shake as soon as possible or within 30 minutes after a workout is pointless.
“For anyone doing less than five hours’ exercise a week, there is no point having extra protein.
“Most people would be much better off, after an hour’s run, going home and whizzing up some milk with bananas, berries and yogurt to make a home-made smoothie — it would have the same effect, but isn’t as processed.” - Dr Mayur Ranchordas, a sports nutrition consultant at Sheffield Hallam University.
“The proteins in these products are highly processed,”-Charlotte Vallaeys, senior policy analyst for food and nutrition at Consumer Reports.
That's Right! Protein drinks are highly processed!
Many proteins like Soy protein, pea protein, whey protein, or other similar ingredients found in protein powders and smoothies are not made naturally and certainly not whole foods dried then grounded. If so it should be marketed as a ‘food’. Protein is a ‘dietary or food supplement in the U.K’, in which companies extract protein from animal or plant-based sources from foods in a laboratory. Naturally occurring carbohydrates, fats, minerals, and fibre are often removed and replaced with synthetic nutrients, artificial flavouring herbs, and even sweeteners.
“You’re left with the protein, but not the other components of the food,”- Charlotte Vallaeys, senior policy analyst for food and nutrition at Consumer Reports.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says supplement companies don’t have to show their products are safe or effective before selling them on the market, same with the Food Standards Agency in the U.K -‘It is your responsibility to ensure that food supplements you sell are safe for consumption and there isn’t any requirement for these supplements to be tested in the U.K and U.S either and no guarantee that they contain the ingredients listed on the pack!
Now I know from studying English law that protection Under the Sale of Goods Act 1979 will make a company liable to pay damages to customers if their product(s) is harmful. Sometimes this can be too late and lead to health complications, have a look at this study of patients admitted with liver injury after using bodybuilding supplements for males and weight loss supplements in females, or the case of Jim Mc Cant who needed an urgent liver transplant because of green tea capsules. So you need to make sure it’s from a reputable supplier and has gone through rigorous quality assurance and check they have been tested in clinical trials with a cohort of people that’s similar to them like comparable age, sex.
Still not convinced foods are better than protein supplements?
Protein supplements can also be quite calorific too with high amounts of sugar, especially in ready to drink protein shakes, an example is the Original Nurishment drinks, chocolate Flavour, a can of this badboy contains a whooping 50g of sugar! That is 20g more than the recommended sugar an adult needs. This can lead to weight gain and make it extremely hard for a person with diabetes to manage their blood sugar.
Moreover, lots of research has linked consumption of highly processed foods to diabetes, irritable bowel syndrome, high blood pressure, cancer, cardiovascular disease and early death!
“Anything with a long list of ingredients, including additives, is suspect,”-Mark Lawrence, PhD, professor of public health nutrition at Deakin University in Australia
Unfortunately, Additives are in many of these protein products like artificial flavours and colourings. Some contain excess sodium and carrageenan-an ingredient that some scientific evidence has found as highly inflammatory and toxic to the digestive tract.
On top of these findings a 2018 study found 134 protein powders contaminated with highly toxic metals like arsenic and cadmium as well as mercury, lead and bisphenol A-a toxic chemical used to make certain plastics, for example, plastic containers and food can liners.
How much protein do you need?
The best way to measure how much protein you need to consume is based on lean body mass, or as I call it the lean body mass rule! You will have a much more accurate figure than just your total weight. You want to measure everything in the body that is not fat! If you look at an elite athlete with six per cent body fat, measuring weight or lean body mass is not going to make a difference, the fat percentage is low, but think of the average man, they will likely have more body fat, mainly in the midsection.
“Elite athletes eat around 2g per kg every day”- Karen Reid, a sports scientist nutritionist, founder of Performance Food and has worked for the Wales rugby team.
Say if we use the 2g per Kg of bodyweight rule with an obese man who weighs 135g, he’ll be eating 270g of protein daily!
I know an extreme example but do you see what I'm getting at?
Protein overload is very dangerous and can cause kidney disease, according to the Centre’s for Disease Control and Prevention. Almost 40 per cent of people ages 65 and older have chronic kidney disease, and about 90 per cent of them don’t even know they have it!
An average exerciser only needs 1.2g and 1.6g per kg of lean body mass
So if we take the example of the average man again and say he trains regularly in the gym, weighs 90kg with 20% body fat you have 72kg of lean body mass. We achieve this by multiplying 72kg with 1.6g and this will result in a daily intake of 115g of protein. This looks more sensible and achievable! You will only just a little under four chicken breasts to equate to 115g. 100g of chicken breast equates to 31g of protein and it’s much better for you and tastier.
Check out this protein intake calculator here and find out how much you need.
Need some ideas for recipes?
Have a look at some delicious chicken recipes here
Thank you for reading :)
