X-Post: Evaluating protein powders - the good, bad & ugly

There seems to be many newbies on here (as opposed to older newbies like me - ha!) who are asking lots of questions about protein. Some of them are being led down the garden path by doctor's offices that have lots of options for protein powders. However, those offices haven't done research into high-quality vs low-quality and haven't explained issues of bio-availability of different proteins to their patients. I'm cutting-and-pasting some information in here for people to consider. I'm taking this from a website so it's not my thoughts, just some things to consider. Remember, look for the PDCAAS (protein digestibility corrected amino acid score) on your protein powders! This is how you assess the quality of your protein powder. You want to purchase protein powders that score a 1.0.

WATCH OUT FOR SOY PROTEIN

We don’t know of anyone who thinks soy protein is better than whey protein. There is also a growing consensus that soy is inferior even though more and more companies are using it, because it’s much cheaper.

WATCH OUT FOR RICE PROTEIN

It’s cheaper, but the protein quality score is lower, and even worse, it's frequently high in the toxic heavy metal cadmium

WATCH OUT FOR PEA PROTEIN

It’s cheaper, but the protein quality score is lower.

WATCH OUT FOR CONCENTRATES AND CASEINATES

You commonly see whey protein CONCENTRATE and calcium CASEINATE on the labels of the lower quality brands. Concentrates have more sugars such as lactose and less protein. Lactose is an inexpensive sugar that can cause stomach upset. CASEINATE can come from foreign sources -- countries that don’t have anything like an FDA.

WATCH OUT FOR AMINO ACIDS SUCH AS TAURINE AND CREATINE

Taurine has little or no value for adult humans, creatine is not an essential amino acid, it isn’t even a non-essential amino acid. But it has nitrogen, so on a typical protein test, it helps boost what LOOKS like protein for the test. And companies count it. Why do they use it? It costs only about one-quarter the cost of high quality protein (it is almost always from China).

WATCH OUT FOR SUGAR ALCOHOLS

Sugar alcohols usually cause digestive upset including gas and diarrhea. You can recognize them because they often end with "ITOL" in their name. Sorbitol, Mannitol, Maltitol, Erithritol. Perhaps the worst is XYLITOL because it is made primarily in a particularly dirty plant in China.

FALSE VALUE

Often these brands try to LOOK like a good value. Maybe you PAY less. But you GET a LOT less. They are a worse value in the end. Remember, it’s your health.

My problem with protein powder is going to be is I don't like milk.  I've been trying premade proteins to see which I like. Only one I've tried is EAS advantedge carb control it has soy isolate and pea protein in it.  The only other ones I want to try is Nectar by Syntrax which is whey.

I mix mine with almond milk...but I guess that's still "milk" and you might not care for it.  

I have nut allergies so I can't use almond milk either.  But thanks for the ideal.

Pea protein is significantly lower as far as bioavailability (PDCAAS of .69 as opposed to 1.0 for whey) so you won't absorb as much of the protein.

You might try Jay Robb's egg white protein powders if you haven't already. (Note that not all flavors are egg white; some are whey.)

Lora

I use unsweetened coconut milk.  Unless you have allergy to coconut - that makes the shakes or coffee so much better. (Decaf helps with the too sweet taste of some protein mixes) 

I was wondering based on this article have you used Unjury protein throughout your weight loss? 

I've used AboutTime, Syntrax Nectars, Isopure and Unjury.   Unjury Chocolate Splendor was probably my favorite as far as taste.  

Additionally - it is possible to develop food allergies - I was using too much dairy and 3 years post op RNY I developed dairy allergy.  It took me 2.5 years to finally go to allergist and get tested.... Only to find out that I also have severe soy allergy.  

Any food that is heavily processed (whey) used too much and too often may lead to food sensitivity and allergies.   Eating verity of foods is important. 

I used whey, cheese, yogurt too much... My body developed allergy - intolerance... Now I need to stay away from it... And a few others.