Arsenic, Cadmium and Lead; Oh my!

I've often looked at the ingredient list of my protein shakes and thought "better living thru chemistry"  You know, things like:

Potassium Chloride, Soy Lecithin, Microcrystalline Cellulose, Carrageenan, Salt, Yellow 5, Acesulfame Potassium

Which you know came from something like a 55 gallon drum fresh off the boat from China.  Well, lo and behold Consumer Reports tested protein supplements and found all sorts of heavy metals.

Ordinarily I would think "so what" but the issue is of particular interest to the WLS surgery community where many people have 2 or 3 protein supplements per day.  I know I still have three.  Now the question is becomming if the supplements are required for good post surgery health, who makes the the best (most pure/natural)?

I know that I have the lap-band and you had the RNY so our experiences may not be comparable. But I haven't used protein supplements since immediately after my surgery. I found they head too many calories and I was able to get all of my protein from whole foods.

The protein recommendation (for lapband at least) is 60-90 grams per day.
One ounce of protein from fish, chicken, or an egg has from 6-8 grams of protein in it.
My doctor/nutritionist says to get 4 ounces of protein in at each meal.
That means one meal has 24-32 grams of protein in it.
That means that one day has 72-96 grams of protein.

Even when I have a "light protein day" (around 60 grams for me) I'm still eating greek yogurt that has 17 grams of protein in one 7 ounce cup so over the course of the day I'm still in range.

Again, RNY might be different, I don't know if you can eat a whole 7ounce yogurt in one sitting, but if so, I've always thought it's better to get the protein from the foods themselves rather than from a supplement that's filled with other chemicals.

Just my 2 cents,
Elizabeth

Well,I have a restrictive surgery like you, but my problem is - I do not absorb protein like I did presurgery - so I have eaten my minimum in protein from 3 months out - but at my yearly labs, I was a full point under low normal for protein - so, for me - I need shakes because they are more readily bioavailable, to keep my protein up. 

*shrug* 

Best laid plans and all....

There are a few choices.  i am trying to eat more 'clean" natural diet. 
i found some that are good and taste good. check group - "Clean eating, whole foods, etc..." We discuss things like that there...

WOOOOOOWWWWW!!!! That is of huge significance to the WL community!!
Good find!! Im sure the rest of us had no idea (at least, i know I didnt!).
On one hand, its amazing to me that the FDA would "allow" such a thing.... Then on the other hand i think - oh ya, we are talking about the FDA here... The truth is, soooo many things arent regulated & those few things are regulated - unfortuantely, the FDA (or other regulative agencies) dont have the legal power to really DO anything about it. Point in case - the peanut butter issue last year. All the FDA could do was essentially fine the company. Thats about it.

Anyways - My Dr told me I dont need to take protein sups anymore. so I dont. I COULD take them for a meal sup - but according to my Dr & my stats, Im getting all the protein i need through the foods i eat.

I wouldn't get too excited about that article. Apparently there are heavy metals in all our foods, including vegetables. Sure, some are worse than others, but I don't buy the cheap powders from China, myself. I noticed none of the brands I use were mentioned in the article.

While it is true that all foods would have heavy metals to some degree, the question is: are the foods made in factories and contain amounts over the government's "safe limits"?

As we have learned from the Peanut/Salmonella recall, the industrial food complex gets its raw materials in drums from the low bidder; so, knowing the location of a company has nothing to do with the origin of the ingredients in their product (just ask Cadbury and their Chinese melamine tainted chocolate).

One of the brands listed is Muscle Milk, very popular AND from a company (Cyto Sport) in California.  BUT, just because the company is from California doesn't mean the protein powder doesn't comtain "globally sourced parts" from who knows where.

In the end, I need to get my Pre-Albumin lab numbers (they had been low/normal) and then I can decide if I can cut back on supplements.

Even Consumer Reports admits that in most cases, the quantities found were at acceptable levels. They said it's only a problem if you "over-consume" these products. Their example was something like drinking more than three shakes a day, IIRC. It was definitely way more than I consume (and of products I don't consume for various reasons).

Then, in the article I read, they had a healthy foods expert quoted who said that if you ate vegetables in the same quantity as they were saying the shakes were dangerous at, you'd also get heavy metals in the same quantities as you would from the drinks.

The problem with their testing is that they tested elements that are found naturally in food. Protein drinks are made from food. If the food has these elements, then the protein powder will have them too.

They really didn't build a strong case that there is some sort of preventable contamination going on IMO.