THINGS TO WATCH OUT FOR IN YOUR PROTEIN
Why do many companies use protein ingredients that:
- A) have lower, or even zero, protein value? Or,
- B) ingredients that are KNOWN to cause problems?
We don’t understand the thinking, but clearly, we believe they care less about you. Below are a few types of protein sources that you should keep your eye out for on labels:
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. Of course lactose has low nutritional value and can cause stomach upset. CASEINATE can derive 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.