Some protein powders and shakes tested by Consumer Reports contained levels of lead, a heavy metal, that experts say could raise the risk of long-term health problems.
Scientists hired by Consumer Reports, an independent non-profit based out of the U.S., tested 23 popular protein products, and found lead levels ranging from zero to 7.7 micrograms per serving — above the stringent limits set by the state of California, but below U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) standard for females of childbearing age.
There is no safe level of lead for human consumption, though it finds its way into many foods because lead is present in the environment.
I was talking about this kind of thing (see link). People have lost their minds over this macronutrient, LOL. The marketing about protein has always been rather silly, IMHO, but in the recent 10-15 years, it’s been getting more and more absurd and the “bro science” is creeping into everything…almost no one is telling people to actually measure their input and their output (like the Bowflex author’s professor told him to do), they are just being marketed to that they need more protein, and to even supplement with it…and now it’s being marketed in Doritos, LOL.
Lewis Black is joking about the protein enema, but honestly, I think there just might be some real money in this. Tell people all that over-consumption of protein they are already doing is not “bioavailable” and they need to get it via an enema, then charge about 100x the markup…
https://inv.nadeko.net/watch?v=YFJx0zFxNAk
Do you actually read anything about nutrition? It takes minimal effort to find things that tell you how much you should have. There is a ton of stuff out there telling you how to monitor/calculate your nutrient intake. There are apps that make it easy. Protein intake is a very well studied subject with plenty of material on it and more coming out all the time (if anything the recommended protein amount is higher than the generally suggested amount of .8g/kg of bodyweight for sedentary individuals). These products are intended for those who want a snack with protein while keeping their calories in check. If you overeat, of course you can expect to have problems. I personally don’t consume any of these high protein chips or icecream products because I’m a small dude and I don’t have a lot of spare calories to play with for snacks, if I need a snack I usually go for jerky, but for other people these can be a good option. If you pay attention to what you are eating it can actually be difficult to get the recommended amount of protein with pre-packaged foods while keeping your calories in check, most products and fast food options are very high calorie for what you’re getting out of them. If you want to bitch about too much of something in our food you should be focusing on carbs, sugar, and fat. Protein can stand to be dialed up a bit.
Lewis Black is a very funny man but not someone I’m going to take nutritional advice from.
Here is a source for the recommended numbers: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5872778/#sec2-nutrients-10-00360
Heh. Given that I’ve been a vegetarian for ~20 years, yeah, I would say I’ve looked into nutrition, with particular focus on the commonly held myths around protein, a fair bit. 😆
We vegetarians are asked about this apparently scarce macronutrient so often that we laugh and repeat the “but where do you get your protein?!” phrase when we are with each other. That’s because we’ve all heard it countless times when someone learns we are vegetarian. I cannot tell you how many people in my life that are still convinced that I’ll waste away, I will be weak, I will lose muscle mass, have anemia, fatigue, etc…despite all the years of empirical evidence I have by living it and by the literature I could point them at. That’s how predominant the myths about protein are. I don’t ever offer up that I’m vegetarian IRL for a whole host of reasons, but not walking people through the protein thing is definitely one of those reasons.
If people feel the need to supplement, they now have multiple ways to do it without eating any whole foods, including ice cream, chips and drinks from Starbucks. If people want to believe marketers over the science, it’s understandable since the marketing is everywhere, while the science is something you usually have to seek out. The science says that most people, including athletes, do not need to supplement. In the cases of actual extreme athletes or people age 65+, etc., some probably actually do measure and get empirical evidence of needing to up their intake or not, because it’s probably good to know if they are just literally pissing away money and/or causing unwanted issues. I bet most people never measure, though.
Lastly, I don’t think anyone was suggesting getting nutritional advice from Black. He’s just skewering the people taking nutritional advice from marketers such as those at Frito-Lay and from influencers.
Whether or not someone needs to supplement depends entirely on their diet and what food options are available to them. My target is 70-80g/day on ~1800 calories, if I go much below that it adds days to my recovery from working out. If I’m restricted to fast food meals and pre-packaged shit that I can take with me on the go that day it can be hard to get there, I have to supplement it 2-3 times a week, especially if I’m cutting and need to keep my calories extra low as well. Obviously if I could meal plan properly and eat only whole foods this would be easier but due to my living situation my choices are limited. It’s not about marketing.