ARE PROTEIN POWDERS DANGEROUS?

Doping products, dangerous for health, unnatural, etc. Protein powders are the subject of numerous accusations. However, in weight rooms, they are also given many virtues.

SO WHO TO LISTEN TO?

Opinions differ, and it is not always easy to navigate among all these rumors and hearsay. Should we listen to the seller of food supplements who seeks to sell the virtues of his product or should we, on the contrary, trust his training partner who “heard” that it is better not to consume protein powder ?

We recommend the only reliable and neutral source to take into account: science. Every year, hundreds of scientific studies are carried out on food supplements and therefore on protein powders. Throughout this article you will find references to studies carried out on this product. To begin with, it seems essential to me to describe to you what protein powder is, where it comes from and above all how it is made; this should already help to remove certain doubts about this much criticized product. For those who no longer need to be convinced, you can find here the delicious tastes of our range of proteins made in France, meeting the legislation in all respects for your safety .

  

WHAT ARE PROTEIN POWDER?

Protein powders are extracted from several sources: milk, egg, soy or even peas . The most common and most used are those made from milk, so it is these that I will talk about in more detail. To understand where protein powder comes from, we have to go back to the middle of the 19th century. An American named Gail Borden invented powdered milk in 1850. The process, which consists of removing the water present in milk to preserve it for a long time and transport it easily, was very quickly adopted by the dairy industry. Most protein powders sold today are “enhanced” milk powder. Here is a simplified description of the manufacturing process: - We start by removing the water contained in the milk. We therefore obtain dehydrated milk, more commonly called powdered milk, which can be found in any supermarket. - This dehydrated milk still contains fats and sugar (lactose) which we will remove as much as possible, in order to keep (almost) only the proteins. Depending on the degree of filtration, we will therefore obtain a powder containing between 80 and 95% proteins . - Finally, there is often a final step which consists of adding a flavoring and/or a sweetener. - So, protein powder is ready to order here and consume. We therefore see that there is nothing extraordinary about protein powders, but despite this, they still have a bad reputation, there are unfortunately dozens of preconceived ideas about this product.

Here are the ones that I think are the most common and widespread:

PROTEIN POWDER = DOPING?

This statement is completely false, protein powder is not on any “list of prohibited products and substances” . If many people still think today that these are doping products, this is certainly due to the fact that 20 to 30 years ago, analyzes showed that certain batches of proteins (mostly from the USA) contained traces of steroids. Nowadays, this seems unthinkable, because the law is very clear on this subject, and controls are frequent and obligatory, just like in the food industry. In summary: protein powders are absolutely not considered doping products, and cannot be, because this would imply that we would also have to ban all foods that contain proteins (meat, fish, eggs, dairy products, etc.). )

THIS IS NOT A NATURAL PRODUCT?

If by “natural” we mean “found in nature” or even “which is not the work of man”, then yes, in this case the protein powders are not natural, because indeed they are not found in this form in nature. But this does not only apply to protein powder, it is also the case for many foods that man modifies in order to facilitate storage or use, for example. This is the case for dehydrated puree or even powdered milk. Protein powder is simply extracted from a food , and again, it is far from being an exception since this is also the case for many products: - Carbohydrates are extracted from sugar beets or sugar canes to give a concentrated product, powdered sugar. - For lipids, they can be extracted from milk or plants to then obtain a concentrate in the form of butter or oil. Of course, we do not find protein powder directly in nature, but that does not mean that it is not a natural product. If you want examples of products that are not natural, it's not complicated, just go to your supermarket, and look at the ingredient list of some items (especially in the cakes and cereals aisle) . You will find many additives, colorings and other preservatives that normally do not have much place in human food.

In summary: protein powder is extracted from natural products, it is simply a “by-product” concentrated in protein, just as powdered sugar is concentrated in carbohydrates and butter in lipids.

IS IT DANGEROUS FOR YOUR HEALTH?

This is obviously false, and as we have just seen above, protein powders are not performance-enhancing products. To date, there is no serious scientific study demonstrating that consuming protein powder can have any negative effect on health. We also often hear that it's bad for the kidneys, but again, protein powder has never been shown to have a negative effect on a healthy individual's kidney function. On the other hand, if you already have kidney problems, it is recommended to monitor your diet, not to overuse protein powder (this does not mean that it is prohibited) and above all to consult a nephrologist for regular check-ups. .

In summary: No, protein powders do not present health risks and what is important to realize and understand is that there are hundreds of products in the current diet of modern societies that are all much worse for your health (even dangerous in the medium and long term) than protein powders.

DO PROTEIN POWDER MAKE YOU FAT?

Saying that a food makes you gain weight is not very relevant, because all foods can cause weight gain if consumed in excess. Protein powder is a food like any other, that is to say it contains calories. If today your daily energy intake (DEI) is such that your weight is stable and if you want to add protein powder to your diet (regardless of the reason) this will have the effect of increasing your AEJ, as with n any other source of protein (meat, fish, etc.). At this time, it is therefore possible that you gain weight. It is not the fact of consuming protein powder that is directly the cause, but rather the fact of having increased your calorie intake overnight. The result would have been the same if you had added, for example, two additional servings of meat per day instead of two servings of protein powder. I have also heard many times that you "gain fat" once you stop consuming protein powder, or that the muscle mass gained while consuming protein powder disappears or turns into fat when you stop consuming it. All of this is obviously false, provided you know how to manage your diet and continue to train.

In summary: protein powders do not make you gain weight, as long as you add them correctly to your diet. They contain calories and should therefore be considered like any other food. For example, two doses of protein powder (40g each) correspond to approximately 300kcal and 60g of protein is not negligible. Studies have even shown that certain types of protein powder can have an “anti-fat” effect .

HUGE AND VERY FAST MUSCLE GAINS?

Protein powder is not a magical food, and it should definitely not be compared to performance-enhancing products. On the other hand, it is true that certain types of proteins (for example whey protein) have properties that promote lean mass gain (muscle). Many people want to start consuming protein powder in hopes of gaining muscle quickly. But we must remember that protein is simply the “material” for building muscle, and if the body does not receive any signals, it has no reason to build muscle. It is therefore necessary to train (weight training) so that the body perceives a signal telling it that it must “build” muscle, and proteins (powder or not) play an important role in this process.

In summary: protein powders will not work miracles. But if you follow a good workout, they can, for example, help you increase your daily protein intake, gain muscle a little more quickly or even recover better from one session to the next.

IT'S USELESS, ARE SOLID FOOD ENOUGH?

This phrase comes up often, both on the Internet and in weight rooms, yet it is not fair in my opinion. I would rather say that protein powders are not essential, and that it is entirely possible to obtain a good level in bodybuilding without consuming them. On the other hand, it can be interesting to use them because they have several advantages compared to traditional foods, here are some of them:

• Protein powder is dehydrated , this property makes it very easy to store and, above all, preserve the product: no need to keep it in the freezer or refrigerator as is the case with meat or fish for example. In addition, the expiration date is often more than a year.

• The protein is in powder form, so it is very easy to transport and consume quickly (add a little water and the mixture is ready). This can be practical in many cases: for example to provide the body with a source of protein directly after training, or to add protein to an afternoon snack at work, etc. .

• Certain types of protein powder such as whey (whey protein) or casein (protein found for example in cottage cheese) have very interesting properties: The first, in addition to stimulating anabolism muscular, has the ability to be digested and assimilated very quickly by the body, which is useful before or just after intense muscular effort. The second has the ability to coagulate , this will slow down the absorption of proteins during digestion and provide the body with proteins for several hours.

In summary: protein powders are neither inferior nor superior to solid protein sources (meat, fish, eggs, etc.), each type of food has its advantages and disadvantages, it would therefore be a shame to deprive yourself of it. one of them. If used intelligently, protein powder can be useful in many cases.

SHOULD YOU DO CURES OF ONLY A FEW WEEKS?

Protein powder is neither a doping product nor dangerous for your health, so there is no problem in consuming it all year round like any other food. And this is even more valid if you do bodybuilding and train all year round. Numerous studies have demonstrated the benefits of consuming protein powder, particularly 4 in strength sports, but also for other types of sports (collective, endurance, etc.): increased muscle anabolism, accelerated recovery , muscle mass gain, reduction of catabolism, etc. When dieting, it can also be very beneficial to consume protein powder, in addition to a suitable diet and regular physical activity. Here again, several studies have shown that whey (whey protein) has a positive effect on appetite (appetite suppressant effect and reduction of appetite); an “anti-fat” effect has also been observed.

In summary: there is no reason to deprive yourself of all the benefits that protein powders can provide if used correctly. We don't eat meat or fish per period, it's the same thing for protein powder.

IS IT VERY EXPENSIVE?

The price of protein powder largely depends on the price of milk, and it is true that it has increased considerably over the past several months. Despite this, protein powders often remain more profitable than meat or fish and this can be explained simply by an example: Consider fish or meat which contains 20g of protein per 100g of product. Then consider protein powder which contains 80g of protein per 100g of product. If I want to get a 30g portion of protein, I will have to buy 150g of meat/fish versus only 37.5g of protein powder. The powder being much more concentrated in protein than meat or fish, the gram of protein is therefore less expensive. This is true provided you do not buy overpriced proteins, as is often the case with most major brands. The price of raw materials is more or less the same for all manufacturers, yet there are huge price differences depending on the different brands and sellers. You must therefore be careful about what you buy, you must look at the ingredients and then compare, as you can do for solid foods.

In summary: protein powders are not necessarily more expensive than solid protein sources. To reduce the cost price, it is interesting to order in large quantities and also to avoid big brands which have to increase their prices to finance advertising, packaging, etc.