- Protein powder is a straightforward, handy means so as to add protein to your day.
- Consumer Reports discovered that many manufacturers of protein powder and drinks comprise excessive ranges of lead.
- Try to get most of your protein from entire meals.
Protein powder is a straightforward, handy means so as to add extra muscle-building protein to your day. It blends simply into smoothies, oatmeal and extra. We add protein powder to our High-Protein Blueberry & Peanut Butter Chia Pudding, our High-Protein Orange-Mango Smoothie and our Chocolate-Strawberry Baked Oats. You may even flip dessert right into a high-protein post-workout snack with our Lemon-Blueberry Cheesecake Jars.
Yes, protein powder is certainly handy. But is it secure? After all, it’s not regulated by the Food & Drug Administration (FDA), at the very least not earlier than hitting the cabinets, for the reason that FDA leaves it as much as the producers and distributors of protein powders and different dietary supplements to do their very own testing to guage the protection and integrity of elements. Consumer Reports determined to see for themself simply how secure protein powders are—notably concerning heavy steel content material—they usually simply printed their findings. Let’s break down what they discovered.
How Was This Study Conducted?
Chemists and meals security researchers for Consumer Reports collected two to 3 samples at completely different instances of 23 completely different protein powders and ready-to-drink protein dietary supplements. They bought these samples from varied retailers in New York and on-line between November 2024 and January 2025.
Each pattern was positioned right into a brown polyethylene jar and blind-coded to guard its id. They had been then shipped to an impartial, accredited lab for testing, the place strict industry-standard pointers had been adopted to stop contamination and keep away from bias in outcomes.
Each pattern was examined for complete arsenic, cadmium, lead, mercury, aluminum, boron, barium, beryllium, calcium, cobalt, copper, iron, potassium, lithium, magnesium, manganese, molybdenum, sodium, nickel, strontium, thallium, vanadium and zinc.
Researchers had been offered with a problem in figuring out what a excessive degree of heavy steel is, as a result of U.S. governing companies haven’t set secure higher limits for a lot of of them. For instance, the FDA has health-based publicity limits for lead, however just for youngsters and ladies of childbearing age. There aren’t any higher security limits for female and male adults. So they used California’s Proposition 65 legislation, which units most allowable dose ranges (MADL) because the Consumer Reports benchmark for ranges of concern for lead, which is 0.5 mcg/day.
Consumer Reports notes, nonetheless, that their outcomes are supposed to solely present steerage on which merchandise have comparatively greater ranges of lead, to not determine the purpose at which lead publicity can have measurable dangerous well being results.
What Did This Study Find?
Out of the 23 protein powders and drinks analyzed, over two-thirds had ranges of lead in only one serving that had been greater than what Consumer Reports’ meals security scientists recommend anybody ought to be consuming in a day. (The Consumer Reports degree of concern for lead was 0.5 mcg/day, primarily based on California’s Proposition 65). They made the next suggestions primarily based on their findings:
- Do not devour: Naked Nutrition’s Vegan Mass Gainer (1,572% greater ranges of lead than Consumer Reports’ degree of concern for lead) and Huel Black Edition (1,288% greater).
- Limit to at least one serving per week: Garden of Life Sport Organic Plant-Based Protein (564% greater), Momentous 100% Plant Protein (476% greater)
- OK to eat sometimes (restrict to 2 ¾ to six ¼ servings per week): MuscleMeds Carnivore Mass (247% greater), Optimum Nutrition Serious Mass (202% greater), Jocko Fuel Mölk Protein Shake (199% greater), Vega Premium Sport Plant-Based Protein (185% greater), Quest Protein Shake (161% greater), Orgain Organic Plant-Based Protein Powder (143% greater), Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard Protein Shake (150% greater), Equip Foods Prime Protein (144% greater), Plant Fusion Complete Protein (140% greater), Ensure Plant-Based Protein Nutrition Shake (132% greater), Muscle Milk Pro Advanced Nutrition Protein Shake (128% greater), KOS Organic Superfood Plant Protein (112% greater)
- Better for every day consumption (restrict to 1 to 4 servings every day): Owyn Pro Elite High Protein Shake (88% greater), Transparent Labs Mass Gainer (87% greater), Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard 100% Whey (56% greater), BSN Syntha-6 Protein Powder (46% greater), Momentous Whey Protein Isolate (30% greater), Dymatize Super Mass Gainer (25% greater)
The solely protein powder examined to haven’t any detectable lead was Muscle Tech’s 100% Mass Gainer.
It’s necessary to notice that a few of the firms have already modified their formulations, and at the very least two of the merchandise examined are not obtainable on the market; CR included them within the outcomes since some folks should be utilizing them. One of the manufacturers is Vega, which modified the product identify to Vega Protein + Recovery and now sources its pea protein from the U.S. as an alternative of China. And Momentum did a serious overhaul of its product line-up, claiming that they’re sourcing cleaner elements for his or her dairy- and plant-based formulations.
As with any research that assessments meals, there’s all the time a chance of contamination of the check samples, inaccuracies with check tools and human error.
How Does This Apply to Real Life?
You could also be stunned to see that even the plant-based and natural protein powders had excessive ranges of lead. In truth, the lead ranges within the plant-based merchandise had been, on common, 9 instances the quantity present in these made with dairy proteins, like whey, and twice as a lot as beef-based ones. This is as a result of crops take up vitamins from the soil they’re grown in. If the soil incorporates lead, the plant will, too.
It’s price noting that these protein powders haven’t been recalled. And most of the producers of the manufacturers that had been examined refute the CR outcomes, stating that they’ve their merchandise independently examined for security and purity. The Council for Responsible Nutrition, a commerce group for firms that produce dietary supplements, recommended in an announcement that consuming some heavy metals “does not equate” to a well being danger. Still, some analysis means that common publicity to excessive ranges of lead might be detrimental to adults.
Ultimately, it’s as much as you, as the buyer, to determine how a lot danger you’re prepared to take with any product, taking all the data you’ve acquired into consideration. Regarding protein, it’s fairly straightforward to get sufficient of this muscle-building macronutrient by meals, with out utilizing protein powder or drinks. Check out our 30-Day High-Protein Meal Plan for Beginners for some tasty inspiration.
Our Expert Take
A brand new research from Consumer Reports suggests that the majority protein powders comprise some degree of lead, with a few of them coming in at extraordinarily excessive ranges. We advocate avoiding ones with the very best ranges and limiting the others with decrease quantities. You might additionally skip the store-bought protein powder and make your individual with three easy elements: chia seeds, hemp seeds and uncooked pepitas. We additionally advocate attempting to get your protein from entire meals as a lot as doable.
