Lead Found in Popular Protein Powders
Evaluating Consumer Reports' Lead Findings in Protein Powders
Intense media scrutiny surrounds Consumer Reports' findings on high lead levels in protein powders. Learn how to contextualize these alarms using regulatory standards like the FDA's to make informed decisions about your supplementation.
Short Summary
- The safety threshold used by Consumer Reports (CR) is far stricter than official regulatory guidance (e.g., FDA).
- The highest lead amounts detected in powders often fall within the normal range of daily lead consumption from diet alone.
- Chronic lead exposure poses the greatest risk to developing brains and adult kidney/blood pressure function. This analysis compares the alarmingly low safety thresholds used by Consumer Reports to those set by regulatory bodies like the FDA. Understanding typical dietary lead exposure reveals that CR's most concerning results often fall within normal daily intake ranges, suggesting caution is warranted, but panic is unwarranted.
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Top Comments (10)
Ever since those two neutron stars collided 7-10 billion years ago we have had this problem, it's everywhere
I similarly calculated out that almost all of the protein powders in the CR study had lower lead-per-calorie than the average European diet lead-per-calorie. From EFSA data. Though delving into this rabbit hole also resulted in me cutting down on my massive dark chocolate intakes, for the sake of cadmium levels
This is a very welcome analysis. Helps to put my mind at rest.
Now I know why I'm stupid.
Thank you! Helpful. I've discovered that if we look too hard at most any of our food sources it gets scary. Have to do the best we can.
My dad had lead poisoning when I was a child. It was pretty devastating. He wasn't able to work for 2 years. Luckily it was from workplace exposure and he was on compo.
Thanks for getting this lead study in context. And explaining the typical background lead exposure we get daily on average. Very helpful. Thx!
Chocolate flavored protein powder is, on the average, higher in lead, since cocoa itself has higher levels of lead. It was interesting that plant-based pp were higher in lead, on the average - cows are a pretty good filter.
All 11 studies referenced in the video are linked in the video's description 💊Supplements that Dr Brad takes: https://drstanfield.com/pages/my-supplements 💊MicroVitamin (multivitamin & mineral that I take): https://drstanfield.com/products/microvitamin For extra insights + a free health checklist, sign up here 👉 https://drstanfield.com/pages/sign-up
I knew not to get that paint chip flavored protein powder
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Top Comments (10)
Ever since those two neutron stars collided 7-10 billion years ago we have had this problem, it's everywhere
I similarly calculated out that almost all of the protein powders in the CR study had lower lead-per-calorie than the average European diet lead-per-calorie. From EFSA data. Though delving into this rabbit hole also resulted in me cutting down on my massive dark chocolate intakes, for the sake of cadmium levels
This is a very welcome analysis. Helps to put my mind at rest.
Now I know why I'm stupid.
Thank you! Helpful. I've discovered that if we look too hard at most any of our food sources it gets scary. Have to do the best we can.
My dad had lead poisoning when I was a child. It was pretty devastating. He wasn't able to work for 2 years. Luckily it was from workplace exposure and he was on compo.
Thanks for getting this lead study in context. And explaining the typical background lead exposure we get daily on average. Very helpful. Thx!
Chocolate flavored protein powder is, on the average, higher in lead, since cocoa itself has higher levels of lead. It was interesting that plant-based pp were higher in lead, on the average - cows are a pretty good filter.
All 11 studies referenced in the video are linked in the video's description 💊Supplements that Dr Brad takes: https://drstanfield.com/pages/my-supplements 💊MicroVitamin (multivitamin & mineral that I take): https://drstanfield.com/products/microvitamin For extra insights + a free health checklist, sign up here 👉 https://drstanfield.com/pages/sign-up
I knew not to get that paint chip flavored protein powder