I'd like to buy some of the cheaper whey. But someone told me that the cheaper powders have protein spiking, AKA the nutrient label has more protein listed than it actually has.
Can anyone give me an answer on this please? Thank you.
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I'd like to buy some of the cheaper whey. But someone told me that the cheaper powders have protein spiking, AKA the nutrient label has more protein listed than it actually has.
Can anyone give me an answer on this please? Thank you.
B.S. is a rather harsh term to use. I prefer horse caca. I can see a sugar spike, but proteins take longer to digest. As far as the label and actual content differences, you could do some sort of chemistry experiment to determine the actual protein content. I did something similar a few months ago. I took 108 grams of 85-15 ground beef, cooked it, then extracted the fat and weighed it on a digital reloading scale. I extracted 17 grams, which would be right in line with the label.
If someone can post the lab procedure to measure the protein content of whey, I'll give the experiment a shot.
Some of them (probably the cheap ones) mai contain less protein than claimed, indeed. And maybe more metals like lead or cadmium, but usually it's under the USP limit.
[QUOTE=jenkmen;1646555403]I'd like to buy some of the cheaper whey. But someone told me that the cheaper powders have protein spiking, AKA the nutrient label has more protein listed than it actually has.
Can anyone give me an answer on this please? Thank you.[/QUOTE]
It's not bs at all. It has happened frequently. Main method of spiking seems to be adding cheap amino acids so you'll end up with a lower quality protein source.
You can see a couple of brands doing it here:
[url]https://www.supplementlabtest.com/[/url]
Here's a recent review with summary notes I took while reading it below ([url]https://journals.humankinetics.com/view/journals/ijsnem/31/4/article-p369.xml[/url]). The main point is that while this is an issue, there is no good data fully analyzing the extent of this issue and there is no great way to determine if the supplements you purchase have this issue. There are a few places that test supplements but they don't necessarily test the same supplements frequently so it can still be a guessing game.
- review through 07/2020, 30 studies
- casein - slow-digesting rich with EAAs, soy - high nutritional value & arginine/glutamine, eggs - complete source of AAs, WP may be concentrate (30-85%), isolate (~90%), hydrolysate (smaller peptides with faster intestinal absorption), WP has mainly alpha-lactalbumin & beta-lactoglobulin with many EAAs
- a 2016 SR/MA found 60% of athletes used dietary supplements (most commonly MVMS/protein/sport drinks/sport bars)
- 1 analysis found 68% of 70 high-protein sports supplements evaluated had amounts different than labeled, the AA profile was checked in 15 producdts and 40% were non-compliant
- another analysis found 11/20 had lower protein than stated
- another found 2 of 15 had <75% of declared protein
- total protein is usually measured by the Kjedahl method which does not distinguish protein & non-protein nitrogen
- 1 analysis of 138 supplement samples found 47% contained melamine (with tolerable limit but not declared on label)
- other products that may inc N content are cyanuric acid/creatine/glutamine/taurine/urea/ammonium sulfate, cyanuric acid may precipitate with melamine into crystals that impact kidneys
- 1 analysis of 16 brands of WP found 6 had high non-whey protein components
- 1 analysis of 15 WP samples found high variation in in vitro protein digestibility
- WP undergoes heating/drying/ultrafiltration which may denature them, may have Maillard reaction between reducing sugars and AAs/peptides/proteins, lactose + lysine -> blocking lysine (may affect bioavailability), 1 analysis of 52 WP samples found half had >6% and 9% had >20% blocked lysine
- increase in furosine, dec in solubility, and changes in color/aroma may be markers of long-term storage
- 1 analysis found 9% of 170 athletes used supplements with banned substances, 15% of samples were protein/AAs/creatine & had no banned substances
- other studies find banned substances in WP, 1 study of 11 brands of WP found 7 adulterated samples
- Clean Label Project found 55% of 134 protein samples had high amounts of bisphenol A, also 70% had Pb & 74% Cd & 85% Ar but unclear if above acceptable levels, also egg protein was cleaner while plant was the worst
- in 1 study of 44 WP samples caffeine was detected in 14 and bisphenol A in 1
- supplements could have banned substances below limit of detection but if you consume enough you could be positive
- recommended to get supplements with seal of approval that guarantees the product has been tested for prohibited substances
- 2 recent studies found traces of toxic metals within acceptable limits