Consumer Reports on Protein Shakes

[betterat40]

I read this article today! It's a 4 page report in the July 2010 Consumer Report magazine. They tested 15 different protein shakes & only 3 of them exceeded the maximum limits for consumption recommended by the USP. Many are very close to being over the limit, but here are the ones that are dangerously high:

EAS Myoplex Original Dark Chocolate:
16.9mcg Arsenic
5.1mcg Cadmium

Muscle Milk Chocolate:
5.6mcg Cadmium
13.5mcg Lead

Muscle Milk Vanilla Cream:
12.2mcg Lead

[asianstyles]

which brands had the lowest levels of heavy metals?

[ElMariachi]

This is what I found so far from Consumer Reports. It's a bit disconcerning when Muscle Milk has the most toxic metals followed by Myoplex. I drink 5 Muscle Milk RTD's per day. Between these and tanning beds I might not have that much longer to live!

I've got to ask you this question in all seriousness. What the **** is wrong with you? 5???? Really. Ever tried eating real food?

[MBSowards]

I've got to ask you this question in all seriousness. What the **** is wrong with you? 5???? Really. Ever tried eating real food?

It's like 8 dollars for a 4 pack of the Lite version that has 100 calories.

So I am guessing he's spending at least 10 or so dollars on MM a day. lulz.

[ElMariachi]

It's like 8 dollars for a 4 pack of the Lite version that has 100 calories.

So I am guessing he's spending at least 10 or so dollars on MM a day. lulz.

The fact that someone would take that many RTD's daily is mind-boggling. That's just retarded.

[aCb123]

The fact that someone would take that many RTD's daily is mind-boggling. That's just retarded.

dude hes 225 5'8 solid !!!!!


































SOLID!!!!!!!!

[betterat40]

These are the ones that tested below dangerous levels. The ones with stars tested with below measurable levels:

BSN Core Series Lean Dessert Protein Shake, Chocolate Fudge Pudding

BSN Core Series Syntha-6 Ultra Chocolate

GNC PRO PErformance AMP Amplified Wheybolic Extreme 60 Chocolate

Jillian Michaels Natural Whey Protein Vanilla Cream Shake

MuscleTech Nitro-Tech Hardcore Pro-Series Vanilla

*Optimum Nutrition Platinum Hydro whey Velocity Vanilla

*Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard 100% Whey Extreme Milk Chocolate

*Six Star Muscle Professional Strength Whey Protein French Vanilla

*Solgar Whey to Go Natural Vanilla Bean

which brands had the lowest levels of heavy metals?

[EricTheRed]

yeah my father actually just told me about this. I actually work in the QC lab for a company that makes many protein/powder supplement products that people here would know. We check toxicity along with other things but yea it just goes to show whats popular doesnt mean its the best. I also lol'd at the guys failing drug test in 05 from nitrotech......there stuff is actually make 25min away from my company.

[eldawg]

^^ Going by the post above yours, we have popular products (MM and EAS Myoplex, which is owned by a big pharma, right?) fail but we have just as popular stuff (ON Whey) pass. So its a bit of a crapshoot for the consumer.

[wayprotein]

These are the ones that tested below dangerous levels. The ones with stars tested with below measurable levels:

BSN Core Series Lean Dessert Protein Shake, Chocolate Fudge Pudding

BSN Core Series Syntha-6 Ultra Chocolate

GNC PRO PErformance AMP Amplified Wheybolic Extreme 60 Chocolate

Jillian Michaels Natural Whey Protein Vanilla Cream Shake

MuscleTech Nitro-Tech Hardcore Pro-Series Vanilla

*Optimum Nutrition Platinum Hydro whey Velocity Vanilla

*Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard 100% Whey Extreme Milk Chocolate

*Six Star Muscle Professional Strength Whey Protein French Vanilla

*Solgar Whey to Go Natural Vanilla Bean

did these pass because the recommended serving size was lower? or was it the same amount of powder and serving's as the muscle milk,eas.is this on store shelve's yet?

[potionmaster]

Are they using the RTD versions of those brands or using the powders?

..seems like combination of both types but the ones that really exceeded limits look like RTD forms?

[Anomynous]

These are the ones that tested below dangerous levels. The ones with stars tested with below measurable levels:

BSN Core Series Lean Dessert Protein Shake, Chocolate Fudge Pudding

BSN Core Series Syntha-6 Ultra Chocolate

GNC PRO PErformance AMP Amplified Wheybolic Extreme 60 Chocolate

Jillian Michaels Natural Whey Protein Vanilla Cream Shake

MuscleTech Nitro-Tech Hardcore Pro-Series Vanilla

*Optimum Nutrition Platinum Hydro whey Velocity Vanilla

*Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard 100% Whey Extreme Milk Chocolate

*Six Star Muscle Professional Strength Whey Protein French Vanilla

*Solgar Whey to Go Natural Vanilla Bean

Wow... so the Wal-Mart brand is healthier than EAS or Cytosport... LOL.

[iliketojuggle]

Well it looks like optimum nutrition is below the testing limits, glad Ive been using that for years instead of some of the other popular brands haha

[betterat40]

It looks like they tested all samples at each company's recomended serving size, so the concentration of heavy metals would be specific to what a consumer would be ingesting based on the product's directions. Of course, there are a lot of brands that they didn't test. These are the only ones that they tested. I'm taking IsoPro Ultra Lean right now. I have no idea how that ranks because they didn't test it. Maybe when I run out I'll switch to one of the below level brands?

[EricTheRed]

^^ Going by the post above yours, we have popular products (MM and EAS Myoplex, which is owned by a big pharma, right?) fail but we have just as popular stuff (ON Whey) pass. So its a bit of a crapshoot for the consumer.

they might be owned but they arnt manufactured by them, its basicly like contracted work to develope and produce these products

[asianstyles]

how do heavy metals get into whey protein? are they introduced as part of the manufacturing process or do they exist at certain levels naturally?

[On Fire]

how do heavy metals get into whey protein? are they introduced as part of the manufacturing process or do they exist at certain levels naturally?

My guess would be manufacturing... How much of this stuff is contained in milk? I wouldn't think much if any. I know they use things like magnesium for manufacturing lubrication and it makes its way into a lot of products/pills.

[betterat40]

My guess would be that it's due to the purity of the other ingredients in the formula (amino acids, vitamins, etc). But I could be wrong - I've never worked on supplements before.

how do heavy metals get into whey protein? are they introduced as part of the manufacturing process or do they exist at certain levels naturally?

[wayprotein]

My guess would be that it's due to the purity of the other ingredients in the formula (amino acids, vitamins, etc). But I could be wrong - I've never worked on supplements before.

yea im thinking its not the whey but that vitamin blend they use that contains the heavy metals.

[eldawg]

how do heavy metals get into whey protein? are they introduced as part of the manufacturing process or do they exist at certain levels naturally?

Could be in the milk due to environmental conditions and (contamination during) the manufacturing processes.

[jeffnailen]

dude hes 225 5'8 solid !!!!!



SOLID!!!!!!!!

Dude, he's solid from all the lead he's getting from the Muscle Milk!

[ONtop888]

Dude, he's solid from all the lead he's getting from the Muscle Milk!

Lulz, he's Iron Man....better yet, Arsenic Man.

[Hardingxx]

Speak for yourself. I work out to pull easy women.

Pretty much.

[Rdez]

did these pass because the recommended serving size was lower? or was it the same amount of powder and serving's as the muscle milk,eas.is this on store shelve's yet?

yeah serving sizes varied in the report. The EAS serving was like 2x the ON serving size, but even so, the EAS has a lot more contaminates even when you evened up the the serving sizes.

[deserusan]

I tried getting the full text of this from the website and for some reason the sites directories aren't working properly. Free 5lb'er of Myofusion or SizeOn to the first person who can e-mail me the fulltext of this article to daniel@gasparimail.com

I will say that heavy metals detection should be one of the first parameters companies are testing for. Our products get tested for heavy metals upon input and output (3rd party test) in the manufacturing process because it's really a raw material issue. Ours are tested to a 10PPB testing threshold which is extremely low and having seen tests for other products, heavy metals is a problem in the industry. The FDA is going to start cracking down on companies over this issue and for good reason.

[EricTheRed]

I tried getting the full text of this from the website and for some reason the sites directories aren't working properly. Free 5lb'er of Myofusion or SizeOn to the first person who can e-mail me the fulltext of this article to daniel@gasparimail.com

I will say that heavy metals detection should be one of the first parameters companies are testing for. Our products get tested for heavy metals upon input and output (3rd party test) in the manufacturing process because it's really a raw material issue. Ours are tested to a 10PPB testing threshold which is extremely low and having seen tests for other products, heavy metals is a problem in the industry. The FDA is going to start cracking down on companies over this issue and for good reason.

yeah i cant get anything to work either


I'm really suprised that some of these companies dont test for this, its not that expensive and its not like they cannot afford it. I'm just suprised how many companies dont go through quality tests in general.....of course over the next couple of years i'm sure this will change....moreso when some of these companies start making deals with real big time companies such as pepsi co

[em-dubya]

You guys got subscriptions and it still wont work??

[EricTheRed]

You guys got subscriptions and it still wont work??

i dont have a sub, but i'm thinking of just picking it up....i need something to read during my lunch breaks anyways

[em-dubya]

i dont have a sub, but i'm thinking of just picking it up....i need something to read during my lunch breaks anyways

You need a subscription to get the full text i believe

[deserusan]

yeah i cant get anything to work either


I'm really suprised that some of these companies dont test for this, its not that expensive and its not like they cannot afford it. I'm just suprised how many companies dont go through quality tests in general.....of course over the next couple of years i'm sure this will change....moreso when some of these companies start making deals with real big time companies such as pepsi co

A heavy metals test by an FDA/DEA accredited lab down to a 10PPB testing threshold using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) costs $180 with a turn around time of 10 days. There really isn't any excuses except for gross negligence and just not caring. This is why the FDA is looking at the issue more closely and USADA's Travis Tygart is using this as another platform to get more regulation infused into the industry. Pesticides are a big issue too. Here's a good article by the NY Times from this past week.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/26/he.../26herbal.html

Even worse, once the food lobby starts getting into supplements more, this get even worse. The functional beverage market has a lot to gain by seeing dietary supplements get the screws turned on them.