To think that people who have "protein powders" to be healthy are sadly misguided?

[ultimus]

I've just seen a 'Lean in 15' recipe on FB that has 'protein powder' as one of the ingredients. I winced! It sounds disgusting.

I read of personal trainers advising people who train to drink a 'protein powder' drink afterward to be healthy. Famous dieticians advocating the use of these powders in recipes as part of 'eating clean'.

But look at the ingredients:

Aspartame, sucralose, maltodextrin, soy lecithin, xanthan gum, flavourings.

How on earth can these powders be advocated as a 'clean' or 'healthy' way of living?

I use a protein powder in my nutribullet breakfast shakes - purely because half a beetroot and some pumpkin seeds won't keep me full until lunchtime. I buy a 100% protein powder so no added junk. And I use about half of a single measure for my shakes. Works very well for me.

There is a huge increase in young men taking steroids.

They start in protein shakes to help them 'bulk' lots of them not doing the amount of weights that it takes to bulk.

When it doesn't work they look for something else and find steroids.

It's a very worrying trend

It concerns me too. I have 3 fit sons - teens , 20s and they just eat real food. It is perfectly possible to be fit whilst just eating real food. On the other hand compare someone who works out and mostly eats meat, fish veg and has the occasional protein shake they are going to be a lot healthier than the 60% over weight typical British person who is mainlining donuts and biscuits and fizzy drinks.

I think protein shakes are definitely a gateway to steroids for some people.

Men's health type magazines are to blame largely for the complexes that men noe have with their bodies.

The advert s are just selling magic powders, beauty products and designer shit.

Hooray for equality!

My brother is a fitness instructor turned manager and he glugs the stuff. He is constantly eating to maintain his physique. Meat, every kind of carb, tons of dairy products and sugar, some fruit/veg, like every other hour. He will eat like the rock some days (google that diet!) He thinks he is super healthy. His face betrays the real story of his insides, he has a Thor like physique but looks ill and has aged incredibly since he began all this. He has started to notice and recently tried switching to a more cleaner diet. But I understand his problem, he needs to maintain muscle mass. But the digestive system needs a rest. So much strain on his body, and it's starting to show.

Yes those drinks help repair muscles but the other ingredients are not great in such large doses. I think the alternate versions mentioned sound much better. In fact, they sound great, I might show them to my brother. I guess they cost more though, which is why they aren't as popular?

Unfortunately a lot of people are favouring a muscly physique over internal health. Being muscly and looking fit does not always mean you are in great internal shape. A six pack doesn't necessarily mean you have a healthy colon. I think there are better ways to eat and also build muscle and it would be great to spread this around, but it's hard to eat clean, and also healthy alternatives to things aren't usually cheap. So I don't really blame anyone.

Besides, who can say they eat perfectly, other than Gwyneth Paltrow?

Still, it really bothers me when I see my brother. I don't like this overly huge muscly look anyway. As somebody who used to have an ed (it never truly leaves) it just makes me feel sad. I know the feelings that motivate some of this behaviour. (Certainly not saying every bodybuilder has an ed or bd, obviously. But it's a growing epidemic amongst males now.)

Gwyneth paltrow developed an adult version of rickets. ( apparently;, I am not her doctor..)

I think a smoothie with some higher protein / Greek yogurt would be a better bet if you want the reassurance of protein in a shake.

PirateSmile that's taking it a bit far. Protein shakes for the most part are basically powdered milk. If they're a gateway to performance enhancing drugs, then Aptamil should be investigated

If aptamil was being recommended between young men at the gym it might be worth a look at!

Dh is a weightlifter and does competitive body building. He has protein shakes. But we aim to get the most natural with the least added chemicals. For him it's about ease. But body building isn't an overall healthy lifestyle. He does one competition a year because it's too all-consuming, it takes over your life and it's not a good way to live. And it's not good for your body, it puts a massive strain on your body and your life. I'm used to it, but I wouldn't recommend it.

His face betrays the real story of his insides

Yes I've noticed exactly the same. I don't think humans are supposed to have huge amounts of muscle, like a cow has. A cow manages it on grass too.

I do wonder if there is a high rate of cancer with in the body building world, but its masked by the fact that they are healthier in other ways.

Could be worse.

My husband is a weight lifter. For breakfast he has raw eggs to drink [vomit]

Oh god u2 yes, I can't even be in the same room when Dh does that! And protein farts.

There's always protein bars in my post race goodie bags

I'd rather carry on with them and my running than listen to a load of bored mums sat on the sofa trying to discredit anything which promotes /involves exercise. See it a lot on MN

Can I just check - whose definition of "healthy" are we using? And are we starting from the premise that everyone is the same and all bodies react the same way to the same treatment? Because I don't think that's true. I don't think a book about the effects of a high protein diet on one person can possibly tell us any deep and meaningful truths about what's "best" or what's "wrong". Some people do better than others with high protein, some do better with lots of carbs, some are better not eating certain foods - it's not a definitive checklist that applies universally.

I do resistance training and running 6 days a week, and as a vegetarian it's hard to eat enough eggs, beans and cheese to get my ideal protein requirements throughout the day (because of course, your body can only absorb a certain amount of protein in one go so it's better to have protein at every meal). So I supplement my ok diet with protein powders. They don't have any of the flavour enhancers listed above, I add my own flavours. I don't take steroids and have no plans to. I don't have huge amounts of muscle, I look "normal". I am as healthy as most people around me. But feel free to tell me I'm an idiot, anyway.

And if "some people" believe that manufacturers spike protein powder with steroids then I'd suggest they'd do better to report it to the FSA than tell randomers on t'internet

'Trust me I'm a doctor' did a research project on it last week and pretty much said they're a waste of money from a muscle building / tear repair pov.

listen to a load of bored mums sat on the sofa trying to discredit anything which promotes /involves exercise

We are talking about highly promoted branded products. They give you these free " bars to try to tempt you to buy them.

The fitness industry is full on unproved and dodgy supliments. Us mums on here come from all walks of life.

The lady with the brother above might like to point him to "reddit keto lean gains" (for men trying to build up muscle and perhaps eat well too).

The problem for anyone wanting to make money out of healthy eating is that just about anything which is called a product and you can make a decent mark up on is going to better off not eaten or drunk.

I find it very hard to believe anyone does so much exercise they don't have time to eat normal foods. It is what mankind did for about 200,000 years and we could chase animals, climb trees, fight - we had no protein supplements in those days.

However I wouldn't knock people who have the occasional fake processed product. They are probably doing better than most people in terms of health and eating. That said whenever you get a choice stick to a real food. It's all pretty simple really.

I watched Trust me I'm a Doctor on catch-up the other day where they did an experiment to see if those whey protein drinks were effective in increasing muscle mass.

Here is the link to the article.

Here is the link to the programme.

The results indicated that, quote "if you’re healthy and eating a balanced diet then don’t waste your money on whey protein supplements in the hope that they will allow you to put on more muscle."

ShutTheFuckUPBarbara I don't think it's taking it too far at all. The pressure on boys to bulk up in certain sports is ridiculous and I see them increasingly turn to protein shakes in their early teens. This forms the mindset that the the answers are in a powder, which, when the competition becomes more intense, leads to the temptation of steroids. It's an increasing trend and a huge problem. The testing for such things is pretty inadequate, hence lots of young men in their twenties who are bulked up and bald...

team sky have a professional chef who makes them real food to eat whilst away on the tour. They even eat real food whilst out riding, great recipes for little parcels of eggs and sushi rice to eat on the go. I also attended a talk by the Brownlee brother, olympics gold and bronze medalists, lots of triathlon geeks quizzed then about their diet and the answer was again real food, 70-80% of it natural wholesome and well balanced and then topped up with things like cake, pies, beer ( good down to earth Yorkshire lads) if you are riding, swimming and running 30+ hrs a week good food gives you a real psychological boost.

"It is what mankind did for about 200,000 years and we could chase animals, climb trees, fight - we had no protein supplements in those days."

Mind you, we were dead by 30...

If you are concerned with achieving a certain macronutrient ratio, using protein powder is a great way to up your protein without taking on a load of additional fat/carbs. There are a lot of high quality ones available that contain mostly pure whey or even plant based ones.

A smoothie or porridge with added protein powder will be a lot more satisfying, for longer than without.

"if you are exercising to the extent that you need to repair muscle, aren't you doing it wrong?"

No. All workout leads to micro tears in muscles. It is by rebuilding these that muscles get stronger with exercise.

There is extensive literature on what a good thing eating protein is after a workout, but you could (and should, imho) have an egg or a steak rather than powdered crap protein with bizarre additives.