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?

What carbs do you eat Suzanne? White bread / pasta / rice?

Those doctor shows are awful. So patronising, and any conclusions could be sumed up in a min.

One of the annoying twins was in a field the other day with potatoes growing everywhere, and was like "you'd never guess where all the energy from these potatoes comes from". Ffs that's the kind of thing you learn in infant school.

Ifme is just the kind of example where it's fine but without doubt if you just eat normal food as most people ate in the UK until about 40 years ago and the world over we'd all be healthier.

GruntledOne
This may sound stupid, but if you are exercising to the extent that you need to repair muscle, aren't you doing it wrong?

You're absolutely right - that does sound stupid.

"are you my uni professor????? I didn't realise that I had to look so indepth into studies for mumsnet as I did writing dissertations"

Oh I'm sorry - Was I not supposed to actually read the letter-to-editor you posted in place of a study?

Theres a hell of a lot of stupid on this thread!

suzanne - Personally I favour a high carb diet, around 300g per day, with protein at around 120g.

That's quite high protein surely? I thought recommended intake for a woman was around 50g - 70g. Not sure how accurate MyFitnessPal is and how much you weigh affects it but I've done an hour and half of exercise today and my recommended protein intake is 105g. (and carbs 260g)

Do these amounts refer to total mass of the food item (e.g. an egg = 50 g) or just its protein content (e.g. an egg has 6 g protein)?

So does 105 g recommended per day refer to just two eggs or 17 eggs? Because if it's just two eggs, I'm way over that recommended amount. I think today I had two eggs, 5-6 slices of cheese, a chicken leg, and about 100g of yoghurt and they felt GOOD

When I enter my daily intake into mfp it tells me I ate 120g protein, 300g carbs and 80g fat
So its just the macro nutrients weight Cote,
I don't aim for specific amounts I just sort of eat what feels right

Just the protein content - so if you eat 1 egg you've consumed 6g of protein.

Suzanne - just out of interest how many calories was that?

Carbs I eat bread, potatoes and oats mostly, fruit as well, wholemeal/ unrefined Dyslexic

Muscles need to be 'repaired' after strength training, but that's a low level damage not to be confused with actual injury or tearing of muscles

I eat between 2500 and 2800 cals per day
(I'm 5ft 2 and 49/50kg)

Do you do a lot of exercise? I've been doing a lot of exercise which makes me very hungry. I'm not trying to lose weight but would like to lose body fat and up my lean muscle mass. Someone said to up my protein intake to help with muscle repair and 'fill me up' to make me less likely to eat easy to grab junk food.

Most people agree that eating high good fats (eggs, avocado etc) and medium protein tends to stop people eating junk food more than eating lots of carbs.

depends on your definition of alot nbee84
I run about 40 miles per week and around 4 hours strength training per week, plus maybe walking 8-10 miles per week, sometimes a bit of cycling or gym cardio

My appetite does go up if I exercise more but it's pretty easy to 'override' if I want to drop weight and eat less...or eat more to put on weight.

I know some people report that any carbs are more-ish for them and they do better if they avoid them
Everyone is different, I seem to be fine with carbs

That's a lot in my books

I'm doing 6-7 classes a week - spin, pump and body conditioning mainly.

I do stick to a 'never drink calories' rule which is why I'd not use protein drinks, imo they are useful for people whose activity levels are so high that they struggle to eat enough 'proper food'

I may eat quite a lot in terms of calories but I stick to quite plain basic food that I prepare myself, avoid sweet stuff, lentils feature heavily and I am vegetarian....not everyones idea of fun!

DyslexicScientist I think it's a shame about the doctor programs, it's as if they think the only way to have an audience is to aim them at the level of primary school children

but then many tv documentaries are like that, even if the content is potentially serious the presentation style is a kind of breathy patronising faux enthusiasm :(

I think I'll try upping the protein to see if it helps with the hunger issues. I've bought a big chicken to roast tomorrow so will make a chicken and lentil dish with the leftovers on Monday.

So much angst over protein shakes. "Gateway drug to steroids" is my favourite so far. If you think steak is "unprocessed" compared to protein shakes read up on the use of antibiotics and other nasties in the meat industry. Not forgetting the infamous horse lasagne...

2/3 of the population is overweight or obese. It's not because of protein shakes.

Protien seems to help many people with satiety nbee84
I guess we all have our triggers....things that overstimulate the appetite

I dont think protein powders are inherently bad or unhealthy, too much protein may not be a good thing but if a high protein diet is the thing that helps you regulate food intake....well it's the lesser of two 'evils' isnt it?

Choughed if you think it's ridiculous to say that protein shakes could be a gateway to steroids, you have no idea of what's going on with teenage boys and the pressure they're under to bulk up.

It can only be a good thing to eat less cake and chocolate

I don't know that I want to go 'high' protein but ill try eating more protein post workout to see if it helps. I seem to be able to regulate my food intake during the day and then go to the gym on the way home from work. I then eat my dinner but seem to have the munchies all evening Thanks for your advice

blokes who use steroids probably also 'use' protien shakes
but I doubt that the reverse is true

I think its misleading to see them as a gateway to steroids