Should DD take protein powder?

[mismomary]

DD has asked my advice on taking protein powder. I know NOTHING about this so hoping Mumsnet wisdom can help!

She's 16 and into the gym and weights. She's not slight, more of a strong muscular build. Her motivation for taking the protein is to help her lose some body fat. She tells me that protein increases metabolism and this will help with burning excess body fat. She doesn't want to bulk up, more slim down. What do you think? Should I disuade or encourage?

My DS is a bit younger at 14 but he swims competitively and has got training and nutrition programmes. He has been told protein is good but not protein powders and supplements. He gets extra protein from homemade shakes containing cottage cheese, yogurt and/or raw eggs as well as a protein rich diet.

it says over 18s on the boxes so I am not sure why. Are there any that are suitable for younger people?

No, it doesn’t magically speed up metabolism but building muscles helps with that - and eating enough protein helps with building muscle when exercising. She needs to eat a protein - rich diet.

I’ve always been told ‘not before 18 years old’ from various RDs and paediatricians. Not sure why, maybe because it’s highly processed?

I think focussing on protein-rich foods like eggs, cottage cheese, yoghurt, meat, fish etc. is better for her health. Once she’s a bit older, adding 30g of a whey powder to reach her protein goals shouldn’t harm her too much.

Get her making high protein snacks like protein pancakes, muffins, yoghurt + fruit, boiled eggs, egg white scrambles etc.

No I think she should be getting it from her diet.
One of my DC competed at an elite level/GB for their sport and they were told no supplements like that at all at that age.

Natural protein yes fine, powdered supplements no. They can have an impact on liver and kidneys and are labelled 18+. DH started taking them and high levels of flatulence is an understatement, probably not what a teenager wants.
He now makes his own protein balls with nut butter, chia seeds and other things, eats a lot of oats, eggs, lean meat and fish, lentils, grains and pulses, makes things like cottage cheese chocolate mousse (it's not mousse) but he's still getting the protein he wants and his tummy is much better!

It's a UPF, so ideally not. Some good advice above from PP with homemade shakes. She can also throw in a bit of extra chicken into meals, add some egg white into an omelette, add some nuts or nut butter into porridge - for example.

Depends on her diet.

I’m vegan so do find it harder to eat the amounts of protein I need to kick my (definitely not under the age of 18) body into shape.

Not all protein powders are created equal though - some which are pea or hemp based are better than whey - and watch out for sweeteners. The cheaper ones contain sucralose- that and whey proteins are the likely causes of flatulence. I use Vivo Life - stevia for sweetener. It makes a huge difference to my bloating.

No, really no need, particularly if she is not vegan. She should just eat a healthy diet with no processed junk and some protein foods with each meal.

Protein doesn't speed up your metabolism!

But
a) you need protein to build muscle - it's hard for women to build muscle particularly.

b) it's satiating, therefore she may feel OK about eating less overall. The only way to lose weight is a caloric deficit: protein can help because it keeps you feeling fuller for longer.

Can she do a food diary for a couple of weeks to see
a) where she might be eating "junk" calories ie food which is not nutritionally valuable
b) how much protein she's getting (I'd guess it won't actually be enough)

There are a lot of ways you can get protein: eggs, lean meat eg skinless chicken breast, fish especially tuna.

Thank you so much all of you. I think I'm just going to let her read all of your comments!

DD has agreed protein powder is not a good idea. Thank you all.

@mismomary just to say, it might be worth keeping an eye - I think gym culture for young women (and women generally) is much healthier than it used to be, but there are some irresponsible fitness influencers out there. Lifting weights is a brilliant thing for women to get into (I am 58 and love it) with lots of health benefits (including being able to eat more without gaining weight 😀) but unless she is actually properly overweight, I would encourage her to focus is being strong and fit, and to fuel properly to progress. You do get weight fluctuations with strength training that don't mean much - take the long view. Just a thought, ignore me if not relevant!

I think alot of protein powders are ultra processed and not great.

I would focus on high protein foods, greek yoghurt, eggs etc

When bodies are growing they are producing insulin and are extremely efficient at using the proteins they ingest . They don’t need nearly as much as an older person. She doesn’t need protein powder.