Your protein shake may be laced with lead, the report finds

Your post-workout protein shake may come with some dangerous hidden ingredients. A new report finds that a substantial proportion of protein powders on sale contain potentially unsafe levels of lead and other toxic metals.

Researchers from the non-profit organization Clean Labels Project conducted to studywho has tested dozens of brands of consumer protein powders. Of the 160 products tested, 47% had levels of lead, cadmium and other toxic metals that exceeded the safety limit set by Proposition 65, a 1986 law passed in California that regulates exposure to more than 900 substances in the state According to the report, organic, vegetable and chocolate-containing protein powders were significantly more likely to contain these metals than other brands.

Although overall lead exposure has greatly decreased since the 1970s (thanks in large part to the phase-out of lead-infused gasoline), there are still some consumer products known to pose a risk higher pollution. A study last summerfor example, it found that nearly half of all cocoa products, especially dark chocolate, may contain unsafe levels of lead. Clean Labels Project researchers decided to test a wide variety of protein supplement products​​​​for lead, cadmium and other metals.

The researchers bought and tested 160 protein powder products in 70 different retail brands, representing 83% of the market. Of the 47% of products that exceeded Prop 65 levels of lead and other metals, 21% were found to have lead levels twice as high as the Prop 65 limit. About 65% of the dust that contain chocolate had a high level of lead; 77% of plant dusts have a high level of lead; and 79% of organic dusts had high levels of lead, including 41% of products that had lead levels twice as high as the Prop 65 limit. These types of products were also more likely to contain cadmium than other brands .

“The results of the study highlight that, despite the growing market of health awareness, many products may contain high levels of contaminants not reflected on traditional nutrition labels,” the authors of the report wrote. The report declines to list the specific brands detected to have lead and other metals, although it notes that powders based on milk and collagen were much less likely to be contaminated with them.

The safety limits for lead and other substances established by Prop 65 are much stricter than those used by other organizations, including the Food and Drug Administration. Other research has also suggested that average exposure to heavy metals from the consumption of protein powder supplements is not likely to cause adverse health effects, such as a higher risk of cancer. At the same time, there is not really safe level of lead exposure, and exposure to lead in early life is known to raise the risk of developmental issues. The authors say their report is intended to serve as a “wake-up call for consumers, manufacturers, retailers and regulators.”

There was at least one silver lining to the results. The levels of bisphenols – hormone-disrupting chemicals thought to negatively affect people’s health – in protein powders ​​have decreased significantly over the years. Only about 2% of products (3 out of 160) tested positive for these chemicals in this latest report, compared to 55% of products that the organization tested as part of a similar report in 2018.