In recent years, many Americans have shifted to a more health-oriented lifestyle, with some using vitamins and supplements — like protein powder — to meet their daily nutritional recommendations. However, a new report found that some protein powders and ready-to-drink shakes contain dangerously high levels of lead.
Consumer Reports said it conducted tests on 23 popular protein powders and shakes, finding more than two-thirds of the products analyzed contained higher than recommended levels of lead contamination — some by more than 10 times the recommended daily intake.
“It’s concerning that these results are even worse than the last time we tested,” said Tunde Akinleye, a chemist and Consumer Reports food safety researcher who led the study. "This time, in addition to the average level of lead being higher than what we found 15 years ago, there were also fewer products with undetectable amounts of it. The outliers also packed a heavier punch."
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Consumer Reports said nearly all of the plant-based protein products it tested had elevated levels of lead contamination and — on average — contained nine times the amount of lead found in products made from dairy proteins and twice the amount found in beef-based products.
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, there is no safe level of lead for human consumption as heavy metals are known to cause complications to the heart, kidneys, gut, brain, respiratory and reproductive systems.
However, Akinleye noted that this doesn't mean all protein powders and read-to-make shakes necessarily pose a severe risk to your health, and some are fine to have on occasion. But he believes the risks associated with consuming these products does outweigh the benefits.
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"We advise against daily use for most protein powders, since many have high levels of heavy metals and none are necessary to hit your protein goals," said Akinleye.
Click here to see which protein products Consumer Reports says you should avoid, limit to once per week, or only consume on occasion. Seven products tested were listed as "better choices for daily consumption."
