arsenic in whey protein?

y2jake215

i just heard about this today? is this uh... true? the articles that say so didn't use an entirely solid scientific method.. i've recently started making protein shakes using about 1.5 servings of the whey protein i have, about 3 times a week. is this often enough to do anything if i continue doing it long-term? i also can't find a list of which protein powders they tested to see if it's what i use.

if anyone knows about this topic a little more indepth-ly i'd love to hear what you know
thanks

dispatch.o

y2jake215 wrote: »

i just heard about this today? is this uh... true? the articles that say so didn't use an entirely solid scientific method.. i've recently started making protein shakes using about 1.5 servings of the whey protein i have, about 3 times a week. is this often enough to do anything if i continue doing it long-term? i also can't find a list of which protein powders they tested to see if it's what i use.

if anyone knows about this topic a little more indepth-ly i'd love to hear what you know
thanks

How about a link to the articles? Or a quote with a source?

evilmrhenry

Assuming the whey protein isn't being recalled or something, it's probably the usual matter of extremely low levels and very expensive detectors. There's a low level of most nasty stuff in the environment, and your body is built to handle it. What you should be worried about is statements like "X times the FDA's maximum allowable limit".

Edit: Are you talking about
http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/magazine-archive/2010/july/food/protein-drinks/overview/index.htm
?

y2jake215

y2jake215 wrote: »

i just heard about this today? is this uh... true? the articles that say so didn't use an entirely solid scientific method.. i've recently started making protein shakes using about 1.5 servings of the whey protein i have, about 3 times a week. is this often enough to do anything if i continue doing it long-term? i also can't find a list of which protein powders they tested to see if it's what i use.

if anyone knows about this topic a little more indepth-ly i'd love to hear what you know
thanks

link: http://www.politicsdaily.com/2010/06/02/protien-drinks-found-to-contain-arcenic-lead-mercury/

i can't link to the actual article (or even read the full thing) because it was in consumer reports

evilmrhenry

You can look at this article, CR isn't paywalling it.

Well, first, they've set it at 3 servings a day, instead of 1.5/day 3 times a week, so you're only getting half or less what they found, which would put you below the maximum exposure/day even for the worst offenders.

Dark Moon

To the CR study: They don't publish any actual statistics on their findings and the phrase, "The results showed a considerable range, but..." is present in their opening paragraph and should ring your pseudoscience bell pretty vigorously.

Bartholamue

This is why I get the all-natural stuff.

Red Rover

Arsenic IS natural stuff... doesn't mean it's good for you.

The Cat

Whether a particular research project is well done or not, its pretty much a truism that nutritional supplements are massively underegulated and prone to being chock full of fuckery. The FDA put out a study about similar stuff not long ago, and if they decide something's wrong, its probably worth paying attention. Right now, you use nutritional supplements at your own risk.

Me, I'll risk it for vitamins and fish oil pills, but I prefer that the rest of my diet be, you know, normal peoplefood. That's a decision that involves avoiding anything that's much processed, not just the protein-powder kind of deal you're worried about.

You can probably minimise your risk by only buying products produced in countries that have good food safety laws, so do your research.

The Cat

Red Rover wrote: »

Arsenic IS natural stuff... doesn't mean it's good for you.

True, but unproductive. As is a significant systemic poison (kidneys say nooooooo), but really significant exposure is unlikely unless you're consuming groundwater from some areas. I'd say some of the fuss you've been reading about is due to the use of Roxarsone as an animal feed supplement, although that seems to be mostly a chicken thing rather than a cow thing. And I've officially been Wikipedia'd...

Feral Pigeon

if there is arsenic in it, that'd explain why i'm having kidney problems now, after using whey protein in all of my shakes and smoothies. also, i feel tired a few hours after taking in anything with whey protein.

damn, poison sucks.

The Cat

Arsenic poisoning doesn't really work like that. your body is more likely having trouble handling the protein load. Unless you're really working out like a fiend at well beyond beginner level, I don't know why you'd bother with the stuff in the first place.

As7

Slander.

Peen

I'm pretty sure this has come up before and it relates to this chart of stuff in whey powders:

The amounts on the chart are in micrograms, that's 1/1000 of a gram. To put those numbers in a little bit of perspective (just a little, little bit) I looked up those chemicals in the CDC's Agency for Toxic Substance and Disease Registry.

It looks like of those, the lead is the worst one. The others were talking about harmful effects when you eat grams worth of the stuff, with the lead it was actually micrograms. I copied a chart over just to show what the effects can be and at what levels, but bear in mind that these are numbers for microgram levels in the blood. I have no idea how much you'd have to eat to get those concentrations to show up.

Age Effect Blood leada (μg/dL)

Adults (elderly) Neurobehavioral effects >4
Adults Depressed ALAD <5
Adults Depressed GFR <10
Adults Elevated blood pressure <10
Adults Elevated EP (females) >20
Adults Enzymuria/proteinuria >30
Adults Peripheral neuropathy >40
Adults Neurobehavioral effects >40
Adults Altered thyroid hormone >40
Adults Reduced fertility >40
Adults Depressed hemoglobin >50

Lail

OP: At 1.5 servings 3 days a week, you'll be fine. You have nothing to worry about.

rabidrabbits

Peen wrote: »

The amounts on the chart are in micrograms, that's 1/1000 of a gram.

You're correct in that they are in micrograms. But a microgram is a 1/1000000 of a gram.

Bliss 101

I wouldn't worry about it. Organic arsenic, which is by far the dominant form in food, isn't toxic. It's possible that the chart above lists inorganic arsenic only, but even then the concentrations are in the same range as what you can expect to get from tap water. The average person in Western countries tends to consume 10 - 100 ug of arsenic per day; this is considered more or less safe, although there's a correlation between cancer and the amount of inorganic arsenic in diet.