However lead also can get into protein powder throughout processing, when the seeds are extracted and become pea flour and pea protein focus, Dr. Johnson-Arbor says. “The processing strategies concerned within the manufacturing of pea protein, [can include] using lead-containing milling equipment used to grind the peas into flour, and can also introduce lead into the ultimate protein focus product,” she continues. “Attributable to these facets of progress and processing, plant-based protein powders usually tend to include lead than their dairy-based counterparts that endure totally different extraction and processing strategies.”
It’s price noting that vegetables and fruit also can include hint quantities of lead since they’re grown in soil—it’s simply not prone to be as a lot. “Whereas some produce might include hint ranges of lead, entire meals are typically much less concentrated than protein powders, that are processed to extend dietary density—and with that, probably concentrating contaminants as properly,” Detwiler says.
So, what’s the takeaway?
Right here’s the large query: Are you OK to maintain having fun with your favourite protein powder or not?
In case you have protein powder right here and there, Dr. Johnson-Arbor says lead is unlikely to be a difficulty for you. But it surely’s not nice to eat it typically, Ellen Shumaker, PhD, meals security skilled and director of outreach for the Secure Plates program at North Carolina State College, tells SELF. “My degree of concern ties to how a lot of those merchandise an individual truly consumes over a protracted time period and whether or not they’re a part of a weak inhabitants—youngsters and pregnant ladies,” she says.
For everybody else, Detwiler recommends on the lookout for merchandise licensed by impartial our bodies like NSF, USP, or Knowledgeable-Alternative, which take a look at for heavy metals. But it surely’s additionally a good suggestion to be aware of how a lot protein powder you’re taking in frequently, Jamie Alan, PhD, an affiliate professor of pharmacology and toxicology at Michigan State College, tells SELF. “If you’re an occasional person, you’re seemingly high-quality. For those who drink these every day, you could wish to re-evaluate your alternative,” she says.
