Fucking Protein Powders, Bars, Meal Replacements & Other Bullshit

You asked. I deliver. Here’s the rant. Honestly this shit is EVERYWHERE I LOOK, not only popular with the blokes who proudly strut off to the gym and return with a fucking huge 40 gallon drum of the stuff which usually has a picture of a bloke built like a brick shithouse and is called MANPOWERXTREME this will give you muscles bigger than a 10ft cock or some such nonsense, but chicks everywhere are digging this shit too. The meal replacements are a particular favourite (sorry why the fuck are we replacing a meal? how about eat a meal….). The protein powder obsession doesn’t end there either, pregnant women, the elderly and it’s even being marketed to picky kids..just like baby formula is marketed for toddlers.. a great post on that here. 

I just did a quick google of protein powder ingredients. Here’s a picture. This is pretty standard. Of particular concern is the whey protein concentrate, whey protein isolate, soy protein isolate and soy lecithin. This one doesn’t have too many dodgy sugars, sucralose NOT GOOD, where are they getting these vitamins and minerals? Synthetic is usually a good guess, plus flavours- not specified.

What fucks me off the most is this shit is now being suggested to kids as young as four by network marketing companies. My friend Jackie Isles from Jackie Isles. Nourish Balance Wellness had this to say about a super popular one doing the rounds at the moment

“Isagenix , what do I think about it ? I have avoided this question publicly for months now , but today,I outed my concerns on this nutritional cleanse on a friends Fb page so it’s time I talk about it on my own page. I know how fabulous it feels to be jumping out of your skin with energy, to look fabulous in a pair of jeans you haven’t worn in years and to rock your confidence. It’s feels friggin fantastic !! I believe in bio individuality in nutrition, not one eating or lifestyle plan suits all, we are all unique and what works for me may not work for you.I believe in being empowered, to live each day with the right recipe of success for our long term wellbeing ,educating our children on being truly well ,healthy and confident . It’s with this mind , I asked some questions ?? I’ve had extensive discussions with Isagenix leading nutritionists in Australia. I am a wellness coach with a background in herbal medicine and I would not recommend this product to my clients nor would I use it myself. It’s full of allergenic ingredients ( soy,dairy,gluten) ,high in fructose , and it has artificial flavours as well as natural flavours in some of their products, the claims of being a cleansing product is simply untrue. It is a meal replacement diet product where in a week you eat real food maybe 3 meals only and the rest of your intake is shakes and pills. Isagenixs belief is their product is the only clean proper nutrition available on the planet as all other food sources including organic real food is devoid of vitamins and micro nutrients. They do a great sell job and the marketing is clever, and at one point in my 90 minute conversation I was nearly convinced by the sell ,until I asked about ” education, long term wellbeing, support and successes post cleanse” it’s at this point the wheels fell off the “sell” … the long term well being and education is simply buying more product , the dietician could not site one client of hers that was eating a balanced nutrient rich real food diet ,3 meals a day. All the long term success stories were still locked into meal replacement therapy and Isagenix. The dieticians did not eat real food daily and for the last 3 years ate Isagenix as their primary dietary intake. To me that is disordered eating . Many people with long term weight issues have underlying auto immune disorders, allergies and self esteem issues, to be disempowered by a product long term and to think you can only feel and look great by taking this product long term is so wrong and damaging on so many levels. Short weight loss with no underlying auto immune disorders go for it , it works, but so does any low calorie diet!!! you can achieve weight loss easily with a #healthyhappyplate and working on your self love and nourishment and metabolism, without the price tag . Blessings and healthyhappys Jx”

So yeah, she had some real ass shit to say about it. Nailed it Jackie. Fucking good one mate.

It is a myth that we need shitloads of protein, even if we are working out daily for extensive periods you can get an adequate protein intake from an actual food source. Plus protein should actually be consumed with it’s naturally occurring STOP CUTTING THE FUCKING FAT OFF THE MEAT AND DRINKING SKIM MILK! MADNESS!! If you don’t consume it with the fat the world is going to end.. well no. But it’s not exactly health inducing. One of my fave blogs Holistic Squid said this about it.

“When it comes to the down-side of protein powders — be they organic, hemp, whey, soy, etc – the point that I find most compelling is that protein should not be consumed regularly without a proportionate amount of its naturally occurring fat – this means lean meat and protein powders are simply a no-no unless also supplemented with healthy saturated fats. The saturated fat and fat soluble vitamins in dairy and meat helps the body to properly use the protein, vitamins, and minerals.

Too much protein and too little fat can cause a negative calcium balance that can lead to bone weakness (insufficient vitamin K2), eye problems (from insufficient vitamin A), immune issues (commonly linked to insufficient vitamin D), and other health conditions resulting from excessive ‘lean’ protein consumption.”

Even the Nutrition Guru and the Chef is laying it out, in a post she did today she said

“I’m asked every day which protein powder I recommend. I  prefer people get their protein from whole food sources. Why? Protein powders are not a real food, often contain all sorts of synthetic filler ingredients and are highly refined. They are a creation of the modern world and even the protein powders using all natural ingredients still go through a very unnatural process to extract the protein, turn it into a powder and put it into a container to sell.

The marketing of protein powders is a multi billion dollar industry. The information touting protein powders as ‘must h ave weight loss’ answer, or ‘only way to add bulk ‘ is written by supplement companies as advertorial. They cleverly list all the benefits of the powders on the packaging, but remember this is a clever marketing ploy.”

BOOM.

Oh. and I got distracted. I haven’t even ranted about the ingredients yet.

Whey. Whey Whey Whey. Why are used so damn much in shit these days? Sally Fallon from the Weston A Price Foundation lays it down straight as usual. She tells us the process of making protein powders often requires extremely high heat which overly denatures the proteins (as opposed to the normal denaturing that happens during digestion or cooking) to such an extent that they become virtually useless while increasing nitrates, MSG, and other carcinogens. (Holistic Squid).

Oooh but then all the new fancy products are offering DENATURED proteins so I’m sweet yo. Erm. Sorry dudes. Not so fast. It’s still a dehydrated, powdered, highly processed, packaged food made to last. Therefore the shit aint great..

Not to mention the extreme overuse of soy. Fuck I’m sick of soy being marketed as a health food, a great protein substitute for vegans/vegetarians. A great milk choice for the above or those lactose/casein intolerant. If I hear one more person in the coffee cue ordering a soy flat white I may take drastic action.. and let out an uncontrollable outburst FOR FUCKS SAKE STOP DRINKING THAT SHIT. Whilst I am happy to have a miso soup once in a while, a little Tamari in an asian inspired dish, some edamame now and then and even some tofu or tempeh on a semi regular basis, turning into a powder or ‘milk’ is truly fucking insane. Soy lecithin, what even is that shit? It’s in everything. Not good.

I can hear the soy lovers already, BUT ASIANS EAT LOADS OF SOY AND THEY ARE SO HEALTHFUL. Wrong again. They eat small amounts of soy, and it is fermented removing a lot of the dangers of consuming soy, plus they eat in with traditional, nourishing foods like fish broth which is full of iodine and other minerals SUPPORTING thyroid health. Big difference between that and the nasty ass shit in the vege burger etc.

Mercola lists ten nasty truths about unfermented soy in this article.

1. High Phytic Acid (Phytates): Reduces assimilation of calcium, magnesium, copper, iron and zinc. Phytic acid in soy is not neutralized by ordinary preparation methods such as soaking, sprouting and long, slow cooking, but only with long fermentation. High-phytate diets have caused growth problems in children.

2. Trypsin inhibitors: Interferes with protein digestion and may cause pancreatic disorders. In test animals, trypsin inhibitors in soy caused stunted growth.

3. Goitrogens: Potent agents that block your synthesis of thyroid hormones and can cause hypothyroidism and thyroid cancer. In infants, consumption of soy formula has been linked with autoimmune thyroid disease. Goitrogens interfere with iodine metabolism.

4. Phytoestrogens/Isoflavones: Plant compounds resembling human estrogen can block your normal estrogen and disrupt endocrine function, cause infertility, and increase your risk for breast cancer.

5. Hemagglutinin: A clot-promoting substance that causes your red blood cells to clump, making them unable to properly absorb and distribute oxygen to your tissues.

6. Synthetic Vitamin D: Soy foods increase your body’s vitamin D requirement, which is why companies add synthetic vitamin D2 to soymilk (a toxic form of vitamin D).

7. Vitamin B12: Soy contains a compound resembling vitamin B12 that cannot be used by your body, so soy foods can actually contribute to B12 deficiency, especially among vegans.

8. Protein Denaturing: Fragile proteins are denatured during high temperature processing to make soy protein isolate and textured vegetable protein (TVP). Chemical processing of soy protein results in the formation of toxic lysinoalanine and highly carcinogenic nitrosamines.

9. MSG: Free glutamic acid, or MSG, is a potent neurotoxin. MSG is formed during soy food processing, plus additional MSG is often added to mask soy’s unpleasant taste.

10. Aluminum and Manganese: Soy foods contain high levels of aluminum, which is toxic to your nervous system and kidneys, and manganese, which wreaks havoc on your baby’s immature metabolic system.

Soy’s antinutrients are quite potent. Drinking just two glasses of soymilk daily provides enough of these compounds to alter a woman’s menstrual cycle. But if you feed soy to your infant or child, these effects are magnified a thousand-fold. Infants fed soy formula may have up to 20,000 times more estrogen circulating through their bodies as those fed other formulas. You should NEVER feed your infant a soy-based formula!

Nasty, nasty shit. Fermented soy products are fine, in their natural forms, in small amounts, but seriously. Please stop with the protein powder, bars, meal replacements, pretty much everything in a supermarket being pumped with soy. This shit is getting ridic.

Not to mention sucralose. Fucking fuck.Loads of these companies use aspartame as well. Where do I even start with that shit? Eh, it’s too much for one post. I think you’ve got the point by now, surely.

SO here’s the deal. I know it’s super hard to eat meals all the time, I know protein powders are an easy way to get some nutrients in. I know all this healthy shit is seriously hard work. Fuck sometimes all I manage for breakfast is some sourdough and butter and a glass of OJ. There are some semi decent ones on the market that if I was stuck for time and was faced with eating nothing or some protein powder I’d choose the powder (eating nothing is NEVER a good idea). I’d probably reach for an apple or a banana first though!

Try taking some boiled eggs! Natural yoghurt, great lakes gelatin and fresh homemade whey are all great things to add to a smoothie if you’re really into the smoothie thing, I usually chuck in one or two raw organic egg yolks too. Bone broth is of course amazing. Pasture raised meat, wild caught fish, nuts, avo, coconut and yes even some fermented soy is fine (please don’t go mental on the shit). Don’t forget your fat and carbs either!

Calm the fuck down and eat some food.