2636: Protein Powder - How to Find Pure & Healthy Protein Supplements

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[00:01:01] That's wonderfulpistachios.com. It's another Q&A edition of Optimal Health Daily, episode 2636. And I'm Dr. Neal Mollick. Hey there, happy Friday and welcome to another Q&A edition of Optimal Health Daily where I answer your health questions related to fitness, diet and nutrition and lots

[00:01:21] more. You send in the questions and I answer them for you. Now, if you're in the US and send a relevant question in, we'll visit the post office and personally mail you a physical copy

[00:01:32] of the Optimal Living Daily workbook as long as we have copies left. Or if you're outside the US, we'll email you a digital copy. I'll tell you how to send in a question at the end. But for now,

[00:01:44] let's hear today's question as we optimize your life. Today's question came via email. Ari writes, Hi Dr. Neal, I start my mornings with your podcast every day. I love to learn what you have to share

[00:02:00] and often send it to my friends and family so they can learn with me. Your advice has impacted my health habits in such a positive way. I wanted to know more about protein powder supplements.

[00:02:11] There are so many on the market and as a woman, it's hard to know if something was created with me as the consumer or a bodybuilder. My goal is to gain muscle. So I want to know how you would

[00:02:21] recommend I find a good protein supplement and how to incorporate it into my already clean diet. Thank you so much. Thank you for taking the time to send in your question, Ari, and thank you so much for sharing this show. I truly appreciate you.

[00:02:35] Now you're probably consuming enough protein. How could I possibly know this? This is because there have been a lot of data collected on how much and what types of food populations around the world consume regularly. What we've learned is that most consume plenty of protein each day.

[00:02:53] Is that enough protein though to support muscle growth and help build strength? That's the answer everyone wants to know, right? The American College of Sports Medicine says that if your goal is to

[00:03:04] build strength and muscle, you need to consume 1.2 to 1.7 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day. Now it's frustrating that their recommendations don't use ounces of protein and pounds of body weight because here in America, of course, we use the English system rather than

[00:03:23] the metric system. But luckily, the math isn't too hard. We'll figure this out together. Stay with me here. Let's say Jamie weighs 125 pounds. To use the American College of Sports Medicine's recommendations, we need to convert Jamie's weight into kilograms. Luckily, the math is simple.

[00:03:41] Take 125 pounds, again their body weight, and divide that by 2.2. You would do the same thing for whatever your body weight is. So if you weigh 150 pounds, divide 150 by 2.2. If you weigh 110 pounds, divide 110 by 2.2. You get the idea. Either way, that calculation gives us your weight

[00:04:05] in kilograms. Jamie's weight in kilograms, therefore, is 125 divided by 2.2, which is 56.82 kilograms. Okay, now what? Now that we know Jamie's body weight in kilograms, we can figure out how much protein they need to consume each day. Like I mentioned before, the American College of Sports

[00:04:26] Medicine says if you want to build strength and muscle, you need somewhere between 1.2 and 1.7 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight. We know Jamie's body weight in kilograms. We just figured it out to be 56.82. We then take 56.82 kilograms and multiply it by the American College

[00:04:47] of Sports Medicine's recommendations. We'll start by multiplying 56.82 by the lower end of the recommendation, which was 1.2 grams of protein. Plugging that into our calculator, and we get about 68 grams of protein. That means at a minimum, Jamie needs to consume about 68

[00:05:09] grams of protein each day to build strength and muscle. Let's find out how much they should consume at a maximum according to these recommendations. So, we're going to take their body weight in kilograms again, 56.82, and multiply that by 1.7. Remember, the recommendation

[00:05:27] said 1.2 to 1.7 grams of protein should be consumed each day. So, now we're using the higher number here. 56.82 times 1.7 equals 97 grams of protein. Okay, so that means Jamie should consume between 68 and 97 grams of protein each day to help support muscle growth. Again, for those of us in the

[00:05:54] United States, we still don't quite know how to make sense of grams. So, bear with us. About one-third to one-half cup or three and a half ounces of cooked chicken would provide about 31 grams of

[00:06:07] protein. So, if we go back to our example of Jamie that weighs 125 pounds, they would need to eat about a half cup of cooked chicken three times a day to make sure they're meeting the American

[00:06:18] College of Sports Medicine's recommendations to build strength and muscle. That's not a lot of protein if you really think about it. Plus, this doesn't include any other proteins they're getting from other sources like eggs, meat, dairy, beans, soy, breads, and so on. Most studies have

[00:06:37] found that consuming above and beyond these daily protein recommendations doesn't really seem to help muscle size or strength. Now, are some forms of protein better for muscle growth? This used to

[00:06:49] be true. In fact, on this podcast, I had mentioned how whey protein, which is a protein derived from milk, tends to be absorbed better than other forms of protein. But more research has come out and

[00:07:01] found that all protein sources can be helpful for increasing muscle size and strength. And these researchers found that the sources can include not just whey protein but soy, casein, and pea-based proteins. What seems to be most important then is consuming protein throughout the day, not all

[00:07:19] at once. Studies have found that getting about 20 to 30 grams of protein in each meal may stimulate optimal muscle growth. So again, that would be like consuming about half a cup of cooked chicken at

[00:07:31] each meal. So, when might protein supplements, like in the form of protein powders or protein shakes, be helpful? And how can we find a product that's safe to use? First, protein supplements in the form of protein powders are considered ultra-processed foods. When it comes to supplements

[00:07:50] in general, not just protein powders and supplements, there's always the concern that the product may not meet quality and purity standards. In fact, according to consumerlab.com, 10 products that they independently reviewed contained cadmium and lead that went over the established safety standards

[00:08:09] and cadmium and lead are toxins for the body. Even worse, more than half of the samples they tested had bisphenol A, abbreviated BPA. Bisphenol A or BPA is believed to be harmful to our health

[00:08:23] because it can mess with our hormones which can trigger all sorts of potential diseases. So, finding products that are free of these impurities is important. We also need to think about whether we want to supplement with animal-based or plant-based protein products.

[00:08:38] In general, animal-based supplements tend to have a higher overall protein content when compared to plant-based sources. Also, the fewer the ingredients a product has, usually, the lower its calorie content. So, if we're thinking about weight gain, weight loss, and weight maintenance,

[00:08:55] the calorie content of the supplement may be important. And consuming protein after finishing a resistance training or strength training workout may be better than consuming it before the workout. Now, when it comes to side effects, luckily, there aren't many reported side effects when using these

[00:09:11] protein supplements in the short term. The most commonly reported more immediate side effect is gastrointestinal discomfort. There aren't many long-term studies available on protein supplementation so it's hard to say what any long-term effects may be. So, here's the bottom line. In the short term,

[00:09:29] using a protein supplement in the form of a protein powder that's been tested for quality and purity is likely safe for most people. But I always have to mention this disclaimer, talk to your doctor before starting any supplement. Now, how do we know whether the product has been

[00:09:46] tested for quality and purity and passed the test? You can look at the supplement's packaging. Specifically, look for a USP or NSF symbol. These symbols mean that the product was independently tested for quality and purity. Once you've found one and your doctor approves of you using it,

[00:10:05] follow the directions on the product for dosing instructions. And to make sure the supplement is supporting muscle size and strength, we want to make sure we're actually performing resistance training regularly. That creates the demand for that protein in order to support muscle growth.

[00:10:26] Thank you again so much for sending in your question Ari and for sharing this show with family and friends. Now, if you want to send in a question to be answered right here on the show,

[00:10:36] plus get a copy of the Optimal Living Daily Workbook, you can email a question to health at oldpodcast.com. Or if you want to hear your own voice on the podcast, just come by oldpodcast.com slash ask. Right on that page, you can record straight from your

[00:10:53] computer's microphone. It's really easy. You can even play back your message and do retakes before sending it in. Or you can do it the old-fashioned way and call in your question. The number is 1-61-ILOVE-OHD. That's 1-614-568-3643. Thank you so much for doing that.

[00:11:14] Answering your questions is my favorite part of the show. All right, that'll do it for another Q&A edition of Optimal Health Daily. Thank you so much for listening every day and all the way

[00:11:24] through. I hope you have a great start to your weekend and I'll see you back here tomorrow where your optimal life awaits!