With more and more people opting for junk food rather than eating a nutritious diet, the importance of supplements is increasing every day. The modern society finds it easier to pop in or drink most of the essential nutrients, rather than chewing them as a part of the main course food. Adulteration and hybridisation has also prompted many to resolve to this compensation pattern. Natural minerals and vitamins, iron etc. have through several researches and numerous years, vastly outnumbered the synthetic in their benefits.
Protein is a very vital muscle forming compound needed by our body. It is a continuous chain of amino acids linked together. It is found in good quantities both, in red and white meat, fish, eggs, pulses, milk and milk products etc.
According to the RDA, an average human being, whether male or female aged between 19 to 70 years, requires around 50 gram of protein everyday.
Owing to individual choices, many people avoid having naturally protein rich foods products. Many people that have them, do so in highly processed forms, that leaves little space for the required nourishment.
Protein powder is a dietary supplement that comes in a variety of forms catering to different needs for different people. It is a form of highly dehydrated and processed proteins that can be reconstituted when mixed in a liquid base like water, milk or any other liquid beverage. They facilitate the growth of muscle mass there by facilitating both weight gain and weight loss; the outcome depending on the exercises undertaken.
This dietary supplement was earlier used only by athletes. With the passage of time and the increased desire for a well marketed athletic body, protein powders have entered the mainstream market. Moreover, the anywhere, any time opportunity that comes packed in the packets is another reason behind its popularity. Protein powders primarily come packed as whey, soy and casein protein.
They often have a range of side-effects that have the capacity to cause irreversible damage to our vital body organs: especially the kidney.
Whey proteins:
Among these three forms, whey is found primarily in milk and constitutes around 20% of the entire milk protein content, while the remaining 80% is casein. Whey is considered to be the best form of protein. It is the liquid portion that gets separated from milk while processing cheese.
Whey protein is extracted from cow’s milk mostly by two popular techniques: Ion exchange and micro filtration. These processes produce majorly three kinds of whey: Whey protein concentrate Whey protein isolate Hydrolysed whey protein
In an attempt to make whey tastier, artificial sweeteners are added to the powder, which makes it nearly impossible to digest this form of protein.
Soy:
Soy protein is extracted from soy bean. The fat and hull are excluded to increase the protein content and decrease the percentage of other contents. It is thus, a dry powder which is 90 to 95% protein, almost free from fat and carbohydrates, and used as a food ingredient. Soy protein is majorly processed into: Soy flour Soy concentrate Soy isolate
It is generally extracted from genetically modified plants and thus, has two very big drawbacks. One, it is highly processed and two, it is genetically engineered. The third effect it has is on the body’s hormone level as an after effect is equally bad.
Casein:
Casein is most commonly referred as “milk-protein”, as it is present in abundance in milk and its products. Up to 45% of human milk comprises of this protein while cow’s milk contains 80% of the same.
Casein has a property of getting settled as a residue and forming a clot. It thus, clings to a part of the stomach and releases amino acids gradually. This sustained release helps decrease hunger pangs and loss of energy.
This slow absorption comes in the way when taken after exercise, as this is the ideal time when our body needs essential nutrients to assimilate.
You NEVER absorb the entire protein in these supplements:
Proteins are no doubt muscle builders, but there is an upper limit to muscle formation in the human body. Moreover, proteins are slow to digest, a scientific fact, proven time and again.
At times it becomes difficult for the body to digest all the protein we consume in the few pieces of roasted turkey we had for dinner, leave alone digesting 100% of the large quantity of protein that is present in these supplements. This must have surely caught you by surprise, but studies assert that the human body can assimilate a maximum of 10 grams of whey per hour, while the rest is egested, unabsorbed.
Side effects of protein powder:
Consuming high amounts of protein can cause damage to our body organs, especially the kidney and liver. Protein powder side effects are known to facilitate this damage, especially if consumed in larger quantities or without adequate exercise.
Protein powders are highly processed:
In the process of manufacturing protein powders, the protein is often highly denatured. Such processing leaves the protein unusable as a health supplement; rather it may lead to a host of other problems.
Anything that is beyond nature is not purely healthy, and so the different forms of protein powder aren’t either. They have a number of artificial and synthetic ingredients present as constituents which may add to protein powder side effects. Some of them are also known to contain MSG (monosodium glutamate), though it may not be listed in the ingredients. MSG is a by-product in the process of protein separation from the actual protein source.
Protein powder side effects
Dehydration:
Metabolising protein requires water in a fairly good proportion, in order to eliminate the toxic end products that are produced. Protein powder side effects are manifested even more when coupled with exercise, as each of them tend to make the body devoid of water.
Excess fluid loss through sweat and protein assimilation can make the body very dehydrated.
Less frequent urination Dryness of the mouth and throat Dizziness Headaches Excessive thirst Light-headedness
These are some of the symptoms of being dehydrated. These protein powder side effects may be exerting your kidneys in the routine filtration tasks and may over prolonged periods, bring about damage.
Loss of calcium:
Research has asserted that one of the major side effects of protein powders is that it leads to osteoporosis. Proteins require an acidic medium to be broken down and digested. Higher the quantity of protein, greater is the acid production.
In order to compensate for the acidity, our body releases bone calcium as a defense mechanism. This calcium is excreted along with the acid in the urine. This again, damages the kidneys in many ways. Women are at a higher risk of osteoporosis generally, and also through this mechanism.
Protein shakes are almost free from fats. Our body requires some essential good fats to absorb many nutrients. This is also a major reason behind the calcium imbalance that leads to osteoporosis.
Incomplete nutrition:
Protein is among the most vital nutrients required by our body but no doubt, it isn’t the only one! A diet devoid of other nutrients like essential fats, carbohydrates, vitamins etc. is what these protein supplements promote. Moreover, they may also lack one or more essential amino acids that are required by the body. Substituting protein powders for actual food is one big mistake we all make. We waste the protein and also pressurise our body to do extra rounds of work.
May foster weight gain:
When we add high doses of protein to our diet, we also increase our the calorie intake. Our body does not store protein in its original form. It converts the excess protein into fat. An increased amount of protein content, if met with similar amounts of exercise, can reduce the harm done, but then we can’t ignore the dehydration bit. Also, beware! Our body’s capacity to store fats is nearly limitless.
May cause heavy metal toxicity:
A 2001 study by “Consumer Reports” highlights that nearly each sample of 15 different kinds of protein powders that were tested, contained trace amounts of one or more toxic metals like lead, mercury, arsenic and cadmium. Increased exposure to such heavy metals is highly detrimental for our body and may leave it in a devastated state.
We have been asserting time and again, that nothing can substitute the power of nature. What we get from real food sources cannot be supplemented by one’s that are processed and have only recently become fads.
Switch to natural options like real milk, fish and poultry products, etc. If you still desire to add some extra servings of protein to your diet and if protein powder is the last resort, use it in minimal amounts so that you derive it’s benefits and not the protein powder side effects.
Original article and pictures take urbanwired.com site
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