What's in your protein shake....High Cholesterol, Lots of Sugar or Sodium? Is your shake really good for you?

Did you read the label on your protein shake?

After comparing a dozen popular protein powders, I noticed that they vary greatly in health risks with high cholesterol, sugar and Sodium.

• High cholesterol for example...the highest cholesterol I found was a whopping 155 mg per scoop in Syntha-6, which is about the same as a medium sized egg, while several others only had 2.5 mg. When asked about the high cholesterol they said that most of it was from natural sources and was the "good" cholesterol, but then added to be sure and check with your doctor before using.  
So if you're fighting cholesterol or want to avoid cholesterol problems in the future be sure to read your label.

• The sugar in a protein shake is usually milk sugar and its called lactose.  It went from 4.5 gm per scoop in True Mass to 0 gm in others...  and True Mass recommends 3 scoops per serving, so you are now up to 14 gm sugar, which is the amount of lactose in a cup of milk, or about 3 1/2 teaspoons of sugar. Then ifyou follow the recommendations, you are to take this 3 or 4 times a day. This not only affects Diabetics and Hypoglycemics but also those who are Lactose Intolerant.  When True Mass was asked about being lactose intolerance, we were told that many users added an enzyme that took care of the lactose, but to talk to your doctor.

• Sodium tends to increase blood pressure so if that is a concern for you, read this.  Sodium went from 160 mg per scoop in Zero Carb Isopure to 3mg in Nitro-Tech. Which meant a single serving of Zero Carb went up to 320 mg per serving. This doesn't seem like much when you consider 1 teaspoon of salt has 2400 mg of sodium. But when an ounce of bacon also contains about 320 mg of sodium, you get a better idea of what this represents.  Then you are supposed to have several servings a day, so you really need to consider if this could be a health hazard for you!!

Now the good news... protein shakes can be a good source of Calcium and Potassium.

• Osteoporosis is linked to low calcium intake.  It causes brittle bones that can break just by bending over. Drinking a protein shake is an excellent way to add more calcium to your diet. Calcium runs from 600 gm per scoop in 100% Casein to as little as 9 mg in other protein powders. The only foods I could find higher in calcium were a cup of either condensed or evaporated milk....or you could eat a
cup of homemade cheese sauce.  So if your family has a history of brittle bones you might want to drink a calcium rich protein shake.   

• Potassium helps control your blood pressure. A deficiency causes muscle cramps and weakness.  Potassium runs from 840 mg per scoop in Bio-Pro Blend to 95 mg in others.  Bananas are often recommended by doctors to patients to help increase potassium intake, but they only have about 500 mg each.  The main reason you are drinking protein shakes is for some health benefit. So
make sure you are not putting yourself at risk!  Read the labels, find out what's in your shake, how many scoops are recommended and then how many servings are you supposed to have a day?  You may want to change to a shake that gives
you more health benefits and less risk.

You can see all the protein shakes in a chart for easy comparison when you check out my site at What's in Your Shake?.  I'm not selling protein, nor have memberships etc, but I do have good information that might interest you.