Eating whole, unprocessed, organic foods, in a non-rushed manner, surrounded by those you love is the ideal situation. Unfortunately, for many of us, including myself, this doesn t happen as often as we d like. Enter the nutrient dense smoothie option. There are many protein powders on the market today. There are some that are excellent and far more unhealthful varieties. If something is heavily marketed, as you will recognize in some of the listings below, take it as a red flag warning to stay away. When a company spends more money on marketing a product, rather than using high quality ingredients, I say shame on them. The protein powder market has exploded and protein drinks are here to stay. It would be impossible for me to cover all of them, but I ve covered enough to give you a good idea of what you can use to build health, and which ones deplete health. I ve also scattered explanations throughout the guide about different ingredients. So instead of scanning the guide to find your specific protein powder - be sure to read the whole guide.
Pg. 2 WHAT S THE PROBLEM WITH NON-FAT DRY MILK? Non-fat dry milk is a denatured protein. According to Sally Morrell, non-fat dry milk is made by forcing fluid through a tiny hole at high pressure, which causes nitrates to form and the cholesterol in the milk to become oxidized. Also, any milk, which is not organic, likely comes from a CAFO, short for concentrated animal feeding operation. Milk sourced from these farms is full of hormones and antibiotics because the animals are kept in crowded, inhumane conditions which causes them to get sick frequently and results in antibiotics. While Isagenix claims that their whey is from a grass fed source, it makes no statement about its non-fat dry milk powder. WHAT S SO BAD ABOUT CYANOCOBALAMIN? Cyanocobalamin is a cheap, synthetic form of B12. It's impossible for you to find this form in nature. Low-end vitamin manufacturers use it because it can be bought in bulk. What they don't tell you is that the vitamin is bound to a toxic, poisonous cyanide molecule that must then be detoxified by your liver. By consuming low quality vitamins like this, you are making your body work harder than it has to. The cyanide part is extremely minute, but it s still synthetic. Why put this stuff in your body when better alternatives exist? Your shake mix, if it contains B12 at all, should be in the methylcobalamin form.
Pg. 3 I THOUGHT VEGETABLE OILS WERE HEART HEALTHY; ARE YOU SAYING THEY RE NO GOOD? Not only are they no good, they are outright health damaging. Having an oil change, a.k.a getting all of the industrial seed oils out of one s kitchen, is often one of the first changes I have my private clients make when wanting to make big changes to their health. Industrial seed oils are safflower, sunflower, canola, soy, grape seed and corn oils. Most are high in Omega 6 fats. We need Omega 6 fats, but we get far too many of these and not enough Omega 3 fats. If you eat in restaurants and consume seeds and nuts, you already get Omega 6 fats and don t need your daily protein shake to contain this type of oil. The second reason these oils are bad is because of the way that they are processed. Heat, pressure and solvents are used to extract the oil from the seed. This creates oxidation (rancidity). The oil is then boiled to remove the solvent. In order to remove any bad smell, it is bleached and deodorized with more chemicals. So now you ve got something that has been stripped of any of its nutrition and is rancid. In addition to its naturally occurring Omega 6 profile, which alone would be enough to minimize its use, you now have a highly processed, free radical forming oil that is clearly bad for your health. WHAT S THE PROBLEM WITH SOY? Soy is a staple food in the US; it s in junk food; it s in health food. Once the oil is extracted using extremely high heat, hexane (a neurotoxin) and bleaching, you re left with soy protein a highly processed ingredient found in meat substitutes and poor quality protein shakes like Juice Plus. Soy is high in omega-6 fatty acids and low in omega-3 fatty acids. Majority of Americans already have a high omega-6 intake and a low omega-3 intake. This is one of the reasons heart disease is the top killer in our country. Soy is high in phytic acid, also called phytates. These phytates prevent the absorption of minerals like magnesium, iron, calcium and phosphorous. Soy is also high in goitrogens which can interfere with the thyroid hormone. Being that we have an increase in
Pg. 4 hypothyroidism, some of it undiagnosed, nobody needs to be consuming large amounts of soy. So although soy is natural and comes from the earth, it is highly processed and unfit for human consumption. Juice Plus contains 3 different forms of soy-tofu powder, soy fiber and soy protein isolate. Run. Far. Away.
Pg. 5 IS WHEY PROTEIN HEALTHY? I VE HEARD ARGUMENTS FOR IT AND AGAINST IT? HOW CAN BOTH SIDES BE RIGHT? Whether something is healthy for you or not comes down to your body chemistry and what you do with it. Whey can be extremely beneficial for many people. I m a fan of whey protein when it is high quality, which means that it s been sourced from cows that graze on grass and is processed correctly. While many companies claim to use whey that is from grass fed cows, you still don t know how it has been processed. Whey is an excellent choice as long as you are not sensitive to dairy. Even people who are sensitive to dairy can sometimes consume whey without incident. Whey helps the body increase levels of glutathione, the body s master antioxidant. Your other antioxidant vitamins will not work as well if you don t have adequate levels of glutathione. Whey is the best way to increase glutathione in the body and is particularly excellent for athletes because of its ability to enhance muscle recovery due to its rapid digestion into the blood stream. WHY IS ADDED FRUCTOSE BAD? It s a matter of proportions. Fructose is found in fruit. A safe fructose intake is around 25 grams per day, and around 15 grams if a metabolic disorder is present. Fructose is processed by the liver, an excess of fructose is not only toxic to the liver, but forms free radicals and triglycerides. Obtaining a small, natural amount of fructose in fruit is fine. Obtaining isolated fructose from a processed protein drink is not.
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Pg. 8 WHAT S WRONG WITH SUCRALOSE? Sucralose (also known as Splenda) is an artificial sweetener. It is made in a lab by adding three chlorine molecules to a sugar molecule. Sucralose alters the beneficial gut flora in the GI tract. When tested on mice, consumption of sucralose resulted in a significant reduction of beneficial gut flora. Considering that our gut flora helps protect us from everything ranging from the flu to cancer to depression, this is a serious concern. Run away from anything that has sucralose on the ingredient list. WHAT IS ACELSUFAME POTASSIUM? It s a calorie-free sweetener found in numerous sugar-free products. Though it s considered safe by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), some animal studies have shown it has potentially dangerous health effects. Although it can be much sweeter than table sugar, it has a bitter aftertaste when used alone. Therefore, you will often find it blended with other sweeteners like Sucralose or Aspartame, such as in Dymatize Elite Whey Protein. It can be listed on ingredient labels as acesulfame potassium, acesulfame K, or Ace-K. It is a common non-caloric sweetener used in pharmaceutical products, especially liquid medications or chewables and in low quality protein powders such as Dymatize Elite Whey Protein.
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Pg. 10 WHAT S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL FLAVORS? SHOULD I AVOID THEM OR ARE NATURAL FLAVORS OK? There are about 10 large flavor companies in the world whose concoctions find their way into many of your foods, drinks and protein shakes. Both natural and artificial flavors are suspect. According to an article published in Scientific American in 2002, there is little to no difference between the two different types of flavors. Natural chemicals are used to make natural flavors, and synthetic chemicals are used to make artificial flavors. Please realize that both natural and artificial flavors are made in a high tech laboratory and according to former head of the FDA David Kessler, their goal is to create a flavor riot in your mouth. The goal of the chemists who concoct these flavorings is to make you a repeat customer. Even if you are a careful consumer of better quality health food store type brands, if you do eat some packaged foods, bars and shake mixes, you are likely to run into natural flavors. Personally, I don t entirely avoid natural flavors. Some of my favorite protein shakes, such as Pure Paleo Protein (listed below) contain them, but I make it a point to not consume protein shakes with non-grass fed whey and synthetic vitamins.
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