‘Is protein powder a scam?’ is the headline of the article in which journalist Alice Callahan asked whether people need a supplement to get enough protein.
Among the experts she cited was Colleen Tewksbury, an assistant professor of nutrition science at the University of Pennsylvania, who said that the “vast majority” of people in the United States already get enough protein from the foods they eat, and a supplement form is not necessary for them.
Tewksbury told NutraIngredients-USA that “there may be other opportunities for protein powder in people who do not have specialized needs, but I am not aware of significant research showing its benefits.”
No one in her laboratory/clinical group is conducting any specific protein powder or supplement research, rather general dietary intake research, she added.
A proliferation of articles published last year agreed with Tewksbury’s assessment. Vox ran a piece reporting that the recommended dietary allowance (RDA), 0.8 grams per kilogram body weight, is “higher than what most people actually need to ensure they don’t become protein deficient. But despite exceeding the recommended intake, 60 percent of U.S. adults are trying to get even more of it into their diets.”
However, experts and the public have taken to social media to critique the Times and other popular articles. Dr. Nima Alamdari, chief scientific officer for multivitamin company Ritual, who is also a muscle physiologist, posted on LinkedIn that the National Academy of Medicine’s RDA is not enough.
“I’ve spent over two decades studying how protein impacts health, and the current protein recommendations are the bare minimum to prevent deficiency,” he wrote. “Research shows that most adults benefit from higher intake, between .54 to .73 grams per pound. Higher protein intake can be essential for adults at every life stage, particularly during pregnancy, postpartum, aging, and for active individuals or those following reduced-calorie diets.”
Dr. Gabrielle Lyon, an expert in skeletal health and protein types, posted a video on her popular Instagram page countering the notion that Americans get enough protein in their diet.
She said that 20% of women between the ages of 18 and 22 are below the RDA level for dietary protein and that 40% of the women over the age of 65 are not meeting the minimum requirement for dietary protein.
“Are protein powders a scam? Only if they’re mixed with bad advice,” Lyon said while sipping a protein shake.
NutraIngredients-USA spoke to scientists and members of the supplement industry to get their take on the Times article and to pose new questions: Why should Americans consume more protein? And what makes protein powder efficacious?
Challenging the RDA
Dr. Douglas Kalman, clinical associate professor of sports nutrition at Nova Southeastern University, disagrees with the Times article because it “bastardizes protein in a powder form.”
“The article does not ask a good question,” he said. “It’s not about protein powders being considered necessary. The question should be, ‘Is protein powder useful?’. The answer is yes.”
Over the past two decades, there has been an increase in the amount of high protein milks that are on the market, and consumers can get protein from a wide variety of sources.
“Are you going to tell somebody that’s using Carnation Instant Breakfast, which is protein carbohydrate in powder form, that it is different than a supplement?” Kalman said.
Federal legislation dictates the different ways supplement facts versus nutrition facts must be presented on a label, said Dr. Amanda Frick, vice president of medical affairs at supplement company Thorne.
“There’s different regulatory guidance and guidelines on what a supplement facts box is compared to a nutrition facts box, and different ways that you can and should list other ingredients and sugars and lots of other aspects,” she said. “It may be the exact same thing, but it’s more about how it’s positioned in the market, where it’s manufactured and how it’s labeled.”
Regardless of the protein’s source, Kalman said that it is a myth that the body cannot absorb more than a serving or two of protein powder at a time.
Research published last year in the journal Cell Reports Medicine found there is no ceiling to the protein the human body can absorb in post-resistance training, for example.
Kalman is a member of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, which provides science-based sports nutrition and supplement information. The organization’s stance is that “no controlled scientific evidence exists indicating that increased intakes of protein pose any health risks in healthy, exercising individuals.”
“There’s no ceiling of protein after you get to a certain number of grams,” Kalman explained. “Your immune system is using it. Your gut is using it. Your muscles are using it for all its structure. Your bones are using it. The only way the body is going to stop absorbing protein is if a person defecates or throws it up.”
Kalman’s views are not without criticism. Some physicians argue that a high-protein diet may lead to chronic kidney disease.
However, Sebastian Balcombe, CEO of biotechnology company Specnova, which focuses on making natural ingredients more potent, agrees with Kalman’s assessment.
“Back in the day researchers used to have this made-up number that said you couldn’t absorb more than 20 grams or 25 grams of protein at one time, and nobody ever knew where the hell those [numbers] came from,” he said. “Does someone who sits in front the computer all day have the same absorption needs as an endurance runner?”
Balcombe added that there are vast differences in the amount of muscle mass between people who have different absorption patterns and protein needs than someone who happens to be sedentary.
One of the strongest arguments for protein supplementation is that half of women do not meet their protein needs, Kalman said.
According to the National Institutes of Health, one in eight women do not get adequate intake of protein during their second and third trimesters of pregnancy.
Ken Rowe, chief R&D officer at Thorne, said personalization is an important factor to consider when consuming protein or a protein supplement.
“I don’t think that [The New York Times] considers the individual needs of a specific person, especially if it was an athlete or a person who’s a little bit older,” he said. “They may not absorb protein in the same way because of muscle repair or muscle building. I don’t think it’s a one-size-fits-all. There’s a difference between the individual versus some sort of collective [intake] recommendation.”
Thorne’s Frick agreed that a personal approach is important to consider, and protein supplements are useful if someone has cancer or cannot consume enough food.
“Maybe you’re using a GLP-1, and it’s difficult to eat the quantity of food that you need for the grams of protein to maintain your muscle mass,” she said. “In an ideal world, everybody could eat everything that they need in a day with perfect food and perfect growing conditions without pesticides with all the full spectrum of nutrients we’d expect, but it’s just not real.”
People who are on GLP-1s have a problem with protein turnover, the continuous process of breaking down and rebuilding protein within the cells, said Blake Ebersole, president of NaturePro Scientific, a supplement consulting and research firm. As more people take GLP-1s, they may need additional protein to combat their effects, he added.
Fast absorption
Protein powder comes in several forms such as whey, created from the byproduct of cheese production, and the plant-based pea protein made from yellow peas. They contain essential amino acids required by the human body, which help to build muscle and create immune cells.
Protein powders are popular because of their convenience and ability to be absorbed by the body quickly.
Consuming meat—which has benefits beyond protein such as providing essential vitamins and minerals—can take 48 hours before it completes its journey through the digestive system.
Plant proteins take more than four hours to digest.
“Complex carbohydrates in plant protein sources can bind up the protein and lessen its ability to be absorbed,” Balcombe said.
In contrast, protein powder, which is consumed usually in shake form, is highly bioavailable, taking 1 to 2 hours for the body to process 10 to 20 grams of it. Bioavailability is the ability of a drug or ingredient to be absorbed and utilized by the body.
“Protein powder is a macronutrient,” Balcombe said. “Depending on its source and its essential amino acid profile and its peptide profile, it normally doesn’t have the bioavailability issues of a micronutrient, like a vitamin or a mineral or a small molecule, which is what you would find in plants.”
The fast absorption of protein powder means it can be used more quickly for muscle recovery, weight management and to suppress appetite. However, bioavailability does not translate into the amount of protein that enters the tissue, rather just how much is in the blood.
Balcombe said part of the problem with bioavailability studies— and therefore determining the efficacy of protein— is that there is a short window between when an ingredient is administered and when blood draws are taken, often 3 to 6 hours.
“That’s way too short of a window,” he said, noting that despite the abundance of protein research there is still more to learn. “You need to do much longer studies that include the absorption piece and then looks at the efficacy piece.”
