Forget sexism. The real danger in this poster is the protein powder it pushes to women
Are you beach body ready? screams the bright yellow poster, while a photograph of a toned bikini model with a tiny waist and thrusting cleavage indicates just what ‘ready’ means.
Predictably, the advertising campaign for Protein World’s weightloss range has sparked angry complaints that women are being held to unrealistic physical standards, with some of the posters on the London Underground being defaced.
But would campaigners’ concerns be better focused on the range being sold — built around a Slender Blend protein powder — than its advertising?
Today, protein powders have gone from being the preserve of bodybuilders to an everyday habit for millions.
We can thank the likes of Gwyneth Paltrow for that. The actress-turned-lifestyle guru’s recipes for detox smoothies containing protein powder have become an internet sensation.
And she’s far from alone in promoting the supplements as part of a healthconscious lifestyle.
Drinking shakes made from protein powder is thought to be such a helpful way to get extra energy that the product has been added to the nation’s shopping basket, the official list of goods used to track inflation.
No wonder — sales of protein powder — which costs from £15 to £45 per kilogram tub — are rocketing in Britain, growing from £73 million in 2007 to £170 million in 2012.
And they are expected to reach £358 million by 2017, according to the market analyst euromonitor.
Manufacturers have worked hard to make protein powders more palatable. The basic tan-coloured powder made from milk whey was prone to clumping and users complained of a nauseating chemical taste.
Now it is available in a wide range of artificially sweetened flavours and has been reformulated to mix better.
And if you can’t be bothered to blend the powder, there are convenient ready- mixed shakes, along with protein- enhanced snack bars and
flapjacks, and even loaves of bread and pots of yogurt.
But perhaps the biggest change is that while protein powders were first adopted by body-builders, there is a growing market among women gym-goers who want to create better muscle tone, rather than building bulk.
To meet the needs of these socalled protein princesses, femalefocused fitness brands have been created, such as Pink Protein, with rose- coloured packaging; Tiara Protein, marketed by fitness model Tiara Cameron; and Protein World’s ‘ beach body’ offerings. Rebecca Fredericks, 33, from Greenwich, South-East London, was one of the early adopters.
‘I had always done aerobics, but five years ago I began weight training to build muscle in my upper body and balance out my figure,’ she says. ‘You need protein to build and repair muscles, so I started to have protein shakes.’
Fredericks, a personal trainer and life coach, could soon see that her body shape was changing. ‘I’m still not muscly overall — women don’t have the testosterone to build muscle like men do — but I am happy with the results.’ She is expecting her first child. ‘Even though I am five months pregnant, I am still taking protein powders and eating a lot of high-protein foods, such as eggs, nuts, lean meat and fish, as it keeps you feeling fuller for longer,’ she says.
But are protein powders really as healthy as they seem?
Experts warn that consuming excess protein doesn’t turn us into demi-gods, but can damage our livers and kidneys.
New studies say it may also significantly increase our risk of death from cancer and diabetes.
Though the ranges mentioned are all reputable brands, a growing body of research is warning that some unscrupulous companies are selling powders contaminated with heavy metals and bulked out with cheap ‘filler’ material that may be dangerous to our health.
It is true we all need protein in our daily diet. It is essential to body tissue, necessary for growth and contributes to muscle mass and bone health. On average, men should eat 55g and women 45g of protein daily, says the British Dietetic Association (BDA).
That’s approximately two palmsized portions of meat, fish, tofu, nuts or pulses. But in Britain we eat 50 per cent more protein than we need.
It is not a matter of ‘ more is better’, warns Helen Bond, a consultant dietitian and spokeswoman for the BDA, which has called for clearer warnings about the contents of protein powders and tablets.
She is concerned that some people are increasingly using protein shakes as meal replacements and so ‘deprive themselves of the full range of nutrients required to stay healthy’.
DIETICIANS also fear that excess levels of protein can, over time, cause serious health problems. ‘Very high levels of protein can damage kidneys and livers,’ says Ms Bond. ‘ Protein bars often contain as much as 40g protein — that’s nearly a woman’s full recommended daily amount. More than two of those a day and you are going into dangerous levels.’
Indeed, in clinical studies, longterm over- consumption of protein has been associated with kidney failure, osteoporosis and heart disease. The problem appears to be that unused protein breaks down in the blood into acidic by-products.
These by-products may cause kidney stones and accelerate kidney disease in people with pre-existing conditions.
They may also trigger bones to release calcium, thinning them and causing osteoporosis.
Dr Adam Haycock, a consultant gastroenterologist at The London Clinic, has reported seeing several patients in their 20s suffering from liver fibrosis — scar tissue that results from inflammation — which was caused by consuming too much protein.
‘They were eating between 4g to 5g (per kg of body weight) of protein a day, which is extreme, even for bodybuilders,’ he says. ‘It’s rare, but dangerous — liver fibrosis can cause permanent damage.’
What’s more, protein powder is most commonly made from whey, a by-product of cheese-making.
A recent study has shown that consuming high levels of protein
derived from dairy products significantly increases people’s rates of cancer, diabetes and overall mortality.
Researchers at the University of Southern California followed more than 6,000 adults for 18 years, and concluded that those on high-protein diets had a 400 per cent increase in their risk of developing cancer.
The investigators warned that highprotein diets increase the levels of a hormone called insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1) — high levels of which are already known to raise people’s risk of cancer.
Whey protein powders have been joined by products made from other sources, including soy, hemp, rice and casein, another milk by-product.
But these may carry their own health dangers.
Evidence from a 20-year study involving Oxford University indicates that when casein is consumed in large quantities, potentially cancerous cells proliferate.
Similarly, a study last year found that adding soy protein to your diet could speed up the rate at which breast cancer cells spread. There is also a risk from consuming chemicals in protein powders that less careful manufacturers are not including on the label.
Until whey became popular in protein powder, it was considered a waste byproduct of cheese production and dumped. Now dairy companies are profiting by setting up factories to concentrate whey and purify it.
Protein-powder brands buy this raw product and add their own ingredients, such as flavourings and sweeteners.
Ron Maughan, emeritus professor of sport and exercise nutrition at Loughborough University, says: ‘There are cases where protein powders have been contaminated with steroids, due to poor practices at factories making both.
‘This is a particular problem for athletes, who can then fail drugs tests.’
He adds that protein powders are sometimes also deliberately mixed with cheap bulking agents, which in themselves can be dangerous.
‘Some [companies] have deliberately added melamine, which is poisonous, just to boost their profits.’
While the regulations are in place to stop such practices, ‘protein powder is not a high priority for authorities such as Trading Standards.’
In the U.S., however, concern has been growing rapidly. When an American watchdog tested 16 products bought from shops two years ago, it found serious problems with five of them, such as dangerous levels of cholesterol or illegal levels of lead.
Thanks to internet sales, any of these risky products could be bought unwittingly by health fans in Britain.
Such worries have inspired Rebecca Fredericks to develop a new way of enjoying protein shakes.
Nowadays, she prefers ones that aren’t made primarily from whey, but mostly from chia seeds, ground almonds and coconut. ‘It’s a much healthier way of doing it,’ she says.
However, there is an even easier way to assuage health fears, according to Professor Maughan.
‘Just drink a pint of milk or have a cheese sandwich — especially after a gym work-out,’ he says.
‘It will give you all the protein you need and none of the cost or concerns associated with protein powder.’