The protein powders that can make you fat – NOT fit
OnCe the preserve of bulky bodybuilders, protein shakes are becoming more popular among low-key exercisers, with women in particular scooping protein powder into their smoothies or water bottles and even adding it to meals in a bid to stay fit and healthy.
Sales are booming — the sports nutrition market was worth £650 million last year, a rise of 23 per cent on the previous year — and you can now find these products filling up shelves in supermarkets and chemists.
There are many types of protein available, from whey and casein (both found in milk), to plant proteins such as soy, pea or hemp.
‘The appeal of these products is expanding beyond the small pool of the most elite sportspeople and gym fans,’ says emma Clifford, a senior food and drink analyst at market research firm Mintel.
‘They are increasingly attracting “lifestyle” users who see these products fitting in with a healthy, active way of life.’
But experts are sceptical about how useful protein powders are for anyone except hardcore athletes. The theory that most people need extra protein is ‘nonsense’, says Dr Mayur Ranchordas, a sport nutrition consultant at Sheffield Hallam University.
‘Protein shakes are the equivalent of Apple watches — we want them but we don’t need them.’
The idea behind the supplements is that the protein helps repair muscle fibres that have been torn by exercise, which in turn makes our muscles bigger and improves our strength.
Crucially, though, protein can only build and strengthen muscles if we’re doing enough exercise, explains Dr Ranchordas. ‘For anyone doing less than five hours’ exercise a week, there is no point having extra protein.’
In fact, these powders may do more harm than good by making you gain weight. Once they’ve been mixed into milk or yoghurt with honey, fruit or oats, each shake can be 500 calories. And people in the UK generally eat too much protein anyway, Dr Ranchordas adds.
‘If you’re not exercising enough to need protein supplements, they are just additional calories. Most people would be much better off, after an hour’s run, going home and whizzing up some milk with bananas, berries and yoghurt to make a home-made smoothie — it would have the same effect, but isn’t as processed.’
But for professional athletes or anyone training for a triathlon and, say, running ten miles in the morning, swimming at lunch and cycling home, it’s a different story, he explains.
‘In that case you would need to be able to conveniently get enough protein to help your muscles repair quickly between workouts. If you’re doing a huge amount of exercise, it would be virtually impossible to get enough from food.’
Ironically, experts say there is another, less obvious group, who might also benefit from embracing the protein powders trend.
Dr Ranchordas says protein shakes ‘would be great for older people’ because appetite generally reduces as we age, and people often struggle to get enough calories. ‘The sort of protein shakes you see people with at the gym are not dissimilar from products such as Complan meal replacements, which are available in pharmacies and designed to help older people get enough sustenance,’ he says. ‘We also lose muscle mass as we age so it’s even more important for this age group to go to the gym.
‘For someone in their 70s or 80s, the combination of lifting weights and drinking protein shakes — or even skimmed milk powder added to water, which is virtually the same thing — would be a great idea because it would improve their bone mineral density [the amount of calcium in the bones] and also help maintain muscle.’
AnnA DAnIelS, a nutritionist and spokesperson for the British Dietetic Association, agrees. ‘Stirring whey powder into milk would be a good way of increasing an older person’s protein intake if they were struggling to get enough protein from food,’ she says.
‘But something unprocessed, like a piece of fish, would always be better for you because it wouldn’t contain additives, whereas some protein powders do. And the recommended daily amount of protein — 0.8g per kg of your body weight — is not difficult to get in a balanced diet.’
A woman weighing 55kg (8st 9lb) would need to eat about 44g of protein a day — which roughly equates to one small chicken breast and 200g of yoghurt or a pint of milk — while a man of 70kg (11st) would need about 56g.
even so, says Anna Daniels, protein powders are unlikely to do any harm because an excess of protein is excreted. ‘The only people who really need to be careful are those with impaired kidney function because lots of protein could put them under stress,’ she adds.