Put Down the Protein Drinks!

What is the easiest way to increase your protein intake? Protein shakes right?? I mean, we are always in a rush, we are always doing something, and drinking a protein shake just seems like the easiest way to get your protein in. PLUS, the supplement industry markets it as if it were a weight loss magic pill, and some of these "natural" supplement companies that are not sold in stores are guilty of stretching the term "natural" and "healthy". BUT I AM TIRED OF SEEING IT! Whether it be the teenager who can't gain any weight, so they drink 2-3 per day (I was guilty) because it's a "meal replacement" or someone who's wanting to lose weight and trusting this healthy brand of supplements sold to them by a "fit" person to get them there. Why? Because it makes things simpler and easier, and why do these people and companies make these claims like "healthy" and "all natural" etc? Because they want that moo-lah. Google how much the supplement industry is worth... Only a handful of things in these stores and sold by people are actually worth it, and this is one of the most bought supplements that ARE NOT WORTH IT! They DO NOT replace a meal! Nothing beats REAL FOOD!

Before you totally condemn me, hear me out. Go grab your protein powder and look at the back.. There should be a nutrition label there, most people stop there and look at how much protein, carbs, and fats there are... but I want you to look beside that, in small font there should be an ingredients list... follow my rule, if you can't pronounce the name out loud, don't drink it, throw it away. If there is a long list of ingredients, throw it away. When you are looking for real, long

term health, the ingredient list won't be long, and it won't be things you can't pronounce.

Dry milk...Artificial Flavors...Sucralose...Acesulfame Potassium...Where on anyone's diet list do you see these things? But for some reason we make an exception for protein shakes. These are the ingredients of some of the most popular protein shakes...

Sucralose, an artificial sweetener that has been shown to be damaging to the bacteria in your gut and can even create toxic compounds in your body,(1) is found in almost every protein shake I've ever seen...

Most contain Acesulfame Potassium, another artificial sweetener the is 200 times as sweet as sugar and can even be responsible for weight gain. (2)

We want our protein shakes to taste good, but we shouldn't resort to artificial sweeteners to make their nutrition label say 0g of sugar just to make things worse, heres an interesting article on sugar and some good substitutes. (3)

Everyone might have a different opinion on Soy, but it is also something that has gained popularity in protein shakes, but Soy is NOT healthy. It has been shown to be very harmful to your health, especially in males, increases risk for cancer, and can affect your body's ability to absorb nutrients. (4) So, Soy could actually be robbing the only good things that are in your protein.

Nutrition is the most important part of your fitness journey by far, so if we all are concerned with long term health, why would we pollute our bodies with this artificial crap made in a lab with ingredients we don't even know how to pronounce. I always say, if God didn't make it, it wasn't intended for us to eat, last time I checked He didn't create protein powder, thats made in a lab. You not only want to look your best, but feel your best.

WHAT DO I RECOMMEND??

I promote, and will always promote whole foods as close to nature as possible. Does that mean you can't have a protein shake? If possible, I would like you to avoid them, but I know sometimes that isn't possible. So here are my recommendations, when finding a good protein source, look for these things...

1. Whey Isolate

2. Small Ingredient List (4-5 Ingredients Total)

3. Can Pronounce Everything

*Perfect Example

We only live one time, don't pollute your body, don't resort to quick fixes, feed your body and get REAL health, don't be SOLD health.

-Dylon Draper