POLL: Dietary protein and age related decline in muscle mass

[Chuckanut]

The article I read said that the high lead and cadmium levels were in the chocolate powders due to the chocolate. Chocolate (and cocoa and cacao) are heavily contaminated with these metals despite being sometimes touted as healthy for you.

Thank you for mentioning the above. It is a great example of how we are often mislead in regards to food safety and quality. Simply buy the plain unflavored whey protein and add your own flavored ingredients to it.

One form of a food can be more dangerous than other forms of the same food.

 

[ugeauxgirl]

+1 vote for the Mediterranean diet is better because the quality of the food is better. Years ago I stopped eating American foods with wheat because they made me feel terrible and my allergies flare up. 2 years ago, I walked the Camino de Santiago in Spain 2 years ago and ate pastries for breakfast EVERY DAY (it was sometimes all they had), for 5 weeks and I felt fine. I thought I was over that allergy and ate a hamburger in the airport on the way home and had a horrible allergy attack. Our food quality is terrible, and in this country I have to eat meat and green veggies to feel good. But honestly, since I've made the switch, I feel amazing. I have SO much energy, and all my aches and pains have disappeared.

 

[razztazz]

The article I read said that the high lead and cadmium levels were in the chocolate powders due to the chocolate. Chocolate (and cocoa and cacao) are heavily contaminated with these metals despite being sometimes touted as healthy for you.

I don't really worry about it. If I could survive growing up in the era of plumbiferous gasoline, I figure a little cocoa is nothing.

Just to be sure. If I am drinking a flavor other than chocolate, I'm fine? Why is it that chocolate picks up heavy metals?

 

[Sanstar]

Re: wheat allergies. I’m in the same boat. Anything wheat makes me sneeze nonstop. Even walking down the bread aisle in a grocery store. Just discovered this a year ago and will stick with wheat free/ mostly plant based, with occasional Alaska salmon for protein. Feel so much better and no need for allergy meds.

 

[Chuckanut]

Just to be sure. If I am drinking a flavor other than chocolate, I'm fine? Why is it that chocolate picks up heavy metals?

Apparently, chocolate is grown in soils that often have a lot of heavy metals in them. They accumulate in the pods that eventually become chocolate.

Also the process of drying the pods and extracting the chocolate may introduce some metals like lead. Consumer Reports had a good article on this a few months ago.

https://www.consumerreports.org/health/food-safety/lead-and-cadmium-in-dark-chocolate-a8480295550/

The researchers found that cacao plants take up cadmium from the soil, with the metal accumulating in cacao beans as the tree grows. That’s similar to how heavy metals contaminate some other foods.


But lead seems to get into cacao after beans are harvested. The researchers found that the metal was typically on the outer shell of the cocoa bean, not in the bean itself. Moreover, lead levels were low soon after beans were picked and removed from pods but increased as beans dried in the sun for days. During that time, lead-filled dust and dirt accumulated on the beans. “We collected beans on the ground that were heavily loaded with lead on the outer shell,” DiBartolomeis says.

 

[Healthy Lifestyle]

I answerred 1.6 but I find that nearly impossible to attain. I only eat 2 meals a day (64 yr old) to maintain weight. I have stopped whey and powdered proteins after reading that many of them contain metals and have not been willing to pay a premium for cleaner brands. Eggs/Greek yogurt/poultry are my go to's

I have been using Gold Standard “double chocolate” Whey Protein Powder for last 2 years and enjoy the taste in oatmeal, yogurt and milk.
My average daily protein level is ~125gms, 68y, 145lbs. At the gym 4-5 days a week.

 

[audreyh1]

The article I read said that the high lead and cadmium levels were in the chocolate powders due to the chocolate. Chocolate (and cocoa and cacao) are heavily contaminated with these metals despite being sometimes touted as healthy for you.

I don't really worry about it. If I could survive growing up in the era of plumbiferous gasoline, I figure a little cocoa is nothing.

It totally depends on the manufacturer. Based on the Consumer Reports testing we had switched from Green and Black 85% to Ghirardelli 85%.

 

[Turbo29]

Just to be sure. If I am drinking a flavor other than chocolate, I'm fine? Why is it that chocolate picks up heavy metals?

The CNN article says, "Over-the-counter protein powders may contain disturbing levels of lead and cadmium, with the highest amounts found in plant-based, organic and chocolate-flavored products, according to a new investigation."

It further goes on to say, "Over-the-counter protein powders may contain disturbing levels of lead and cadmium, with the highest amounts found in plant-based, organic and chocolate-flavored products, according to a new investigation. Plant-based powders, such as those made from soy, rice, peas and other plants, contained three times more lead than whey-based products, according to the report." And, “Chocolate-flavored protein powders contained four times more lead and up to 110 times more cadmium than vanilla-flavored powders,”
Lead and cadmium found in muscle-building protein powders, report says

Consumer Reports has an article addressing chocolate: A Third of Chocolate Products Are High in Heavy Metals, CR's Tests Find

 

[CoAndy]

I began doing CrossFit in May 2019 at age 48. Went very well. Love the intense workouts and community. However, last summer I met with Jason Grubb, who is the Masters CrossFit games champion, and after discussions with him, I began eating a pound of lean ground beef several days a week. This was last summer. Since that time, I have probably put on 4-5 pounds of muscle. I am 54. No doubt I saw a huge difference. I now swap out the pound of ground beef for ground chicken often (cheaper and leaner) and eat it with a cup of Jasmine rice. Delicious. I also enjoy a protein shake daily.

 

[bjorn2bwild]

I am fascinated by this old photo of identical twin brothers where at a young age, one took up long distance running and the other weight lifting.

Notably, the lifter was 35 lbs heavier than the runner, but the runner’s heart was about 25% larger and his maximal oxygen uptake more than 50% greater than his brother’s.

Unfortunately, I could not find any follow up information regarding diet differences or long term health outcomes.

 

[aja8888]

I am fascinated by this old photo of identical twin brothers where at a young age, one took up long distance running and the other weight lifting.

Notably, the lifter was 35 lbs heavier than the runner, but the runner’s heart was about 25% larger and his maximal oxygen uptake more than 50% greater than his brother’s.

Unfortunately, I could not find any follow up information regarding diet differences or long term health outcomes.

View attachment 55032

The guy on the left looks like me when I was a long distance runner (I was 5' 11" tall, 149 pounds, age 32)

 

[bjorn2bwild]

The guy on the left looks like me when I was a long distance runner (I was 5' 11" tall, 149 pounds, age 32)

I straddle the line with both endurance sports and weight lifting, so my physique is somewhere between the two. Why bet on just one horse?
Interesting to me, their calf muscles are roughly the same size.

 

[HFWR]

I straddle the line with both endurance sports and weight lifting, so my physique is somewhere between the two. Why bet on just one horse?
Interesting to me, their calf muscles are roughly the same size.

Arms and chest are the vanilty muscles.

 

[Chuckanut]

From what I have read strength seems to correlate with a longer health span and life span. However, so does thinks like the heart's ability to move blood and oxygen through the body. Perhaps both these young men might be better off being somewhat more like the other? I don't know. Human health is complicated.

 

[dixonge]

I'm curious how some of you reconcile high animal protein consumption with what has been observed from populations with the greatest longevity? Mediterranean and so-called "Blue Zone" diets where plant-based foods dominate, red meat consumption is minimal, and some fish is consumed, are what the world's longest-living populations typically eat.

The 'blue zone' data was quite lacking in the authors' scrutiny, as it turns out...

UCL demographer’s work debunking ‘Blue Zone’ regions of exceptional lifespans wins Ig Nobel prize

A study by Dr Saul Justin Newman (Centre for Longitudinal Studies) has won the first-ever Ig Nobel award in Demography at this year’s 34th Ig Nobel Prizes. His work reveals fundamental flaws in the data about the world’s oldest people and patterns of extreme longevity.

www.ucl.ac.uk