Hi Mike, thanks for the great post here!
Your attitude inspires me to keep fighting against the unawareness
of consumers that unfortunately still finances this black market. I am doing my
best with my blog here in Brazil and soon will start paying some lab tests in
our Brazilian Wheys.
Have you ever done any lab test in Wheys or do you know any blog that
does such service in US? Not in a professional way like Labdoor but in a
small/medium blog.
Thanks a lot!
I want to know about Ultimate Nutrition Pro star 100% whey protein. Is it worth a buy or is it's protein spiked .
I have couple questions: WPC 34 means that there are only 3.4 grams of
digestible protein out of 10 grams, is that correct?
If a company uses WPC 34, and listed as "Whey Protein Concentrate" in
their label. Do they still (or legal to) claim there are 10 grams of
protein in the nutrition fact although there are only 3.4 grams are
useful out of 10 grams?
Thanks
Your first question is correct.
Your second question, they should only put 3.4g (or round down to 3g). The other 6.6g is moisture, fat, lactose (milk sugars), ash, and whatever other impurities. Not protein.
Basic rule of thumb is that if they're not putting WPC-80, you're likely getting some odd mix of WPC-34, WPC-55, and whatever else. That's why pure whey concentrate products are cheaper, and not good if you're lactose sensitive by any means.
Good questions BTW!
Thanks for the answer Mike.
Two additional question: If companies use WPC 34, they basically have two options:
1. Spiking their protein using amino acid so they have enough "protein" in the nutrition fact.
2. Use a lot of WPC 34 to add up the protein, but it contains more lactose fat etc...unhealthy stuff
Is that correct as well?
However, if a company uses a lot of WPC 34 to add up the protein content wouldn't it just be around the same price just to use WPC 80? (since WPC 34 has lower protein content, then they have to put more on it)
Thanks again.
I would agree, but am not sure how many pure WPC-34 products are really out there. It's probably a blend of what makes the macros halfway decent (4g carbs, but sometimes up to 8g) and is cost-effective for them.
Not all consumers realize what's happening, so it could easily work in their favor. Too many of them see "5lbs of protein for $35!" -- but do they see that each scoop has 22g protein and there's only like 30 scoops in the tub because it's a 40g scoop full of other crap?
So it's not *necessarily* the same price to produce that 5lb tub compared to a 5lb tub full of WPC-80.
Look at "Pure Protein" for instance. It's not "spiked" in the sense that we talk about on this page, but it's got a ton of maltodextrin and cheap protein in there filling those tubs up!!
We try our best to educate, and our hot deals page which gets a lot of traffic/users is suited to getting at least 42g of non-spiked protein per dollar (we're more lenient on pure isolates and big trusted name brands). Best we can do, I suppose.
So that's why we're all about grams of protein per dollar. Or you can look at the RATIO of grams of protein in a scoop. 24g protein in a 50g serving size? No thanks!
Hope I didn't misunderstand....if we just talk about whey protein concentrate alone, let's just say 10 grams
You are saying that putting WPC 34 to add up to 10 grams of protein is still more cost-effective than using WPC 80 to add up 10 grams of protein?
You also brought up some interesting point about the ratio of grams of protein in a scoop. I looked up the PES select protein and the Truth from muscle element in your suggestion page.
PES is 24g protein 33g in a serving size scoop
Truth is 24g protein in a 44 g serving size scoop
If you don't mind, can you explain the reason why the Turth has such a big "gap"? and also what is the ideal ratio in your opinion.
I'm from Hong Kong and most of the protein supplements are imported from the U.S,. Most of the people here have not a single clue about this.....even the experts......I am trying to learn more, so I can possibly discuss this at a local forum.
Thanks again
Cost effective for who? :P
A 5lb tub full of WPC-34 is far cheaper to manufacture than a 5lb tub of WPC-80. A clever company can finagle the label so that it says "60g per serving!" or something ridiculous (because each "serving" is 3 scoops or some nonsense) and make a killing on profit, tricking 85%(?) of the consumers.
That's why if you're in budget mode, grams of non-spiked protein per dollar are the best metric.
TRUTH has a bunch of natural sweeteners, probiotics, more thickeners, and I can tell you for certain fact they use a LOT of cocoa in that chocolate bar flavor. It's smoother and pretty awesome for being naturally sweetened, but less of a value in terms of protein per dollar.
What are you opinion on Perfect Protein Deisel? In its amino acid profile it lists both its added Glutamine (5276mg) & Glycine (430mg), however it does advertise the added Glutamine right on the container as well as 7g of BCAAs. 30g serving = .1g Fat, 1.5g CHO, 27g Protein. I'll venture to say that means I'm getting less than 20g of whey isolate (27g - 7g BCAA - 5g Glutamine = 15g).
Hi Mike, could you please kindly give your opinion about purefit whey protein? It is quite cheap in price. Just not sure it can be trusted. Cheers :)
It's cheap because it's pure whey concentrate, which is... cheap! If you have no sensitivity to lactose and aren't at all lactose intolerant, you can give this a go.
If you're lactose *sensitive*, you might want something with whey protein isolate first on the label. If you're lactose *intolerant*, you'd want a pure whey protein isolate or something completely non-dairy.
That's kinda the general guide. Those who can deal with cheap concentrates and not have bad gas are lucky!
So basically you are saying that purefit whey is a cheap whey concentrate? Because there are a lot of whey concentrate out there and their prices aren't that cheap as purefit whey protein.
am so glad i came across this post! I love you guys. quick question. which of muscletech proteins were caught on the amino spiking? i have quite a few of their proteins on stock but am curious to know if i just threw my money away with them.
Hey Will, I had seen that there was a lawsuit settlement, so I dug in to PACER and finally found it! It was filed on March 10, 2015.
"19. The Protein Products at issue in this case are distributed and sold by Defendant under the following brand names: MuscleTech NitroTech, MuscleTech Phase8, MuscleTech Platinum %100 Whey, MuscleTech Platinum %100 Iso-Whey, Six Star Whey Protein Plus, Six Star Protein Bars, Six Star Protein Shakes, Six Star Recovery Protein, Six Star Whey Isolate Plus, Six Star® 100% Whey Isolate Protein Gel, and EPIQ Isolate protein powders."
Damn, and we're supporters of some of those proteins. Digging deeper, it looks like it SETTLED on August 12, 2015. That document doesn't show much.
On November 11, 2015, we get a bit more details: "The first date on which the Summary Notice is published in a newspaper of general circulation in California (the “Notice Date”) shall be no later than 30 days after the entry of this Order;"
"Plaintiff’s Motion for Attorneys’ Fees, Costs, and Incentive Award shall be filed on or before, January 25, 2016, forty-five (45) days after the Notice Date;"
(that's this past week!)
They are going to be forced to put ads in Men's Health, Men's Fitness, Muscle & Fitness, Muscle & Fitness Hers, and Flex. Also have to create Facebook and Twitter accounts with targeted advertising accounts!
But... "Class Members shall have until, February 8, 2016, sixty-one (61) days after the Notice Date to file claims, opt-out, or exclude themselves"
AND HERE IT IS:
http://www.prnewswire.com/n...
Holy crap, so it's basically ANY MuscleTech, Six Star, EPIQ and fuel:one products bought between March 10, 2011 to November 10, 2015!!!!
This is gonna require its own blog post. I now have court documents in hand and can get more. We need to act fast, because there's not much time.
Thank you SO much for bringing this to my attention. We also have to try to find the lab tests and see what was really in there.
wow every protein they have... thats crazy.. i have all of the muscletech ones.
hi great post, do you know if mutant pro is legit, i cant seem to figure out by the label
Not sure. All we know is that Mutant's parent company, FitFoods, got sued over this: https://blog.priceplow.com/...
But we have no updates on the case. So we can't definitively say anything, but it looks less than promising.
I have a few brands I'd like and opinion on.
The Protein Works Whey protein 80.
Tecnutrition Whey 100.
Syntrax Whey Shake.
I have a few brands I'd like and opinion on.
The Protein Works Whey protein 80.
Tecnutrition Whey 100.
BiotechUSA Iso Whey Zero
There is big scandal about biotech isowhey one guy tested in 3
Labs it was spiked its not isolate