Unsafe Levels of Lead and Cadmium Found in 47% of Protein Powders Tested—Here’s How to Minimize Your Exposure

If you’re using protein powder as part of a high protein diet, you may want to review your usage. New research from the Clean Label Project found disturbing—and unsafe—levels of lead and cadmium in nearly half of the most popular protein powder products on the market.

The research, published on January 9th, involved testing 160 protein powder products from the top 70 brands representing about 38% of the protein powder market. They were tested for a range of 258 different potential contaminants, including arsenic, mercury, and bisphenols. Of the products tested, 47% had higher levels of heavy metals than recommended under California Proposition 65 safety thresholds—with 21% of those testing more than twice over the Prop 65 threshold for lead.

What Does Lead and Cadmium Exposure Do?

Lead and cadmium are heavy metals that can have serious health impacts—and there are no safe levels of exposure, according to the FDA.

Lead can cause damage to the brain, kidneys, nervous system, and blood. It’s especially problematic when young children are exposed, as it can lead to slowed growth and development and lower IQs.

The metal cadmium will end up in your kidneys and liver, where it can remain for years as your body very slowly processes it into waste. But if you’re eating or drinking too much cadmium, it can overwhelm and damage your organs. Cadmium can also damage your bones and your nervous system, in addition to your kidney and liver.

How Could Lead and Cadmium End up in These Products?

“Plants pick up heavy metals through the air, water, and soil and may remain in the product long after processing,” says Yasi Ansari, MS, RDN, CSSD, Spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. “Some heavy metal exposure can be from natural or industry sources—but most of the heavy metal pollution concerns come from human and industry sources.”

When the metals are absorbed by plants, they can end up in the food supply, either in the produce we eat, or in the animals we eat, if they eat contaminated plants.

How to Choose Safer Protein Powders

If your protein powder habit is hard to shake, you’re probably wondering which of the products failed the lead and cadmium tests. While the Clean Label Project doesn’t name the products that exceeded lead and cadmium levels, they did provide a list of vetted protein powder brands, including Puori, Wicked, Needed, Nutrabox, Wellbeing, and Ritual. You can view the full list of products that tested well in their research.

But there are a few suggestions you can follow to reduce your exposure.

Opt for whey, collagen, or pea-based powders.

In the Clean Label Project study, whey, collagen, and pea-based powders were less likely to have lead levels over the California Proposition 65 levels. Only 28% of whey protein powders and 26% of collagen protein powders had high levels of lead. For plant-based protein, pea protein was least likely to be contaminated, but plant-based powders in general contained five times more cadmium than whey protein powders tested.

Avoid chocolate-based flavors.

In the Clean Label Project study, 65% of the chocolate-flavored protein powders had high levels of lead and shockingly high levels of cadmium—110 times more cadmium than vanilla flavors. That’s probably not a huge surprise, as chocolate has made headlines in recent years for potential heavy metal contamination. There have been unsafe levels of lead and cadmium in other chocolate products on the market—especially dark chocolate, according to testing by Consumer Reports.

Choose non-organic powders.

Surprisingly, organic products had three times the levels of lead as their non-organic counterparts—and 79% of organic protein powders were over the Prop 65 safety threshold. So in this instance, choosing a non-organic protein powder may result in a smaller exposure to lead. “We need more research and a better understanding of farming practices to understand why certain organic foods may contain more heavy metals,” Ansari says.

Look for third-party testing and other certifications.

Ansari recommends looking closely at the nutrition labels for the protein powders you have, and see what independent testing they may have undergone. “I generally recommend looking for products with third-party testing and certification such as NSF Certified/ NSF Certified for Sport,” Ansari says. “NSF, for example, tests to ensure what’s on the label is in the product and also tests to make sure the product does not have unsafe levels of heavy metals.”

Healthy Alternatives to Protein Powders

Variety is the spice of life—and may be a way to help reduce your exposure. “Protein powder can be helpful, but not everyone needs to use a protein powder,” Ansari says. “I always recommend a food first approach. Eating protein-rich foods from a variety of sources at meals and snacks can provide a wide range of vitamins and minerals that support health and that protein powder alone cannot provide.”

If you’ve been using protein powder to supplement your diet—and want to reduce or stop using it to reduce your exposure to lead and cadmium, you may want to consider other easy-to-utilize, healthy high-protein snacks.

Some high-protein snacks Ansari suggests include:

• Canned tuna (20-25 grams of protein in 3 ounces)
• Greek yogurt (10-18 grams of protein in 5.3 ounces)
• Chicken (21 grams of protein in 3 ounces)
• Eggs (18-21 grams of protein in 3 eggs)
• Tofu (22 grams of protein per cup)
• Edamame (18 grams of protein per cup)
• Steamed lentils (18 grams of protein per cup)
• Black beans (15 grams of protein per cup)
• Cooked quinoa (8 grams of protein per cup)
• Peanut butter (7 grams of protein per 2 tbsp)
• Cooked pasta (8 grams of protein per cup)

For a high-protein smoothie, you can mix in one of the following:

• Nut butters (peanuts in particular have the highest protein levels)
• Silken tofu
• Greek yogurt
• Cottage cheese
• Chia seeds
• Flaxseeds
• Kefir

“When it comes to heavy metals, what we can emphasize with consumers is to focus on variety,” Ansari says. “Emphasize whole foods in the diet, supplement when needed, and understand how to decrease exposure to heavy metals during the cooking process. When wanting to supplement with a protein powder, start by looking for products that are third-party tested.”