Description of Protein Powder
Protein powder is a dry substance with a high concentration of protein. It is impossible to extract exclusively pure protein from the product, so any albumen powder will have one or another percentage of impurities (Guo, 2019). However, this substance is significantly effective in increasing muscle mass.
An interesting fact is that protein powder, as many people might think, is not a new product since extracting protein from foods has been used for a long time. The powder released from the albumen occurs in the form of a dry mixture. The compound helps in muscle recruitment, prevents catabolic processes, and replenishes the protein content in the human body.
The Impact of Protein Powder on Human Health
Positive Effects
There are different opinions about the effect of protein powder on health and the human body. An article by Bandara et al. (2020) states that protein powders have no negative effects on the body despite the different chemical components. Moreover, a moderate amount is beneficial for people and helps in training to effectively restore strength and muscles. According to this study, exposure to heavy metals from the ingestion of protein powder does not increase the non-carcinogenic risk (Bandara et al., 2019). In addition, no carcinogenic risk was identified in connection with the remaining chemical elements.
Negative Effects
However, there are studies that show that protein powders have a negative impact on people’s health. For instance, the article by Karlund et al. (2019) states that excessive consumption of protein powders can cause health problems. Primarily, it negatively affects the gastrointestinal tract and the digestive system. Moreover, the study results show that the tolerance of substances contained in protein powders depends on the person’s physiological characteristics (Karlund et al., 2019). Thus, for some people, this product is prohibited even in small quantities due to fermentation products and chemicals.
References
Bandara, S. B., Towle, K. M., & Monnot, A. D. (2020). A human health risk assessment of heavy metal ingestion among consumers of protein powder supplements. Toxicology Reports, 7, 1255-1262. Web.
Guo, M. (2019). Whey protein production, chemistry, functionality, and applications. John Wiley & Sons.
Karlund, A., Gallego, C. G., Turpeinen, A. N., Palo, O. M., Nezami, H., & Kolehmeinen, M. (2019). Protein supplements and their relation with nutrition, microbiota composition and health: Is more protein always better for sportspeople?Nutrients, 11(4). Web.